Rolling Stone New Zealand has unveiled the nominees for its first annual Panhead Rolling Stone New Zealand Awards, a celebration of Aotearoa music.
The inaugural awards will take place at Glasshouse in Auckland on August 31 following the local expansion of the iconic masthead earlier this year.
A broad range of genres are represented today across Best Record, Best Single, Best New Artist, and the Rolling Stone Global Award for the invitation-only night of live music, unlimited drinks and a celebration of incredible music.
Lorde is up for two Rolling Stone New Zealand Awards for Best Single for “Solar Power”, as well as the Rolling Stone Global Award alongside global exports BENEE, Six60, L.A.B, Crowded House and BROODS.
Other multi-award nominees include indie-pop artist BENEE, electro-pop sibling duo BROODS, stadium-fillers Six60, soul singer Teeks, and Crowded House, all with two nominations each.
The Best Record category is a mix of diverse genres with eight vastly different music works recognised. Nominees in this category are Stan Walker for Te Arohanui, BENEE for Lychee, Ladyhawke for Time Flies, Yumi Zouma for Present Tense, L.A.B for L.A.B V, Reb Fountain for IRIS, Aldous Harding for Warm Chris and Crowded House for Dreamers Are Waiting.
Four releases featuring te reo Māori will be honoured on the night, with Stan Walker’s Te Arohanui up for Best Record, Six60’s “Pepeha” and Rob Ruha & Ka Hao’s “35” both up for Best Single, and TE KAAHU up for Best New Artist.
The Rolling Stone Global Award will be judged by Rolling Stone’s global staff members to acknowledge the Kiwi artist they just can’t get enough of. The editorial team has previously crowned two winners in this category at the Australian edition of the awards, with Tame Impala and The Kid LAROI receiving the gong at the Australian ceremonies in 2021 and 2022.
Rolling Stone New Zealand editor in chief, Poppy Reid, said there has never been a more exciting time to celebrate Kiwi music.
“New Zealand is a hotbed for global export talent and that’s been proven time and time again as NZ artists punch well above their weight on the global stage.
“I can’t wait to acknowledge the artists and records that helped get us through a difficult time for every industry, but especially our music industry.
“I’m also thrilled that our judging panel consists of Rolling Stone’s global editors, who represent the brand in 15 countries,” Reid added. “To place Kiwi music front-and-centre with some of the world’s best music observers is an exciting opportunity our local industry.”
The next issue of Rolling Stone New Zealand arrives on newsstands September 5 with The Wiggles on the cover, and includes a feature on all today’s awards nominees. Also appearing in the next issue are interviews with musicians Ben Lee, Eddie Benjamin and Teeks, plus Twitch streamer Whippy, and features on the climate crisis, niche influencers and much more.
2022 PANHEAD ROLLING STONE
NEW ZEALAND AWARDS NOMINEES:
BEST RECORD:
Stan Walker – Te Arohanui
BENEE – Lychee
Ladyhawke – Time Flies
Yumi Zouma – Present Tense
L.A.B – L.A.B V
Reb Fountain – IRIS
Aldous Harding – Warm Chris
Crowded House – Dreamers Are Waiting
BEST SINGLE:
Gin Wigmore – “Hand Over Heart”
Teeks – “Younger”
Lorde – “Solar Power”
Six60 – “Pepeha”
Rob Ruha & Ka Hao – “35”
Lilbubblegum – “Billie Eilish”
BROODS ft. Tove Lo – “I Keep”
Mitch James – “Be Somebody”
BEST NEW ARTIST:
Goodwill
CHAII
Teeks
TE KAAHU
There’s a Tuesday
Muroki
Rory Noble
Reuben Fleetwood
ROLLING STONE GLOBAL AWARD:
