Wairarapa muso shares NZ music award

SUCCESS: Warren Maxwell, Featherston musician and UCOL Wairarapa music tutor, accepts the Best Roots Album award for his group TrinityRoots at the 2015 New Zealand Music Awards. PHOTO/FACEBOOK

FEATHERSTON musician Warren Maxwell has helped capture yet more industry accolades after the three-piece band in which he plays, TrinityRoots, took the New Zealand Music Award for Best Roots Album.

The UCOL Wairarapa music tutor, who also runs Stone Feather recording studios, accepted the award on behalf of the platinum-selling group at the awards ceremony held at Vector Arena in Auckland on Thursday.

Maxwell opened his victory address in te reo Maori before thanking sound engineer and co-producer of the Citizen album, Lee Prebble, and all the musicians who worked on the offering, which was released in March.

Maxwell also gave thanks to his label and production houses and tour management team and "my Massey colleagues - we're starting a new commercial degree next year" and to the agencies funding the arts.

"I'd like to thank our families at home ... all our whanau and all of our fans - this is for our mums."

The group features Maxwell on lead vocals and guitar, Rio Hemopo on bass and backing vocals and Ben Wood on drums, guitar and vocals. Citizen is the third studio album for the group after its platinum-selling debut album from 2001, True, and platinum-seller Home, Land, and Sea from 2004.

TrinityRoots in 2001 also dropped a self-titled EP and in 2010 released a live album.

Other finalists in the category were Moana and the Tribe for the album, Rima, and Latinaotearoa for the album titled, Latinaotearoa in Latinoamerica.

Brother and sister duo Broods topped the Tui tally, capturing Album of the Year, Best Group, Best Pop Album for Evergreen, and Radio Airplay Record of the Year. Marlon Williams took Best Male Solo Artist and Breakthrough Artist of the Year. Best Female Solo Artist was Gin Wigmore.