Tonight, as part of the 56th annual Alexandra Blossom Festival, the Alexandra Musical Society begins a week-long season of Buddy Holly. Rather than go behind the scenes, Shane Gilchrist chooses a different vantage point.
Sydney-based Kiwi Jan Preston has a passion for the piano. She also likes to boogie, writes Shane Gilchrist.
Blacklistt, brimful of former members of West Auckland metal band Blindspott, offers more than a name change, writes Shane Gilchrist.
Songs such as Damn The Dam, Lovely Lady and Higher Trails lifted John Hanlon to critical success in the mid-1970s, yet the Kiwi songwriter walked away from the music industry. Shane Gilchrist finds out why.
Mathieu Cloutier, one of the seven stars of Traces, ran away to join the circus at 18. He hasn't looked back, he tells Shane Gilchrist.
The United States weekly radio programme This American Life once featured a story about a man who recalled, as a boy, sending his estranged father cassette tapes on which he had recorded various life events, along with a request to reciprocate the gesture.
Best known for his role as Sgt Larvelle ''Motor Mouth'' Jones in the Police Academy film series, Michael Winslow says he has made a career out of acting like a child. Shane Gilchrist listens carefully.
The attack on Passchendaele on October 12, 1917, is remembered for its cost in human life. A new book by New Zealand author Dr Andrew Macdonald challenges old beliefs surrounding New Zealand's worst military disaster. He talks to Shane Gilchrist.
Dunedin-born film-maker Daniel Joseph Borgman taps into a lazy-afternoon feeling for his feature-length debut, The Weight Of Elephants, writes Shane Gilchrist.
Wanaka-based author and fly-fisherman Derek Grzelewski is an adventurous soul. He also makes a nice cuppa (even if it is fruit tea), writes Shane Gilchrist.
For his latest novel, Duncan Sarkies has enjoyed getting inside his characters' heads and staying there. The former Dunedin author clearly doesn't mind juggling his projects either, writes Shane Gilchrist.
Transpower's transmission corridors will be the subject of debate for three days from tomorrow as a Central Otago District Council hearings panel considers the controversial plan change 8.
Expected to expand faster than Auckland over the next 18 years, the Queenstown Lakes district is experiencing a few growing pains, particularly when it comes to property. Shane Gilchrist reports.
Keen to avoid the ''I'm bored'' refrain that has the potential to raise parental hackles in the school holidays? Read on, Shane Gilchrist suggests.
Want to help children understand the origin, evolution and functions of currency? Then best wrap such education in chocolate.
Remember LP and 45 records? Shane Gilchrist goes for a spin in the world of those who believe music via vinyl is fantastic.
Critically acclaimed he may be, but Dudley Benson has a love-hate relationship with music. The former choirboy turned unconventional composer talks to Shane Gilchrist about inspiration, fear of rejection and why he has chosen to make Dunedin his home.
Up to 10 new jobs are likely at Fulton Hogan as a result of its successful tender for the 3 Waters contract with the Central Otago District Council.
Maxine Williams might have plenty to say about the arts, but she is encouraging others to make their opinions heard as the draft Central Otago Arts Strategy is put to the public for consultation.
Following controversy, complaints and a mayoral apology, the Dalai Lama will address audiences in Dunedin on Tuesday. Shane Gilchrist asks who is this man?
