Music Commission News

Last week, Performing Arts Network New Zealand (PANNZ) hosted their annual Arts Market event, welcoming international and local festival and arts buyers from Canada, Europe, Asia, Australia and Aotearoa to spectate more than 40 homegrown performing arts showcases over three days. Of the many stellar performances, we were pleased to present the second edition of our export-focused show, Taking Our Music to the World: An Aotearoa Music Showcase.

This year we welcomed a full house of delegates at Tāmaki Makaurau’s Q Theatre with performances from four highly acclaimed NZ artists: CHAII, Delaney Davidson, Marlon Williams and Moana & The Tribe. The night began with NZ-Persian alt-pop princess CHAII “killing it“ with her four man band. The set was nothing short of fun with instruments and talent beyond the imagination featuring a spiral cymbal, electronic percussion and a keytar just to name a few!

Artist Laureate Delaney Davidson followed with a mystical set, transporting the audience to his avant-garde world. Looping rhythmic breath-work, strums and shouts, Delaney entertained with his distinctive flavour of gothic Americana and cinematic blues.

Fellow Lyttelton treasure Marlon Williams shared an intimate acoustic one-man set, featuring waiata from his upcoming reo Māori album, Te Whare Tīwekaweka (out on 4 April 2025). With his soaring vocals and gentle guitar, Marlon left the crowd spellbound.

To finish off the night, we had iconic supergroup Moana & The Tribe performing a selection of songs from their latest release, ONO. With Te Manahau Scotty Morrison‘s haka and karakia, Paddy Free‘s sonic and visual mastery, Trina Maniapoto‘s soulful harmonies and, of course, Moana Maniapoto’s powerhouse vocals and storytelling, the group shared their collaborative soundscapes with other First Nations whānau across the globe including Scotland, Australia and Taiwan.

We’d like to extend a big mihi to our artists and their crew for their incredible performances, representing Aotearoa and our beautiful, diverse musical landscape.

For more information on the PANNZ Arts Market, please visit their website here.

Photos credit: Dave Simpson