The Aotearoa NZ Folk Alliance (ANZFA) will host the third annual Ballads to Blues showcase of New Zealand folk artists in Dunedin in early January.
The showcase, which will include the inaugural ANZFA Folk Music Awards and feature guest artists from Taranaki, Lyttelton, Wellington and Auckland, will be held on Friday, January 3, from 8pm at Hanover Hall, Dunedin.
In a statement, ANZFA founder Mike Moroney said the Ballads to Blues show promised to be a ‘‘one-out-of-the-box’’ folk event for 2025.
Among the featured artists would be NZ folk music icons Mike Harding, Gumboot Tango, Janet Muggeridge and Dave Murphy, Auckland bluesman Neil Finlay and Tui award-winning troubadour Adam McGrath.
The evening will be glued together by the houseband — the Dunedin Ceilidh Orchestra.
Folk music awardsMr Moroney said the inaugural ANZFA Folk Music Awards Ceremony would involve six finalists competing for a range of awards, including Best Folk Album 2024 (as voted for by ANZFA members), Best Traditional, Original, Kiwiana and Americana albums judged by an ANZFA-appointed panel.
The six finalists, selected from 15 submissions, will be ‘‘Caution 15’’ by Railway Pie, ‘‘Dear Companions’’ by Adam McGrath, ‘‘Dog and Pony Show’’ by Matt Hay, ‘‘Going Home’’ by Martha Louise, ‘‘Pathways’’ by Gavin Asher, and ‘‘The Winter Light’’ by Amiria Grenell.
Tickets for the Ballads to Blues showcase are available through Humanitix. — APL
