Not long ago people predicted that recording studios could go the way of video shops; recent evidence suggests a premature judgement.If you've followed this column for a while you'll have noticed a certain pessimism vis a vis the future of... Read More

On February 28 this year, iconic Auckland pub the Kings Arms finally closed its doors after nearly 120 years in business. The pub has now been bulldozed to make way for a new apartment block. That's what happens to New Zealand's musical history,... Read More

Every so often a week arrives that challenges even the most hardened music lover.You can liken it to waiting for a bus and then two arriving at once (not a problem you're likely to experience in Tauranga) or use the old famine and feast metaphor.... Read More

And just like that, it's gone. Next!After a solid month of writing about the Jazz Festival, I'm going to miss it. And it was a good one this year, so let's dole out a few bouquets and brickbats. First up, James Morrison - what an inspired... Read More

And it's here! The National Jazz Festival, Tauranga's biggest annual musical celebration, has arrived.The first concert's on Thursday night, Youth Band Competitions on Friday and then it's all on, the big shop-window for the festival,... Read More

As promised, this week we'll look at jazz bands playing at the Jazz Festival.There are - and I don't think I need to emphasise this too much - a lot of them. After all, this is the National Jazz Festival and, looking at the concert series,... Read More

Okay. As I promised last week – Jazz Festival stuff. It'll be here in a mere couple of weeks, so I thought as a blues lover I'd start with a couple of international blues visitors. Next week, jazz. First is award-winning guitarist Jöel... Read More

With last week's full moon, we're getting close to Easter. The next one will be the Easter full moon. Easter is weirdly lunar, so it bobs around a bit and this year it's quite late in the great scheme of things. Actually, many of us... Read More

Some days you wake to good news, and the world seems brighter as a result. I had one of those mornings this morning. The first thing I saw when I dialled up some online news made my heart go pitter-pat with delight. Colour me happy. It's not necessarily... Read More

Ready, steady, go! The second wave of festivals is underway. By now I assume we're all thoroughly sick of cyclones, so bring on the music. Luckily there's plenty around - starting this weekend in fact. I wrote about the Aongatete Folk Festival... Read More