All the best gigs to go to and things to do during New Zealand Music Month

Jon Toogood is performing during NZMM. Photo / Leonie Moreland

The annual celebration of homegrown music is upon us and, once again, provides a jam-packed calendar of events, gigs and shows to get among. While there’s sadly not a mega showcase event this year, there are still plenty of tasty options from which to curate a stellar calendar of things to do.

The theme of this year’s annual celebration of homegrown music is community and collaboration and our first highlight of New Zealand Music Month encapsulates this perfectly.

The Soundtrack From Reservoir Dogs & Pulp Fiction Live In Concert (The Civic, tonight) will be cooler than Fonzie as the Behemoth Big Band Royale plays all the hits from the iconic soundtracks to Quentin Tarantino’s two groundbreaking films. To perform songs like Son of a Preacher Man, Jungle Boogie and Stuck in the Middle With You the crack ensemble has enlisted vocalists Julia Deans, Laughton Kora and Head Like a Hole’s Booga Beazley.

Julia Deans performs at The Soundtrack From Reservoir Dogs & Pulp Fiction Live In Concert.

The following night the kids are doing it for themselves at uber-producer Joel Little’s new venue Big Fan in Morningside. No Conformity is an event organised and focused on youth, designed to teach the next gen of live music professionals how to plan, put on and run shows. Performing at the non-profit show will be indie-pop faves Beachware with support from comedy grunge rockers Strategist Wang and garage punk outfit Late to Chelsea.

At the same venue a couple of weeks later, the Bay of Plenty’s award-winning indie-pop star Georgia Lines swoops into Auckland for the release party of her new single Monopoly with an all-ages gig on Friday, May 19.

Georgia Lines.

Local music fans will have a chance to match wits and show off their deep knowledge of Aotearoa’s proud music history at Quiz Night: The Great New Zealand Music Challenge (The Civic’s Wintergarden, Thursday, May 11). Hosted by Taylor MacGregor, from bFM’s long-running local music show Freak the Sheep, you can expect plenty of brain-burning questions and tantalising trivia as teams compete for the ultimate prize for proclaimed music experts: bragging rights. There are also actual prizes on offer as well as live performances from some great up-and-coming acts.

Celebrating two decades of bleeding hearts is the early-aughts hardcore punks The Bleeders, whose triumphant comeback to the live stage shows no signs of slowing down. The 20th Anniversary Tour of their debut EP A Bleeding Heart pogos into the Main Room at Galatos on Friday, May 12, where they’ll play all seven songs from that pivotal Aotearoa punk release as well as other classics from their noisy repertoire.

Hardcore punks The Bleeders back in the day.

If a heart of gold is more your scene then rock and roll down the road to the mighty Civic. The first Come Together gig of 2023 tackles Neil Young’s enduring classic Harvest. Just some of the musos who have come together for this show are Jon Toogood, Sam Scott, James Milne (aka Lawrence Arabia), Adam Hattaway, Dianne Swann and Jol Mulholland. They’ll be performing Harvest in its entirety as well as a second set of Young classics and deep cuts.

Big Fan asserts itself as the place to be this NZMM with another huge show in the form of Urbanaut Club Nite on Saturday, May 13. The local craft brewing company is holding a 6th birthday party and has invited quite the bass-thumping line-up to celebrate. First up is Māori producer Mokotron, who’s creating waves with his indigenous electronic music. He’s joined by Baby Zionov, a musician who takes her influence from 90s happy hardcore, 70s space disco and retro gaming and bFM’s DJ Sam Harmony who will be spinning tunes. Urbanaut will unveil a new beer on the night and best of all, it’s free entry. Kicking off at the early time of 8pm, it’s R18 only for this one, sorry kids.

It don’t mean a thing, if ain’t got that swing and Songs For Our Mothers (North Harbour Stadium, Saturday, May 13) will have more swing than a particularly captivating pendulum. The glamorous vintage harmony trio The Madeleines, on a rare visit home, will be leading the night with their renditions of jazz, doo-wop and swing classics that stretch back to the 1920s and go right through to today. Also performing is Auckland’s champion band North Shore Brass. Put on the Ritz and head along.

The chart-topping, award-winning, heavy metallers Devilskin return to the Powerstation (Saturday, May 20) for a night that promises more grunt than a pen of pigs. On the other side of town, local hip-hop hero DJ Sir-Vere takes his Major Flavours series off the CD player and brings it to the stage at Sweat Shop Brew Kitchen for a night headlined by Savage.

It simply wouldn’t be Music Month without the sartorial style of New Zealand Music T-Shirt Day, which returns on Friday, May 26. This annual fundraiser for MusicHelps, the essential resource that provides mental health and financial support for those in the industry, is a way to do something charitable and look good at the same time. Simply pull on your best Kiwi band or artist Tee, snap a shot for your socials and make a donation on their website.

Savage plays at Sweat Shop Brew Kitchen later in the month.

In what promises to be one of the most special shows of the month Tiny Ruins will celebrate the release of their beautiful, heart-breaking and surprisingly quite grooving new album Ceremony with a gig at The Hollywood, Avondale’s intimate venue on Saturday, May 27. The alt-folk outfit won’t be touring as much in the near future, so this is a golden opportunity to see one of Aotearoa’s most treasured acts.

Make sure to pop into Aotea Square before month’s end to check out Digital Buskers, an interactive experience that houses a series of unique performances in virtual worlds. And for something a little more tangible check out From the Pit while you’re there. This is a curated collection of work from some of our best local music photographers.

And finally, if taking part in Music Month is something you aspire to - and you’re at college - then head along to the University of Auckland’s free Pop Song Writing Workshop. Taking place at the Kenneth Myers Centre (74 Shortland St) on Saturday, May 27, this full day of writing and performance workshops led by the uni’s lecturers, Silver Scroll winners and students could very well produce our next Lorde or Benee. If you think that’s you, register now.