People's Choice Award winner Hori Shaw at the Aotearoa Music Awards 2024 on May 30, 2024 in Auckland. Photo / Getty Images
Three years ago, Ōpōtiki’s Hori Shaw lay paralysed and alone for 13 hours after being bucked from his horse during a hunting trip, wondering if he’d ever be able to walk again.
Now, after months in rehab and a focus on mastering his sound, he’s rubbing shoulders with the elite of the Kiwi music industry, but that hasn’t stopped him from keeping it real.
Mitchell Hageman discovers Shaw’s laid-back secret to success and how he’s bringing a dose of much-needed authenticity to the scene.
Rocking Red Band gumboots on the red carpet isn’t something you would usually see at the Aotearoa Music Awards (AMA), but it was only natural that rising music star Hori Shaw should bring a bit of East Coast flavour to the proceedings.
“That’s pretty much just all I wear is the old gumboots,” the musician told the Herald. “They just come with me everywhere I go”.
Winning the prestigious People’s Choice Award at the AMAs in June last year has been part of a whirlwind three years for the former concreter, whose inspiring story and laid-back artistry have struck a chord with audiences across Aotearoa.
Personal storytelling with themes of love, resilience, and self-discovery are a staple in Shaw’s work, with the genre-bending reggae roots artist getting serious about his musical passion after a life-changing injury.
“I fell off my horse while on a hunting trip,” the singer said. “I came off about midnight on a Friday. I tried to get up and stand up, but nah, f***d everything up and everything was just locked up.”
Alone and without any means of contacting someone, Shaw could do nothing but wait until help arrived.
“It wasn’t until later on Saturday afternoon my old man found me lying there. It was about 13 hours I was lying on the rocks waiting for help”.
He spent “about four weeks” in Auckland’s Middlemore Hospital with a further four months in spinal rehabilitation.
“I was concreting before my accident. When I had my accident, I couldn’t do much because I was in rehab and trying to get all my feelings and that back in my body.”
Music had always been a passion of his, so he thought he’d draw on his experiences and put pen to paper and voice to microphone.
“I thought, f***k, might as well just try and make some songs and see what happens and yeah it just took off”.
Shaw debuted in the Official New Zealand Top 40 Singles on October 28, 2024, with his hit song Back In My Arms.
The song peaked at No 1, and his other hit singles like Shawfyah and One Day have continued to stay in the Top 40 for weeks to this day.
He’s since performed in numerous festivals across the motu and is ready to headline his own special show in Auckland on February 14 at Lilyworld, part of Go Media Mt Smart Stadium.
He’ll also perform at this year’s One Love Festival in Tauranga on the weekend of January 25 and 26.
While Shaw loves working with his beat collaborator on crafting sounds, he says nothing beats the buzz of a live crowd.
“Just the crowd singing their hearts off to my songs. It’s an all-good feeling. The places you get to, and you think they’d never listen to your music, f***k they actually all listen”.
Renowned for its laid-back nature, it’s his East Coast home and upbringing that Shaw said drives much of his inspiration when making music.
“It’s just the lifestyle that I lived in Ōpōtiki growing up. All my music that I do is just based around my lifestyle.
“My nan, she was quite musical as well, and my koro on my old man’s and my old lady’s side. More instruments than singing”.
And there’s plenty more where that came from for the rising roots star, with a funding boost meaning more music is on the way.
“I’ve got some new songs coming out, because I’ve been funded by New Zealand On Air. I need to get on to that and get some more songs out there,” Shaw said.
His advice for others is just as authentic as the man himself: Just give it a go and try your best.
“If you’ve really got a passion for music, why not do it eh? Just keep pushing”.
Tickets for Hori Shaw’s headline Lilyworld performance are on sale now via Ticketspace.
Mitchell Hageman joined the Herald’s entertainment and lifestyle team in 2024. He previously worked as a multimedia journalist for Hawke’s Bay Today.