Thirteen years on from its launch, New Zealand Music Month may no longer be the rallying cry it once was, but it’s still a chance to celebrate some of the great music made by artists from this country.
Cath Andersen, chief executive of the New Zealand Music Commission, told 3News this week: “There's lots of great music in the world, and some of it’s made here, so we think May’s a good opportunity just to swing the spotlight back home.
“Hopefully people will find a new band that they haven’t come across before, hopefully they'll go and see someone that they love, find someone new.
“It's about celebrating and a spotlight, as opposed to perhaps the call-to-arms that it was when it first started.”
Former Supergroove saxman Nick Atkinson, who is now a producer for Radio New Zealand’s Music 101, says that in 1993 his band’s single ‘You Gotta Know’ was one of only two local songs in the Top 50 for the year. The other was ‘George’ by the Headless Chickens.
How far have we come in the past 20 years? Last year, there were five local songs in the Top 50, with Lorde’s ‘Royals’ coming in at No. 2.
Of course, at any time of the year you can discover local music on The Wireless and on Radio New Zealand’s Music 101 every Saturday afternoon.
Here are some of our favourite home-grown tracks:
You can find out more about what’s happening during New Zealand Music Month on its official website.