2007 Tui Finalists

News release
December 19, 2007

Experienced artists lead folk music finalists

The finalists for New Zealand's Best Folk Music Album of 2007 have been announced with the contenders all experienced artists.

The finalists are Phil Garland, The Hobnail Boots and Owen Hugh who between them have released more than 30 CDs in careers collectively spanning more than 55 years.

Often referred to as 'the father of New Zealand folk music', Phil Garland is a finalist for 'Southern Odyssey', his 18th album.

It's the fourth time the Southland folklorist and balladeer has been a finalist for the award. His very first album "Springtime in the Mountains" took out the inaugural Folk Album of the Year Tui at the New Zealand Music Awards in 1984 as did 'Send the Boats Away' a year later - an album to which he contributed.

Following a break to raise a family, The Hobnail Boots singer/songwriter Rob Joass and partner Jo Moir have reformed the Wellington five-piece to release their fifth album, "The Fortune Horses".

The former bar band is now plying its trade at folk clubs, wineries, cafes and theatres where their songs have more space to breathe. The Hobnail Boots has toured throughout New Zealand, the US, Canada and Europe over the past decade..

Originally from Scotland, Owen Hugh recorded his first album in New Zealand in 1991. His new record called "You and I" is Hugh's first in seven years after working on archive tracks and overcoming writers' block.

The Auckland-based artist appears regularly on the city's folk circuit and recently returned to Scotland to perform there and in England.

The Tui award for Best Folk Music Album of 2007 will be announced in Kumeu at the Auckland Folk Festival on Sunday 27 Jan 2008. The winner will also be acknowledged at the New Zealand Music Awards in October 2008.

Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ) CEO Campbell Smith is delighted the finalists are such experienced artists.

"Folk music has never been stronger if the quality of entries received is anything to go by," Campbell says. "And, it's great to see that some of the genre's most experienced artists are being recognised for their contributions not only in 2007 but for their work over decades."

The Auckland Folk Festival runs from Friday January 25 until Sunday January 28, 2008. The festival is in its 35th year and its 18th at the Kumeu Showgrounds. Information about the event is available at http://www.aucklandfolkfestival.co.nz/

NOTE TO EDITORS:
The Tui for Best Folk Album 2007 is for recordings released between 16 November 2006 & 15 November 2007. The Folk category was introduced to the awards in 1984.

Recent previous winners of the Tui for Best Folk Album
2004 - Bob McNeill for his album 'Turn the Diesels'
2005 - Lorina Harding for the album 'Clean Break'
2006 - Ben the Hoose (Kenny Ritch and Bob McNeill) for 'The Little Cascade'.
Or refer to http://www.nzmusicawards/ (see history section).

Finalists' websites
http://www.philgarland.co.nz/
http://www.hobnailboots.co.nz/
http://www.owenhugh.co.nz/

About RIANZ: The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand Inc (RIANZ) is a non-profit organisation representing major and independent record producers, distributors and recording artists throughout New Zealand. RIANZ works to protect the rights and promote the interests of creative people involved in the New Zealand recording industry.

Issued for the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand by Pead PR

Contacts:
Bonnie Smail, Pead PR, Tel: 0-9-918 5581; Mob: 021 722 276, bonnie@peadpr.co.nz

2007 Country Music Award finalists announced.

News release May 4,
Two relative newcomers and one of New Zealand’s favourite country duos are the finalists for the Best Country Music Album of 2007. Perennial Kiwi country favourites The Topp Twins join Wellington’s Warren Love Band and Johnny Possum’s Good Time Hootin’ Band from Christchurch as the three to compete for this year’s Tui award. The winner is to be announced at the Gold Guitar Awards in Gore in June and will also be acknowledged at the New Zealand Music Awards in October.Jools and Lynda Topp have been selected as a finalist for their album “Flowergirls & Cowgirls”. The Waikato-born and Auckland-based duo aren’t strangers to the music awards stage after winning the best Country Album Tui in 2001 for their highly successful ‘Grass Highway’ album.

Former busker Warren Love’s debut album “Warren Love Band” comes off the street, teaming up with some of country’s leading New Zealand musicians. They include Warratahs’ accordionist Al Norman and local music icon Wayne Mason, writer of ‘Nature’.Formed in 2005, Johnny Possum’s Good Time Hootin’ Band’s debut CD “Tickets” features old and new country favourites as well as an original single called ‘Bluegrass Saved the Earth’. Taking their cue from traditional country music roots, the band has included several standard tunes with new arrangements whilst also digging deeper into 19th century blues to apply the special Possum treatment.

New Zealand Music Awards spokesperson Campbell Smith says the finalists represent a cross section of country music in New Zealand.“Jools and Lynda are New Zealand’s icons, superb songwriters and entertainers.“Johnny Possum and Warren Love bring a fresh new perspective to country music with their modern interpretations and wonderful story lines.

Country music is very much alive and well in New Zealand as the standard of these finalists shows,” Campbell says.“It’s fantastic to see our Country artists producing great music, and when they come together in Gore at the biggest Country music festival in New Zealand, it makes for a very special occasion. ”The winners are announced at the New Zealand Country Music Awards on Friday June 1 in Gore as part of the Gold Guitar celebrations. Attracting more than 5,000 country music fans during the festival, Gold Guitar week is in its 34th year. For more information visit: http://www.goldguitars.co.nz More information about the Country Music Album of the Year Award is available at http://www.nzmusicawards.co.nz

About RIANZ: The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand Inc (RIANZ) is a non-profit organisation representing major and independent record producers, distributors and recording artists throughout New Zealand. RIANZ works to protect the rights and promote the interests of creative people involved in the New Zealand recording industry.endsIssued for the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ) by Pead PRRIANZ Best Country Music Album (Tui award)For more information including award criteria and history, and finalist information please contact:
Pead PR ContactBonnie Smail, Pead PR, Tel: 0-9-918 5581, Mob: 021 722 276, E-mail: bonnie@peadpr.co.nz Bonnie Smail( bus +64 (9) 9185581 mob 021 722 276Level 2, Carlton DFK Centre, 135 BroadwayPrivate Bag 99911, Newmarket, Auckland

Ben the Hoose - NZ North Island Tour 2007

Scottish duo Ben the Hoose announce a North Island tour in March 2007 in support of their album The Little Cascade. Ben the Hoose is a duo featuring fiddler Kenny Ritch from Orkney, and songwriter and guitarist Bob McNeill from Glasgow. One of New Zealands most exciting folk/roots stage acts, Ben the Hoose draws heavily on the fiddle dance tradition of Scotland to create irresistible music. Live performances feature a wealth of traditional Scottish tunes as well as modern compositions and Bobs original songs

Ben the Hoose released their debut album The Little Cascade in October 2006. It has since won the Tui Award for Best Folk Album of 2006.

Dates for the Ben the Hoose shows are as follows:

• 07/03 Comfort Hotel, Wellington
• 08/03 The Plateau, Taupo
• 09/03 Marae Atea, Waikato Museum, Hamilton
• 10/03 Rocky Bay Hall, Waiheke Island
• 11/03 The Bunker, Devonport, Auckland
• 13/03 Mayfair Cafe, Upper Hutt

Full details can be found on the Ben the Hoose website. See: www.benthehoose.com/calendar.asp
Warning: Contains Scottish Music

Tui Award Finalists 2006

Here are links to the finalists of the Best Folk Album 2006 award (the award is called a 'Tui' after our native songbird):

• Bob Bickerton, The Likes of Us
• Ben the Hoose, Little Cascade
• The Warratahs, Keep On

There are samples on all the sites. The winner will be announced at the Auckland Folk Festival, on Sunday, 29th January 2007. A full list of award winners and finalists since the category was introduced in 1984 can be found here .

NZ Music Awards: The Folk Tui

A few years ago the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ) decided in its wisdom to drop a number of categories in its prestigious awards event, The Tuis. This for no better reason than there was no time to award them in their overblown, self-congratulatory, pop-music focussed awards ceremony. Among the categories dropped were Folk and Country causing consternation in both camps. After a bit of lobbying it was decided that these awards would still be facilitated by RIANZ but that the award would be announced at (for Country) the New Zealand Gold Guitar Awards in Gore each June and (for Folk) at the Auckland Folk Festival in January. These awards were reinstated about a year after they were initially dropped and have been running satisfactorily for the last 4 years.

There was much discussion on the nz-folk list at the time about the worth of the award, about turning folk music into a competition, about the commercial imperative that underpins the awards and more. The testimony of those that had won the Tui in the past was that it was of considerable value in promoting themselves and their music, both nationally and internationally and was worth persuing. Anything that was good for folk music was good for folk music, no matter how cynically it was regarded. There certainly is an element of prestige associated with it.

Recently the discussion hit the fan again as the three finalists in the Folk category for 2006 were announced. The award will be made next weekend at the end of January (at the Auckland Folk Festival). Each year five 'appropriate' people are approached in confidence by RIANZ and asked to be a judge for the category. Upon acceptance, they are sent all the albums that have been submitted for that category and a bare set of outlines for judging (which are largely irrelevant for folk music: commercial viability, radio friendliness etc.) basically asking them to be rated in order of preference. The top three (and, presumably, the winner) are selected from collation of the judges' returns.

This year the finalists were announced as follows:

"Scottish-born duo Ben The Hoose are Kenny Rich and Bob McNeill, a finalist with the album ‘The Little Cascade’ while Birmingham-born Bob Bickerton gains a finals berth for ‘The Likes of Us’. Third finalist is evergreen Kiwi folksters The Warratahs with the quintet’s seventh album ‘Keep On’."

The somewhat heated discussion arose around "evergreen Kiwi folksters The Warratahs" who have always been regarded as a Country music band. Indeed they performed at the Gold Guitar Awards when they started about a hundred years ago. What are they doing in the Folk category? And finalists to boot!

The RIANZ rules of engagement state that an album can be nominated in only one category. It stands to reason that an artist will place their album in the category where they think they will get the fairest hearing. The Warratahs, based largely around the country-style songwriting of Barry Saunders, have been around for 20 years and are without a doubt, a great, shit-kicking country band. The fact is, they've never fared well in country music circles, possibly because they don't wear big hats, sing with an American accent or play The Gambler. Country music buffs have stayed away from them in droves (speaking as one who has organised a couple of concerts for them) because they're a bit too clever, too original and don't fit the C&W mold.

Their strategy has paid off; they're finalists. There was indignation expressed from some who had their "proper folk album" nominated and nudged out by these folk pretenders - resulting in another unhealthy round of "What is folk?" discussion that just went to show that nobody can agree but we know it when we hear it. And the end of the day, five folk-friendly judges chose the finalists and all the best to all of them! I for one see it as a vote of confidence in the eclecticism of the folk scene that The Warratahs took a punt on us.