Waiata Māori Music Awards 2024 - A Great Success

On Friday October 18, the 17th National Waiata Māori Music Awards was held at the Toi Toi Hawke’s Bay Arts and Events Centre in Hastings. This annual event aims to promote the diversity of all Māori music and celebrate its excellence and recognise the unique vision of Māori composers and musicians, and has been proudly hosted in Kahungunu since its first awards event held in 2008.

This significant national event continues to be planned, led and organised by the National Waiata Māori Music Awards Trust under the management of executive director, Ellison Huata.

The theme for the 2024 awards was ‘Toitū te Toiere’.

“Toitū te Toiere is a powerful statement that emphasises the importance of preserving and protecting the messages within our waiata” – Ellison Huata.

“It is a call to ensure that our voices and the messages we convey through music remain undisturbed and continue to inspire and empower our people to decolonise their minds’.

“Just as ‘Toitū te Tiriti’, ‘Toitū te Māori Mana Motuhake’, and ‘Toitū Te Reo’ have highlighted important themes in our journey towards cultural resurgence, ‘Toitū te Toiere’ reminds us of the significance of our music in carrying forward our stories, teachings, and aspirations”

“Let us uphold and safeguard the integrity of our waiata, for they carry the essence of who we are and the dreams we hold for future generations”.

Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated has been a proud sponsor of the Waiata Māori Music Awards since its inception. It is with pleasure that we acknowledge the category winners many of whom were brand new to the awards. We also congratulate the Waiata Māori Music Awards Trust for their hard work in executing the event.

“It was a great evening. The celebration of exceptional Māori musical talents was awesome. Having a few of our Ngāti Kahungunu up and coming talents receive awards was the icing on the cake. Ka mau te wehi!” – Bayden Barber, Chairman, Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated.

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