This weekend: Teeks' biggest gig at Town Hall

Teeks & the APO

No one can blame Kiwi soul singer Teeks – real name Te Karehana Gardiner-Toi – if he's feeling a bit nervous because tonight he plays one of the biggest gigs of his life. Teeks, who won Best Māori Artist at the New Zealand Music Awards in 2017, joins forces with the 72-piece Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra to perform a selection of his current and new music. While it's long been his dream to sing with an orchestra and he's excited to hear what results, he says it's still a daunting prospect. You may wish to head back to the Auckland Town Hall tomorrow night, too, when the NZ Symphony Orchestra comes to town for a concert where English composer Gustav Holst's The Planets stars. Written in seven movements – one for each of the known planets at the time – the first, Mars, inspired John Williams who wrote the Star Wars score.

Teeks & the APO, Auckland Town Hall, tonight
NZ Symphony Orchestra, The Planets, tomorrow

NZ Trio, The Americas

And sticking with a musical theme, New Zealand Trio has spent the last month taking the show on the road to some of Auckland's smaller suburban venues. This weekend, Ashley Brown (cello), Andrew Beer (violin) and Stephen De Pledge (piano) go Stateside for a programme that includes elements of New York nightlife, the Wild West, jazzy blues and spice from south o' the border. They like to say it's classical music, but it's wearing boots to the party.

NZ Trio, The Americas, Te Uru Waitākere Contemporary Gallery, Sunday

Sam Snedden in a scene from Headsand. Photo/Two One One Three Creatives

Headsand

Originally from the United Kingdom, Benjamin Henson's been making theatre in New Zealand for nearly a decade. His apocalyptic and surreal new play is set just after a calamitous event leads to environmental catastrophe. How do the characters react? Don't expect the cast - Michele Hine, Sheena Irving, Sam Snedden, Saraid Cameron, Mel Odedra, Johanna Cosgrove and Conan Hayes – to tell a neat and tidy story with a "happily ever after" ending; this is provocative theatre designed to lampoon an apathetic world.

Headsand, Basement Theatre, until Saturday, April 6

Cub Sport

Earlier this year, Australian four-piece Cub Sport released their self-titled third album, a lush, finely-detailed collection of queer pop that celebrates the love story (and marriage) between frontman Tim Nelson and bandmate Sam "Bolan" Netterfield. Largely written and produced by Nelson, the record marked full circle for the couple, who spent years as friends and bandmates before admitting their love for each other. It's a ridiculously sweet story that made for an exceptionally groovy album, and the group are bringing it to New Zealand this weekend; they perform at Wellington's Meow tonight and Auckland's Whammy Bar tomorrow.

Cub Sport, Whammy Bar, Friday March 29

The Paper Kites

Australian indie-folk outfit The Paper Kites are rounding out their 'Where You Live' tour tomorrow in Auckland after last appearing on our shores back in 2015. It's been a hectic few years for the Melbourne-based five-piece who have earned a loyal fanbase around the globe after slogging through more than 200 shows and achieving gold status in the US with more than 700,000 sales of the hit single Bloom. Fans will be treated to a bunch of tracks from their two critically acclaimed releases from last year, On the Train Ride Home and On the Corner Where You Live. Be sure to get there early to catch Melbourne-born, Hamilton-raised songwriter Aaron Clarke aka Mountain Boy in support, playing his big sounding pop-folk tracks from his debut EP From the Dust.

The Paper Kites and Mountain Boy, The Tuning Fork, Friday March 29.