Jen Turner - Single Review: Singing With Whales
12 Mar 2020 // review by jacquiew
Singing with Whales by Jen Turner is a real gem of a single. Reflective and introspective in the particular way that break up songs tend to be, it’s also seriously catchy.
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Jackie Bristow - Gig Review: Jackie Bristow @ The Boathouse, Nelson - 14/02/2020
15 Feb 2020 // review by jacquiew
There was a lot to love about Jackie Bristow’s performance at The Boathouse in Nelson. The Boathouse has got to be one of the most spectacular settings in New Zealand for a music venue.
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Albi & The Wolves - Gig Review: Albi and the Wolves @ Room Twenty5, Nelson
26 Oct 2019 // review by jacquiew
Auckland-based trio Albi and the Wolves have made a real impression on the festival scene both here and overseas, especially since their Best Folk Artist of the Year Tui Award win in 2018. Just days ago, the group were named in the line-up for WOMAD 2020, a well-deserved nod for the very hardworking and talented Chris Dent, Micheal Young, and Pascal Roggen.
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Hollie Smith - Gig Review: Hollie Smith @ The Playhouse, Nelson - 22/09/2019
23 Aug 2019 // review by jacquiew
Hollie Smith has a lovely voice and is a highly-regarded singer known to many for her work with TrinityRoots and Fly My Pretties, and for her vocals on the Don McGlashan penned hit Bathe In The River. Smith has also had significant success in her solo career to date.
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Andrew Masseurs - Album Review: Traveller In The Sky
02 Jul 2019 // review by jacquiew
Andrew Masseurs’ new album Traveller In The Sky is so good I almost want him to pull a U2-type stunt and add it to everyone’s playlists for free (no just kidding, you need to buy it so Masseurs gets rewarded for his efforts). Masseurs has always had a tremendous voice, but it wasn’t quite matched entirely by his material or production choices on his debut album.
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Mitch James - Gig Review: Mitch James @ Theatre Royal, Nelson - 28/06/2019
29 Jun 2019 // review by jacquiew
A youthful capacity crowd packed out Nelson’s Theatre Royal to welcome Mitch James as part of his national Bright Blue Skies tour. Seating had been cleared to allow for audience members to stand and dance up close to the band, but the ushers took a dim view of the enthusiasm in the room when it got to the point of people being raised on top of their friends’ shoulders – the venue isn’t quite ready for that kind of crowd just yet.
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Myele Manzanza - Album Review: A Love Requited
19 Jun 2019 // review by jacquiew
A Love Requited is the third album from drummer and composer Myele Manzanza. Having shared many concert bills with Myele’s Dad, well know percussionist Sam Manzanza, I approached Myele’s album with a high level of interest.
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Graeme James - Gig Review: Graeme James @ The Boathouse, Nelson - 17/05/2019
17 May 2019 // review by jacquiew
Every once in a while you happen to have the very good fortune to attend a truly remarkable concert. Graeme James' gig at The Boathouse in Nelson was one such event.
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Beth Danelle - Single Review: Hold On
12 May 2019 // review by jacquiew
Beth Danelle's new single Hold On is a balanced and well-produced pop track. It has a good hook in the chorus and it will appeal to anyone who is feeling out of sync with their current life situation.
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Caroline Easther and the Cinnamon Girls - Gig Review: Caroline Easther and The Cinnamon Girls @ Fairfield House, Nelson - 3/05/2019
04 May 2019 // review by jacquiew
Caroline Easther seems like a completely lovely person which must have made last night’s experience at Fairfield House all the more difficult for her. Despite her best efforts to push through, with the support of her band The Cinnamon Girls (Alan Galloway, Hamish Graham and Murray Costello), her voice was just not playing the game.
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Andrew Masseurs - Single/Video Review: Set Me Free
10 Apr 2019 // review by jacquiew
Set Me Free is the first single from Andrew Masseurs' upcoming album Traveller in the Sky, and it’s a real ripper. Masseurs’ vocals are completely on point and the driving beat of the track sets the perfect pace.
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Gig Review: Milk & Honey @ Powerstation, Auckland - 08/03/2019
11 Mar 2019 // review by jacquiew
The line-up at the Powerstation for the inaugural Milk and Honey Festival to mark International Women’s Day was undoubtedly stellar. Ria Hall, Tami Neilson, Julia Deans (with Anna Coddington) and Nadia Reid interspersed with contributions from DJ Sandy Mill - you’d be hard pushed to pack more talent into an evening than that.
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Brendan and Alison Turner - Album Review: Ghost of a Friend
01 Mar 2019 // review by jacquiew
Ghost of a Friend is an aptly-named exploration of deep grief from soulful Americana duo Brendan and Alison Turner. The couple first met only six years ago and have had a tumultuous time since - falling in love, marrying, performing and touring together and then tragically losing their best man and musical collaborator.
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Marlon Williams - Gig Review: Don McGlashan & Marlon Williams @ Neudorf Vineyard, Nelson - 12/02/2019
13 Feb 2019 // review by jacquiew
A susurration of dust motes in the air in front of the stage at Neudorf Vineyard, heralded the beginning of tonight’s magical and highly-anticipated Marlon Williams concert - an appropriate beginning for an event postponed because of a large fire sparked last week in tinder dry conditions. Tonight’s event was the perfect balm for the soul for rattled Nelson Tasman residents.
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Gig Review: Phil Collins at Christchurch Stadium, Christchurch - 4/02/2019
04 Feb 2019 // review by jacquiew
Bow down Christchurch, for we have been in the presence of the master. From start to finish this was a concert featuring consummate musicianship and a rich back catalogue of songs to satisfy listeners of all ages.
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The Frank Burkitt Band - Gig Review: The Frank Burkitt Band at The Boathouse, Nelson - 11/01/2019
11 Jan 2019 // review by jacquiew
The Boathouse welcomed The Frank Burkitt Band with a chocolate box Nelson summer’s evening, complete with a beautiful peach-toned sunset and an audience that had been enjoying an early evening meal on the deck prior to the gig. The general mood was possibly at odds with Frank Burkitt and his partner Kara Filbey’s choice of opening number, a somewhat sombre cover of a Randy Newman song about a hurricane called Louisiana 1927.
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The Jordan Luck Band - Gig Review: Jordan Luck Band @ The Playhouse, Nelson - 28/12/2018
29 Dec 2018 // review by jacquiew
An amiable capacity crowd gathered at The Playhouse in Mapua for a post-Christmas trip down memory lane with The Jordan Luck Band. The band delivered all that was expected and more in a tight, accomplished, and high-energy set.
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The Flaming Mudcats - Album Review: Cut Loose
09 Nov 2018 // review by jacquiew
The Flaming Mudcats' Cut Loose celebrates the band's tenth anniversary in fine style. This is a solid, rocking blues album from a well-established and well-loved kiwi act.
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Mel Parsons - Single/Video Review: I Got The Lonely
08 Oct 2018 // review by jacquiew
Mel Parsons has a gift for writing great hooks - and her latest single I Got The Lonely is an excellent example of that gift in action. I Got The Lonely is a well-executed, clean, and radio-friendly teaser for Parsons' full-length album due to be released later this year.
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Gig Review: Pink @ Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin - 01/09/2018
02 Sep 2018 // review by jacquiew
Pink took Dunedin to heaven tonight, figuratively and literally, with a stellar performance featuring acrobatics, mesmerising dance, theatre, and powerhouse vocals. The crowd came ready for a good time and when Pink took to the stage slightly after 9pm she declared her intention (following a tongue in cheek fanfare on solo recorder) with Get The Party Started, the star herself swinging from a giant chandelier in a black sequined one-piece suit and singing while hanging upside down.
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Holly Arrowsmith - Gig Review: Holly Arrowsmith @ Fairfield House, Nelson - 22/08/2018
23 Aug 2018 // review by jacquiew
A pure voice is hard to find. Such a voice underpinned by a soul that reaches out to mesmerise and enchant an audience is even rarer.
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Jamie McDell - Album Review: Extraordinary Girl
27 May 2018 // review by jacquiew
Extraordinary Girl by Jamie McDell is a commercial, catchy, and high-quality contemporary country offering. McDell has an appealing voice and the subject matter of the album traverses love and loss using some familiar country music tropes and images - trailers, cars, fishing, tattoos etc...
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Julia Deans - Album Review: We Light Fire
11 May 2018 // review by jacquiew
The acclaimed Modern Fables was always going to be a tough act to follow and Julia Deans has taken her time to follow it – with a full seven-year gap between album releases. She hasn’t been resting on her laurels in between times, however, with a number of noteworthy ventures filling the space.
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Bernie Griffen and The Thin Men - Album Review: Doors Wide Open
06 May 2018 // review by jacquiew
Doors Wide Open is an album of “sweet sorrow” from Bernie Griffen and the Thin Men.  Griffen is a musician who has paid his dues and travelled the miles.
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Darren Watson - Album review: Too Many Millionaires
26 Mar 2018 // review by jacquiew
This deeply enjoyable album will warm the hearts of any blues fans, and in fact anyone with an ounce of soul will love it. Darren Watson is a great example of a bluesman at his peak.
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Andrew Masseurs - Album review - Origins
14 Mar 2018 // review by jacquiew
There’s no denying Andrew Masseurs’ musicianship and the quality of the production of this album. It’s a clever and accomplished piece of work from an artist who is firmly in control of his craft.
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