Don McGlashan has been elected to APRA's Australasian board as the NZ Writer Director, replacing Arthur Baysting who has retired after 18 years of service.

Rock reggae band Hikoikoi have set the dates of their first Australian tour: thevenue tour will see them visit Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane and play at two major festivals. The Shine On festival is a three-day music and arts camping festival held in the Pyreness Ranges, Victoria and the Byron Bay Reggaefest celebrates 50 years of reggae with conscious reggae and dancehall artists from all over the world. Hikoikoi's Australian tour builds on the success of their selection for Woodford's Dreaming Festival in June this year where they wowed audiences with their roots rock blend and performed alongside indigenous artists from Australia and the Pacific. The huge response encouraged their dream to take the music on a full scale tour. Read more...

Ariana Tikao has just finished some successful performances of her Ohaki show, featuring Richard Nunns and her Christchurch-based band; the first show was for the opening of Beca Heritage Week in the ChristChurch Cathedral, and they also performed at the Nelson Arts Festival at the Suter Theatre; both performances received standing ovations.

New Release Fanfare
The Black Seeds' long awaited, first ever live album is out this week - the deluxe limited edition CD/DVD package includes 12 live tracks recorded in venues around the world, each with personal comments from the band, plus a bonus DVD featuring new material and a selection of their finest audiovisual content to date, as well as photo galleries and wallpaper downloads and postcards. Read more...

Vector Wellington Orchestra's 70th anniversary commemoration of Kristallnacht was one of the most unforgettable concerts of 2008. Now available on CD, Requiem is a live recording taken from the concert, featuring Boris Pigovat's ‘Holocaust Requiem'for solo viola and orchestra, as well as some of his chamber music for viola and for string quartet. The CD comes with a fantastic booklet in both English and Hebrew, and will be launched together with the orchestra's 2011 season in the Wellington Town Hall, on November 13 at the VWO's “Organ Symphony” concert.  Read more...

Georgina Zellan-Smith is one of New Zealand's most accomplished pianists, with a long list of accolades dating right back to her debut at London's Wigmore Hall through to her recordings of Ravel and laterley her work with the Auckland University. She felt there was a gap in the market for a solo piano album of pieces which are constantly asked for over the counters, and thus this project was born. Many of these short pieces such as ‘Robin's Return'and ‘Remembrance'are old favourites and Georgina also includes a touch of local flavour with her transcription of ‘Hine e Hine'. Read more...

New M4U atist Ria showcases her new track Over You here in this live video. Out in your stores this week is Pikachunes' self-titled debut album (via Lil'Chief), and all-girl '80s band Cassandra's Ears' compilation The Cassandra's Ears Story.

Auckland psycho-surf-rock'n'roll-a-billy quintet The Drab Doo-Riffs are set to release their brand new single “Hot Tanya”, complete with a killer video from animators Chris Stapp (Back of the Y) and M.F. Joyce (and with thanks to NZ On Air).

On the live front

The Parachute Band join Kingston, The Ember Days and Tokyo Keys to perform this Saturday night (November 27) at the Life FM fundraiser to help secure the station's key radio frequencies for the next 20 years. Auckland's Mercury Theatre will host the event this Saturday November 27. Read more...

Christmas comes early this year - the annual 1157 Xmas show comes to town December 9th at the Kings Arms; this year's line up is Cobra Khan, new signing Gatherer along with friends Black Tuesday and Out Of Step. Tickets are available now at UnderTheRadar. Antagonist A.D are releasing a limited edition 7-inch 'Old Bones Make New Blooms' which ships December 7th and includes a free digital download code; pre-order yours now from the Trial & Error Records web store.To celebrate the release Antagonist A.D announce a string of summer dates, and they're playing No Sleep Til Auckland on December 10.

"Ain't No Mountain High Enough: A Wellington Hospices Concert" at The Opera House, 28 Nov 2010, 7 p.m. will showcase Wellington musicians performing Motown, blues, gospel and soul songs that touch the heart, and is produced by Ian Gwynne-Robson, a doctor at Te Omanga Hospice. One goal of the concert is to show, with music, the hope and healing that can happen at the end of life, and therefore take away some of the anxiety that patients/family/whanau may feel when referral to the Hospice is made. Artistic Director Melody Thomas has organised a fabulous line up of musicians, including Mara TK, Lisa Tomlins, Ryan Prebble, Toni Huata, Thomas Oliver, Ria Hall, Tyna Keelan, Darren Watson, Ned Worboys, Brannigan Kaa, and many more. Read more...

The Global Breakthrough Festival in Mount Maunganui already boasts a line-up that includes Kora, Opensouls, Sola Rosa, Ben Merito, Regan, Porina and lots more to be announced, but the organisers have something fairly special in mind for the proceeds: 100% of all ticket sales is being donated to Tauranga Women's Refuge Charitable Trust. The main event will take place on Saturday 19 February at Baypark Stadium. If over 3000 people join the festival's Facebook fan page by 1 December, they'll release the first 3000 tickets at just $10, and there will also be "pay it forward" options, where punters can choose to pay more for their tickets - thus donating more to the cause.

More acts have been added to the bill of Jim Beam Homegrown for March 5 2011, which includes a good spread from the IMNZ whanau. The Vodafone Dub and Roots stage has Shapeshifter, TrinityRoots, Tiki, Katchafire joining Six60 and Salmonella Dub; The Jim Beam Rock line-up has The Checks and Black River Drive and the feelers as welll as Blindspott, Midnight Youth, Elemeno-P and  I Am Giant; the Red Bull Studio Live stage hosts The Clean, The Ruby Suns, Tommy Ill, Coco Solid and Die! Die! Die! as well as The Phoenix Foundation, Cairo Knife Fight, Family Cactus, Artisan Guns and Kids of 88; the Vodafone Pop and RnB Stage features Savagevs. Scribe, PNC, Kidz In Space plus Dane Rumble, J Williams, Nesian Mystik, DJ Logikal, Ivy Lies, Motocade and Supermodel; on the Nokia Electronic stage are State of Mind live, The Upbeats and Optimus Gryme joining Tim Phin, Maya and Vanya, Dick Johnson and Clarke Gayford; and last but not least, the free-to-the-public Amphitheatre stage features the country's premier 3 on 3 breakdancing competition and grooves from Sunshine Soundsystem, Jayson Norris and the Brazilbeat Sound System. For the full lineup and tickets check out www.homegrown.net.nz.

One of New Zealand's busiest bands, Die!Die!Die! are heading out on the road again, playing Auckland, Wellington, Lyttleton and Port Chalmers from December 10th to 18th. Presales available now from www.undertheradar.co.nz

Black Tuesday's first 2 singles, ‘May 15'and ‘Soundtrack', (lifted from a self-titled 6-track EP released in July) have been favs on alt radio rotation around the country, and earlier this year, they received a popular reception as a highlight of the Borderline Music Festival and supported international Goth rock stalwarts Christian Death in August. The band are celebrating the release of their video for ‘May 15'on November 25 with Teen Hygiene and the Freudoids at Whammy Bar, K 'Road, Auckland; their new single 'Thinking of You' is available a limited time download link.