thebigcity

m artists

Jazmine Mary

Neo-folk and dark pop artist from Gippsland, Australia, based in New Zealand. Their trio of albums — The Licking of a Tangerine (2021), Dog (2023), and I Want to Rock and Roll (2025, Flying Nun) — trace a path through visceral, haunting folk music and bold psychedelic pop.

Venues

Wunderbar

Quirky two-room bar built into the hillside of Lyttelton, opened in 1991 by German publican Jörg Schwarz with a distinctly Berlin-influenced interior. One of the port town's best-loved live music venues.

f artists

Family Cactus

Wellington seven-piece indie pop and psych-folk band who released two albums on Arch Hill Recordings: Come Howling (2009) and Spirit Lights (2011). Known for their orchestral arrangements, the band wove guitars, organs, piano, synth, and autoharp into lush, expansive soundscapes.

c artists

Princess Chelsea

Auckland electropop singer-songwriter Chelsea Nikkel, recording as Princess Chelsea on Lil' Chief Records. Her four albums — from Lil' Golden Book (2011) to Everything Is Going To Be Alright (2022) — blend satirical wit with maximalist chamber pop. Winner of the 2023 Taite Music Prize.

a artists

All Seeing Hand

Wellington experimental trio combining Synthi AKS synthesis, throat singing and turntables in dense improvisational soundscapes.

b artists

Erny Belle

Ngāpuhi singer-songwriter whose alt-folk, country, and Pacific pop-tinged music is rooted in the Kaipara and her whakapapa. Her two Flying Nun albums — Venus Is Home (2022) and Not Your Cupid (2023) — established her as one of Aotearoa's most distinctive voices.

b artists

Beastwars

Wellington sludge metal band whose 2019 album IV debuted at number one on the NZ Albums Chart.

b artists

Beach Pigs

Auckland indie and pop-punk four-piece who released their debut EP on Arch Hill Recordings in 2012, followed by the album Grom Warfare in 2014. Known for their high-energy live shows and sun-soaked guitar pop.

a artists

Alaska!

Auckland indie folk project who released the album FLAWS in 2012 before evolving into Farah Loux. Active in the Auckland independent music scene of the early 2010s.

g artists

Glass Vaults

Wellington electronic pop duo Richard Larsen and Rowan Pierce, whose albums have been released on Flying Out and UK label Melodic.

p artists

Purple Pilgrims

New Zealand sister duo Clementine and Valentine Nixon — great-granddaughters of Scottish folk musician Davie Stewart — whose devotional dream pop spans Not Not Fun Records and Flying Nun. Albums: Eternal Delight (2016) and Perfumed Earth (2019). Now also recording as Clementine Valentine.

s artists

Seth Frightening

Wellington neo-folk musician Sean Kelly, who has performed alongside Grizzly Bear and Jónsi.