The strength of this show was the ongoing miracle of Silver Bullets, the Phillipps band's first proper album in nearly 20 years and the lively delivery its songs got from him and his 21st century line-up.

Father John Misty's impassioned, whole-hearted, and hilarious performance at the St James on Thursday night was one of the best shows of 2015.

The last time Shellac played in Auckland it was at the beautiful Mandalay ballroom in Newmarket in March 2001. Sadly the venue is long gone, but the memory of Shellac's angular attack has been etched permanently in the recesses of my rock'n'roll mind.

This spectacular cirque cabaret, starring the stylish acrobats of The Dust Palace, imagines The Odyssey as Star Trek.

In an ideal world, for premium enjoyment you'd see Perth psychedelic rockers Tame Impala in the wild and free surrounds of a crazy outdoor festival like Splore.

Black Grace founder and director Neil Ieremia has created a new work from sections of what has gone before.

With his long dark hair tied back into a bun and a casual nature about him, Hozier took to the stage of Auckland's Vector arena last night.

Mitimiti has its beginnings in choreographer Jack Gray's personal journey in search of a closer connection with his Te Rarawa heritage and marae in the Hokianga.

At the start of this intellectually confronting and complex one-man play, Olaf Hojgaard (Edwin Wright) tells us he was watching the 2011 Tour de France telecast when he first heard about Anders Behring Breivik's politically-motivated murder.

NZTrio's latest programme, Surge, made its way to Wellington and Whitianga before receiving a hometown airing last night.

Simone Young and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra returns with a monumental Bruckner Eighth Symphony.

There was a sense of celebration, marred only by the thudding beats of revivalist worship downstairs. A well-filled Town Hall Concert Chamber hosted an audience keen to welcome home some distinguished young Auckland musicians.

By giving physical embodiment to recorded interviews, verbatim theatre creates a remarkably powerful form of communication that is far more intimate than video.

Auckland Museum's auditorium might have been on the European concert circuit this month, hosting two top-notch pianists just weeks apart.

Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra's Thursday concert had enough joie de vivre for a lifetime of Bastille Day celebrations, writes William Dart.

The three choreographers contributing state of the art pieces for this ground-breaking season with the New Zealand Dance Company were given the brief of "light, illumination, space, image and movement" by the company's artistic director Shona McCullagh.

When Rachmaninov opens up his big Russian heart, soloist Kirill Gerstein held nothing back, writes William Dart.

Former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr delighted fans at Auckland's Powerstation last night, before bringing out a special Kiwi guest for the encore.

Last night the electronic duo went out with a bang at The Studio in Auckland.

More concerts should come with entrees as taste-tempting as Stravinsky's Pulcinella Suite, writes William Dart.

Ever wonder where all the post-emo scene kids ended up? At Twenty One Pilots' sold out Auckland show, of course.

On Friday, Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra delivered another fine Opera in Concert with Puccini's Turandot, justly rewarded by a full house and standing ovations.

On Sunday, Nikolai Demidenko launched Auckland Museum's 2015 Fazioli International Piano Recital Series with a thoughtful and testing Chopin programme.

Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra's annual Opera in Concert has become a staple mid-winter highlight of the musical year.

There came a moment towards the end of Thursday night's concert when Julia Deans was thanking the audience for coming, and warmly added "If there's anyone rich in the audience who would like to help us take this show on a world tour."

With a homegrown staging of Wagner's Ring cycle highly unlikely any time soon, the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra's Wagner Gala provided some compensation.

Despite the provocative title the show does not feature any pornographic material but offers a raw and often poignant vision of two lives unravelling under compulsive addictions.

Paying tribute to music director Pietari Inkinen on the last concert of his eight-year association with the NZSO.

Last Saturday, Rumon Gamba presided over the tense finale of the Michael Hill International Violin Competition, impressing with his individual and alert musical support for two competitors who had opted for the Sibelius Concerto.