Halton Hart 'Grandad Mait'

Halton Hart are Caitlyn 17, Marissa 16, and Erica Byars 10, Jaelyn 10 and Meila Scully 12, Taegan 10 and Hazel Evans 7, and Georgia Martin 11.

Between them the girls can play acoustic guitar, bass, ukulele, banjo and Mando Guitar.

Halton Hart is a very rare and unique musical family of 8 girls, where music plays a massive role in their lives. All the girls have been taught music by Gore based recording artist Kayla Mahon with all starting at the young age of 2, up on the stage, singing on the country music competition circuit.

To honor their family's heritage and create a name that bound them together, the girls chose Halton Hart. ‘Halton’ comes from Halton Street, Gore, the home of Grandad Mait and Nana Horrell. Grandad Mait's love for traditional country music and yodeling set the stage for a family tradition that has continued through Kayla Mahon and now finds new voice in Halton Hart.

Following their engaging performance as Halton Hart at the 2024 Waikaia cavalcade, the girls are now launching their own gigs, fuelled by a genuine love for singing!

Georgia, Meila and Jaelyn recently travelled to Tamworth Country Music Festival 2025, winning hearts, and were asked to perform in the Busking Finals for guests at the Tamworth Bowlo. Meila made the top 5 at the Golden Gig Finals at Tamworth Country Music festival also.

Georgia and Meila also go under the duo name ‘The Sparks’ and are the current runner up overall Junior Gold Guitar winners. The girls opened for the Mitchell Twins last year at Gore’s Little Theatre. Georgia is the current Junior Overall Winner for the Dunedin Country Music Awards 2023.

A love of the outdoors binds these girls together. Hunting, exploring remote hill country, four-wheel driving, and motor biking are more than just hobbies; they're shared passions. With their Stony Creek gear on, they live for these adventures. The girls listen to a lot of the new country music, and have a strong love of the music of Lainey Wilson and Kaylee Bell.

Halton Hart often open gigs for Kayla Mahon, their Aunty, who is exceptionally proud of them all.

A funny tale about Grandad, he was cheeky and always liked to have people on. “Grandad Mait” tells a snippet of his life and he loved to share his stories with his family. This song has the good old country feel that we hope brings you a smile.

Grandad loved his traditional music: Tex Morton, Slim Dusty, and Johnny Cash.

In the studio, it was an amazing experience. The girls recorded their singles at Music South by Aaron Ives and had a great time using the big studio at Southland Institute of Technology in Invercargill. Capturing their voices at this time will always be such a treasure as they grow older. Their personalities are all different, from the quiet, dark horses that bring out the music magic, and then to the “no holding ‘em back” attitude that drives the spark in the family.

GRANDAD MAIT CREDITS:

Songwriter : Kayla Mahon
Lead Singers: Erica Byars, Jaelyn Scully. Taegan and Hazel Evans
Dan Consgrove from DC Studio did the Final mixing of the Tracks.
Banjo – Peter Cairns
Guitars – Simon Thompson
Bass – Asher Skerret
Drums – Aaron Ives
Fiddle – Nick Jones

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