NZ Music Month

May 2006 was NZ Music month. This was the month where a lot of New Zealanders can appreciate homegrown music and when the New Zealand music industry heavily promotes NZ artists, bands and their material through various media.

Throughout NZ Music month, Sky City Auckland acted as a venue where various NZ bands can perform live to the public for free. Lots of acts, from Katchafire to Nesian Mystik were involved.

One of my favourite NZ bands is Goldenhorse. They are an easy listening group that targets a more mature audience. Their music is an infectious, quirky combination of rock, pop and folk, and contains that unique, yet recognisable, NZ flavour. One of their earliest songs, Golden Dawn and Maybe Tomorrow, contains some very sensitive and beautiful lyrics, which made me a big fan of Goldenhorse. They also write their own songs, which is a testement to their abilities. Here are some lyrics to Golden Dawn and Maybe Tomorrow:

Like the red sunlight, when I wake up, It's streaming through my window shining through my bedroom door, You are the golden dawn and I'm loving and I'm loving you.....

There's a story I know, we all leave and let go, there is nothing to hold us. In a moment of time when the fruit becomes wine, and the thought becomes the memory.....

To conclude NZ Music month, it was fitting that Goldenhorse would get to perform the final act at Sky City. And it was crowded! Luckily myself and a friend managed to get up to the front of the crowd, cold drinks in hand. Goldenhorse performed around 17 songs, including Golden Dawn and Maybe Tomorrow. It was great to see them live and to see the crowd getting into it and being receptive to their performance.

I managed to take some pictures of the gig, which I've attached below. The picture shows the lead vocalist of Goldenhorse, Kirsten Morell.