Shane Gilchrist

Described as the new stars of Celtic music, Ross Ainslie and Jarlath Henderson attempt to push boundaries on traditional pipe instruments.

Frontman of The Feelers James Reid has completed a debut album that sounds like ... guess who.

The debut album from this Dunedin outfit (after a five-song EP last year), Sideshow is a curious mix: slick, fluid electric guitar lines (by John Sule) collide with a whimsical vocal delivery (by Glenda Rogers), creating a tension that sometimes works (closing track Country), but several times begs for a more complete delivery or some compositional reworking.

Anti-nuclear activist and author Maire Leadbeater says her book, Peace, Power & Politics, is a celebration of how the little people can effect big change, writes Shane Gilchrist.

Count friendship and fun among the range of influences in the unpretentious and infectious garage-pop of Dunedin band Males, writes Shane Gilchrist.

Focusing solely on a moment in time, specifically the first Miami Pop Festival of May 1968, a performance some Hendrix fans claim was his very best, this documents a show in which Hendrix turned up the degrees on his guitar genius.

The next saviour of Brit-pop, a new Dylan ... Nottingham's Jake Bugg has been proclaimed as various things since his self-titled album landed a year ago, taking the then 18-year-old straight to the top of the British charts.

As the technical scope of ventriloquist David Strassman's shows has grown over the years so, too, has the complexity of his characters, writes Shane Gilchrist.

A good country song is all about the story, New Zealand legend Patsy Riggir tells Shane Gilchrist.

Auckland songwriter Sam Prebble has turned a long-held interest in Antarctic history into a musical project that is anything but cold and isolated.

Former member of Tui Award-winning Dunedin group Delgirl, Deirdre Newall's move to explore fresh paths a couple of years ago has resulted in an album that benefits from her collaboration with musicians unafraid to twist and warp musical genres.

The Roxburgh Gorge Trail and the Clutha Gold Trail have been an exercise in balancing preservation with public access.

Part of the Government's New Zealand Cycleway Project, the Roxburgh Gorge Trail and Clutha Gold Trail open next week. It is hoped they will build on the success of the Otago Central Rail Trail. Shane Gilchrist surveys the view ahead while also looking over his shoulder at what has passed.

Lifestyle? Balance? These are not concepts one would normally associate with the hard-working, hard-rocking former Cambridge band the Datsuns, but let's allow the words to dangle a while, to see what comes next.

Having made its live debut towards the end of 2008, Dunedin band Mountaineater has built a reputation for employing volume as a rather visceral element in its live shows. In other words, it's a loud band.

Irish singer Enda Kenny, a guest at the fifth biennial Dunedin Celtic Arts Festival, explains to Shane Gilchrist the difference between a song and a tune.

Former Dunedin film-makers Harley Neville and Guy Pigden's move from comedy-horror to drama suggests the pair might have matured ... well, a little at least. But they still need some money, Shane Gilchrist discovers.

American sceptic and author Guy P. Harrison urges people to stand up for their brains and question everything, all of the time, writes Shane Gilchrist.

On the back-country slopes of the Southern Alps, a select group of skiers and snowboarders are seeking both adventure and exposure. Shane Gilchrist bears witness to the World Heli Challenge.