Biography
Vera Ellen is a Wellington-based indie rock singer-songwriter who has established herself as one of New Zealand’s most compelling contemporary artists. Born and raised in Naenae, Lower Hutt, she is the youngest of four siblings and began writing songs from an early age, penning her first at the age of eight.
After playing in Wellington bands including punk group Gaol Bait, grunge four-piece Maple Syrup, and Sweater, Vera relocated to Los Angeles where she co-founded Girl Friday, whose music appeared on Sub Pop’s sub-label Hardly Art. She also supported The Beths on a 2019 American tour. The COVID-19 pandemic brought her back to New Zealand in 2020, where she signed to Flying Nun Records and began recording her Flying Nun debut album.
Her 2021 Flying Nun debut It’s Your Birthday earned her the Best Alternative Artist award at the 2022 Aotearoa Music Awards and a Taite Music Prize shortlisting. Her follow-up album Ideal Home Noise (2023), produced by Ben Lemi (Trinity Roots, French For Rabbits, Dawn Diver) and recorded at Wellington’s The Surgery studio, won the 2024 Taite Music Prize — awarded at a ceremony in Auckland on 23 April 2024, with a $12,500 prize from Recorded Music NZ. Internationally, the album reached #3 in Rolling Stone’s Top NZ Albums of 2023 and charted at #55 on the NACC Radio 200 Chart in the USA, and received coverage in France’s Le Monde and UK’s Loud & Quiet magazine.
Vera has toured extensively with her band, including a 14-date tour of China, a sold-out Australian run supporting Crowded House, and appearances at New Colossus Festival and SXSW. She also performed at the 2023 APRA Silver Scrolls as Vera Ellen and the Exploding Rainbow Orchestra, paying tribute to Don McGlashan. In May 2024 she released the self-recorded EP heartbreak for jetlag, which earned a Best Alternative Artist nomination at the 2025 Aotearoa Music Awards.
Her third album with Flying Nun Records, Heaven Knows What Time, is due for release on 1 May 2026. Written during a songwriting residency in Greytown awarded through the NZ Pacific Studio Artist Residency Programme and produced by Ben Lemi, it features the singles “Gayfever” and “When It’s Over” (ft. Hemi Hemingway).
Members
- Vera Ellen Williams (vocals, guitar, songwriting)
- Ben Lemi (producer, multi-instrumentalist, drums; Trinity Roots, French For Rabbits, Dawn Diver)
- Albert River (bass, backing vocals; A.U.R.A.)
- Mark Austin (producer, recording engineer; It’s Your Birthday)
- Samuel Austin (co-director, collaborator)
- Hemi Hemingway (guest vocals; Heaven Knows What Time)
Discography
- It’s Your Birthday [LP] (2021, Flying Nun Records, FN600)
- Ideal Home Noise [LP] (2023, Flying Nun Records, FN609LP)
- Heaven Knows What Time [LP] (2026, Flying Nun Records)