Folk music is experiencing a renaissance in New Zealand as musicians rediscover the Gaelic tradition of pub sessions. Baz Macdonald reports. It’s a Sunday night at Waxy O’ Shea’s, the local Irish pub in Invercargill. Patrons are eating dinner, having a yarn and a drink. In dribs and drabs, people with instrument cases slung over … Read more
Aldous Harding and Nadia Reid are at the forefront of a folk scene that is revolutionising how NZ music is seen overseas. Recently both also made the shortlist for this year’s Taite Awards, but Gareth Shute argues they’re just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to local folk success stories. At the end … Read more
Erena Shingade talks to Womb, a Wellington indie-folk sibling trio whose new album was released this month. When I first heard Wellington’s Womb back in 2016, I listened to the self-titled album ritualistically for months. Charlotte Forrester’s ethereal voice became my private, secret music of nights and dawns, colouring the interface between sleep and waking. … Read more
Martyn Pepperell talks to American folk-singer and park ranger Julie Byrne before her two shows with Nadia Reid in Christchurch this weekend. In August last year, I was lucky enough to watch folk singer, songwriter and guitarist Julie Byrne perform a blissed-out daytime set at Finland’s Flow Festival in Helsinki. While traces of folk titans … Read more
When your first album sees you described as the savior of folk music, how do you turn around and make a second album that’s even better? Nadia Reid talked with Calum Henderson about her new album Preservation, released yesterday. For months after Nadia Reid’s debut album Listen to Formation, Look for the Signs came out, … Read more