Kiwi pop sensation Benee won big at the weekend's Aotearoa Music Awards and Northlanders can see her at the Bay of Islands Music Festival in January.
Kiwi pop sensation Benee won big at the weekend's Aotearoa Music Awards and Northlanders can see her at the Bay of Islands Music Festival in January.
Kiwi pop star Benee and indie-pop act The Beths were the two big winners at the weekend's Aotearoa Music Award.
And Northlanders will get the chance to see both acts when they perform at the Bay of Islands Music Festival in January.
At last year's awards, Aucklander Benee scooped thewin in all four categories she was nominated in. On Saturday she did the double by replicating that incredible feat at the newly rebranded Aotearoa Music Awards.
The singer/songwriter collected the Te Waiata Totahi o te Tau/ Single of the Year Tui for her song Superlonely, which went viral on social media site TikTok during the first lockdown to become an international hit.
Benee, real name Stellar Bennett, also collected the awards for Te Kaipuoro Takitahi Toa/Best Solo Artist, Te Kaipuoro Arotini Toa/Best Pop Artist and the International Achievement award.
It's been a huge year for the 20-year-old pop star. Last month her song Glitter won the APRA Silver Scroll award and on Friday she released her long-awaited debut album Hey u x, which features collaborations with Lily Allen and Grimes.
Indie-pop band The Beths were also winners in multiple categories. They improved on last year's haul of two awards to walk away with three, including the coveted Te Pukaemi o te Tau/Album of the Year award, which they claimed for their second album Jump Rope Gazers.
The Beths, another big winner at the Aotearoa Music Awards who will play at January's Bay of Islands Music Festival.
For the second year in a row they also won awards for Te Roopu Toa/ Best Group and Te Kaipuoro Manohi Toa/ Best Alternative Artist.
And Crowd favourites Six60 - with lead singer Matiu Walters from Whangārei - scored a hattrick, winning Te Toa Hoko Teitei/Highest Selling Artist for the third consecutive year.
Northlanders can catch Benee and the Beths - as well as a host of other Kiwi acts - at the Bay of Islands Music Festival being held at Kainui Road Vineyard near Kerikeri on January 8. Also lined up are Dave Dobbyn, Tami Neilson and Melodownz.
In previous years the Bay of Islands Music Festival has had some of the biggest stars ever to perform in Northland, including Jimmy Cliff, Shaggy, and UB40 with Ali, Mikey and Astro.
But in the Covid world it's unsure when international acts will be allowed to come here, so the festival organiser decided to have an all-Kiwi lineup to ensure the show could go on.
The Bay of Island Music Festival tickets are $99 plus booking fees from www.eventfinda.co.nz. For more info go to www.BOImusicfestival.com.
