Auckland is one of the most diverse cities in the world: its 1.5 million residents span more than 220 ethnic groups, and four in ten Aucklanders were born overseas. It is also home to a large Pacific population and 60 per cent of Māori live in Auckland and surrounding regions.
With music and language intrinsically linked in Māori and Pacific culture, these communities add a richness and a unique sound to the city’s cultural fabric: Māori waiata (songs) and moteatea (laments) serve a particularly important function, capturing otherwise untold histories and expressing our city’s stories of love, fear, anger and loss.
Auckland has a coterie of artists and musicians who contribute to the diversity of the city and our communities. As a city, Auckland values its music sector – the music-makers, the heroes, as well as the specialists – working across a wide range of genre and roles.
