Music

Ka tangi te Tītī, ka tangi te Kākā, ka tangi hoki ko ēnei Pīpī Paopao! Tihei māuri ora!

Pīpī Paopao is a performance for tamariki aged 3-5 years old - and their adults - which adopts the unique characteristics of our Manu Rangatira (noble birdlife) through waiata and play, echoing the sounds of Te Taiao (nature).

Ko Te Ākau is a visual arts installation and curated performance programme for live and virtual spaces, created for group and solo performances, within a design accurate, site-specific installation of lighting, sound design and video projection. The project references the collaborative works of artists Ralph Hotere and Bill Culbert and serves as the inspiration for exploring the poetics of Te Ākau, the space where the ocean meets the land, where the horizon connects land, water and sky.

From across the musical time/space dimensions and from around the motu, we are excited to present our contemporary music programme at its all-new home at Deville.

In the summer of 2019, Erny Belle relocated from Tāmaki Makaurau to the Northland township of Maungatūroto to write and record what would eventually become her debut album, Venus Is Home, released in February 2022.

Polish up those dancing shoes, Whakatū: Brown Sugar Factory is a funk-filled five piece live show combining disco, world music and dance influences with a house back beat.

A vibrant cast of Pasifika artists from Te Tauihu bring you Tupu – a fun kids show that expresses themes of identity, collaboration, kindness and resilience.

The music theatre star that is Rutene Spooner is channelling the Māori hero Māui into a modern-day icon – complete with rhinestones and glitter. Don’t miss the charmingly quick-witted songs, hilarious antics and heart-felt storytelling.

VÏKÆ is a Ukrainian born alt-pop artist based in Tāmaki Makaurau. After wowing crowds at Bay Dreams 2021, VÏKÆ brings her eclectic, freshly developed show to Whakatū for the first time.

WORD Christchurch and Pukapuka Talks present this very special event to celebrate the life of the enigmatic and brilliant Keri Hulme (1947-2021), author of the bone people, with Patricia Grace, Whiti Hereaka, Marian Evans, Matt Salmons, Anna Hulme and Ariana Tikao, MCed by Becky Manawatu.

Does the time of day bring out different capacities of our human spirit? Tui-winning jazz bassist Umar Zakaria presents the Sun Song Suites, four concerts exploring the human construction of time through our relationship with the sun.

Hot off the back of a nationwide tour celebrating Wiri Donna’s debut EP release Being Alone, Wiri Donna is heading back south this spring for Nelson Arts Festival. Supported by O & The Mo.

The cabaret show that was on everyone’s hips, lips and fingertips in 2021 returns. Fever: Return of the Ula features the savage stomps and luscious sways of critically acclaimed Fine Fatale. Hosted by the soulful singing trills of the goddess trio The Taka Tu Wops, with a live band.

Audio Described performance & Touch Tour on Sat 29 Oct.

Wallace’s music has been described as a vibrant mosaic of soul, hip-hop and pop, her trademark jazz-influenced vocals and magnetic presence make for a uniquely recognisable sound, captivating audiences around the globe - and now: right here in Whakatū! Supported by Dow P'dowdow.

HALFQUEEN's sets are just as unapologetic and empowered as her presence in every space. Specializing in the genre-bending sounds of club music, she is driven to connect via ass shaking. And with BBYFACEKILLA, prepare to lose your mind to a DJ that collapses the multiplicity of contemporary club music into a set that is unique, disruptive, and brimming with ecstasy.

Someone once said if the music scene in Aotearoa was a house, then Don McGlashan would be a load-bearing beam. From Blam Blam Blam, The Front Lawn, through to The Mutton Birds and his four acclaimed solo albums, that beam remains as strong as ever. McGlashan’s most recent solo album, Bright November Morning, went straight to No.1 and marks a new stage in Don’s generous and humane songbook.

From operas to traditional songs, baroque to contemporary, jazz and everything in between - celebrate the romance and passion of Italian music throughout the generations.

In 1968, legendary Aotearoa-born composer and deep listener Annea Lockwood set fire to an irreparable upright piano on the banks of the River Thames in London.