Wizardry with Melody

“What Peter Jackson did for New Zealand tourism with the most expensive ad campaign ever — The Lord of the Rings — singer/songwriter Maisey Rika could possibly do for New Zealand music,” Honolulu Weekly reporter Matthew DeKneef says. “But where the Rings trilogy was all lush panoramic sights, Rika’s wizardry is cast with lush melodic sounds. Scaling the musical landscape of Aotearoa to Oahu, this Maori Vocalist of the Year will make her Hawaii debut, harmonizing with four-time Grammy Award winner George Kahumoku Jr. at The Venue in Chinatown [on 3 and 12 March]. Rika, who hails from Whakatane, pens lyrics with “reflections of domestic violence and Maori displacement. The tunes will surely have your heart and soul dancing with hope and sorrow.”