Despite an incredibly rough year for the events industry, some organisers are feeling optimistic about the upcoming season. Others, however, are choosing to err on the side of caution. There’s no doubt this year has involved more risk than usual for event producers. With no insurance available for Covid-related financial losses, there’s a lot to … Read more
Michelle Cruickshanks presents a complete taxonomy of the types of people who’ll be descending on New Plymouth this weekend for Womad. First things first: Womad is going ahead this weekend as planned. You can find more information here, and a statement from it follows: “New Zealand is prepared and ready to deal with a Covid-19 … Read more
For three days every March, New Plymouth’s Brooklands Park is transformed into a village of colour, energy and inclusion. Michelle Cruickshanks celebrates the WOMAD spirit. WOMAD is a bubble. It’s an eclectic retreat from day-to-day life, the chance to step outside your normal experiences and tastes, to be transported and transformed – if only for … Read more
The Spinoff and Spark proudly present Pod On The Couch, a weekly podcast exploring music and the people that make it. This episode: Henry Oliver talks to Kate Robertson and Madeleine Chapman about their summer music festival experiences. Spinoff Music editor Henry Oliver, prolific pop pundit Kate Robertson and Spinoff staff writer Madeleine Chapman talk Auckland … Read more
Ahead of her performance at WOMAD last weekend, Anoushka Shankar talked to Rosie Morrison about travel tips, the sitar and feminism. Taking a moment out of the heat and colour and fun of WOMAD last weekend, I made my way up to a quiet shady spot to talk to Indian musician, Anoushka Shankar. She is … Read more
Rosie Morrison travels to WOMAD where colour and music and dance and food define the spirit of Taranaki’s famous festival. Heading north from Wellington, my festival companion and I knew we were getting closer to WOMAD territory when we stopped in Whanganui for a kebab and the woman at the counter told us they’d had … Read more
Visitors to this weekend’s Womad festival in Taranaki will have the opportunity to brush up on their te reo and understanding of tikanga Māori, writes RNZ’s Taranaki correspondent Robin Martin. Te Wānanga o Aotearoa has come onboard as a programme partner and will be offering a virtual pōwhiri experience and has helped develop a “Teach Me … Read more
Don Rowe speaks to band leader and sousaphone player Bennie Pete of New Orleans’ Hot 8 brass band on the power of music to put back the pieces when it all falls apart. Since 1995, three members of the Hot 8 Brass Band have been lost, victims of gun violence. One, Joe ‘Shotgun Joe’ Williams, was … Read more
The Spinoff and Spark proudly present Pod On The Couch, a weekly podcast exploring music and the people that make it. This episode: Leonie Hayden and Duncan Greive join host Henry Oliver to talk about the state of the music festival. Spinoff Music editor Henry Oliver, Spinoff editor and publisher Duncan Greive and Mana magazine editor Leonie Hayden chat … Read more