On a Friday night, on the outskirts of Gore, as the annual New Zealand Gold Guitar Awards reach the business end, a young man is singing.
Country music performers both young and old crowded Gore's streets for the Freeze Ya Bits Off busking competition, the wise taking shelter from the wind, while others occupied what pavement they could and attempted to ignore the sounds, amplified, in-tune or otherwise, encroaching on their airspace.
Harmony may be a key component in the country-pop of Gore duo The Heartleys, but such unison sometimes requires a connection beyond the stage, Shane Gilchrist discovers.
Aucklander Tami Neilson walked away with the 2009 Recording Industry Association of New Zealand Best Country Music Album award at the St James Theatre, Gore, last night.
From persecution to pampering, our pets can be the focus of extreme behaviour, writes Shane Gilchrist.
For his debut feature 'The Escapist', British director Rupert Wyatt has given the prison-break film a fresh twist, writes Shane Gilchrist.
Dunedin guitarist and songwriter David Kilgour has put music to the words of poet Sam Hunt. The album collaboration has been harmonious, Shane Gilchrist discovers.
A celebration of songwriters will take place at the Regent Theatre tonight as open-mike night organiser Alastair Burns releases the compilation album On the Horizon: Pages From Dunedin. Shane Gilchrist reports.
Plinka, plinka, plink. Plinka, plinka, plunk. It's the sound that comes from a tapping, in this case a striking of feet on floor that prompts several small wooden instruments to stutter into life, their four strings coaxed by hands and fingers into rhythms sometimes fluid.
Imagine communicating through a series of pictures, or struggling to communicate at all.
Blam Blam Blam, the Front Lawn, the Mutton Birds and, now, two albums into a burgeoning solo career, Don McGlashan's songwriting habit still provides a rush. Shane Gilchrist reports.
As director of the University of Otago's new Centre for Theology and Public Issues, Andrew Bradstock deals in piety, politics and the practical, writes Shane Gilchrist.
Next weekend, the Maniototo township of Naseby will play host to a celebration of tales both tall and true. There will be music, too. Shane Gilchrist reports.
It's a children's gig that has lasted 18 years, but still The Wiggles remain fresh.
Boys and cars: we all know the combination can be lethal.
In the age of the downloadable single, Evermore is about to release a concept album. Shane Gilchrist discusses creative deliverance and the dangers of taking yourself too seriously with frontman Jon Hume.
'Don't dream it, be it,' sang Frankenfurter as the curtain came down on the Rocky Horror Show. A cast of Dunedin folk have taken up the challenge, Shane Gilchrist reports.
Kiwi songwriter turned sonic experimentalist Rhian Sheehan's latest album is the stuff of dreams, writes Shane Gilchrist.
Searching for strategies to lessen the financial pain of a university degree? Shane Gilchrist does some homework.
Amid the vines of Central Otago, the cast and crew of a short film project have been spreading their wings. Shane Gilchrist reports.