Stories with famous people in them are always more interesting. I thought that when I discovered that this week is the 50th anniversary of The Rolling Stones' first... Read More

It was only a few columns back that I was writing about the unheralded popularity of country music here - and it turns out to be true! Next week's country hoedown... Read More

We continue the occasional series wherein Winston expounds on things that currently make him happy. 55 Local album releases! It gladdens my heart to see local albums... Read More

I often think that country music gets a kinda raw deal in New Zealand. Along with the blues, it seems to be a genre that is both remarkably popular and largely overlooked... Read More

I had been planning the third part of my look at the Jazz Festival, but we'll put that on hold for the moment since the trickle of local album releases has suddenly... Read More

Last week's jazz festival column seems to have stirred some interest. Firstly, many thanks to the people who emailed with intelligent well-reasoned opinions. Thanks... Read More

OK. It's time I talked about the Jazz Festival. Now that the dust is settling and everyone has been paid for their services (which happened almost immediately but... Read More

Hey hey, there's a long weekend with a blues festival coming up - I'm feeling pretty chirpy. Next weekend - starting on Thursday actually - the Rotorua Blues Festival... Read More

This week I'm finally getting down to reviewing Flame, the debut album from Bonjour Swing. It's undoubtedly as good an album as I can remember coming out of the... Read More

Some people have a fascination for gangsters; I am not one of them. Presumably, a lot of it comes from the attraction to the figure of the outlaw and I can understand... Read More

It's very easy to slip out of the habit of learning. Once school has finished, or university or whatever educational establishment you happened to attend, that's... Read More

It's been a busy and exciting time for Grant Haua; now Tauranga gets a proper chance to hear his new band. I've seen Grant playing for years now, and have been writing... Read More