To celebrate the 25th anniversary of NZ Music Month/Te Marama Puoro o Aotearoa, AudioCulture has shared Ten Remarkable NZ Music Month Moments.

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It's a fun read! NZ Music Month began in May 2001, and in the years since it has been celebrated in a startlingly diverse range of ways, from mid-flight gigs to “Sexy Polynesian” cocktails.

At the end of the 1990s, the position of local music was rather dire, and there was still a sense of “cultural cringe” when it came to New Zealand music.

The New Zealand Music Commission was founded in 2000 to help the growth of local music, and one of their first major initiatives was NZ Music Month, an annual celebration of local performers.

By 2002, Aotearoa music was gaining ground, and made up nearly 15% of the music being played on commercial stations across the country. The obvious next step was to see how New Zealand artists could be helped to succeed overseas. Since 2001, the promoter Spacific had been bringing New Zealand artists over to perform special one-off gigs in the UK and Europe. In 2003, they extended their work to create a showcase event that took place in London and Amsterdam, which featured Nathan Haines, Fat Freddy’s Drop, Wai, Ebb, Concord Dawn, Trinity Roots and Stinky Jim.

For the other nine memorable moments, chosen by Gareth Shute, go to Ten Remarkable New Zealand Music Month Moments here.

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Pictured: Fat Freddy’s Drop live at Spacific, Aotearoa showcase, Fabric, London: the first show of the band’s debut European tour 2003. P Digsss Guest MC on the mic.

Photo credit: Sarah Hunter

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