Stories by Kirsten Johnstone

Kirsten Johnstone takes a look at some great podcast options for the younger members of your family.  Audio

Following the Prime Minister's guidelines on large, unseated gatherings this morning, Auckland's Polyfest has been cancelled, and Wellington's Kiwi music festival Homegrown will not be going ahead…

Elton John's Farewell Yellow Brick Road concert has all the grandiosity, sentimentality and glamour you'd expect from a consummate showman’s retirement party. 

At the turn of the millennium 15,000 people gathered at the top of a mountain to dance. And then, it rained. A lot. Produced by Kirsten Johnstone Audio

As a kid growing up in Flaxmere, Tipene assumed his destiny was being a Mongrel Mob member, but music steered him on a different course. Kirsten Johnstone finds out about the long and winding path to… Video, Audio

A new documentary playing at the NZ Film Festival called The Gift: The Journey of Johnny Cash is a sensitive and compelling portrait of the man and the artist. As film-maker Thom Zimny tells Kirsten… Audio

Paddy Free is one half of pioneering NZ electronic act Pitch Black. He's collaborated with top musicians including Moana Manipoto, Neil Finn and the NZ Symphony Orchestra, and produced some of this… Video, Audio

Wellington’s Beastwars is perhaps New Zealand’s best-loved metal band, so when they broke up in 2016, fans were gutted. Worse news was to follow – a year later, the band’s frontman Matt Hyde was… Audio

Taken from his family as a toddler, Lonnie Holley had a traumatic childhood - neglect, abuse, being hit by a car, put in a prison camp, and living through the Civil Rights movement of mid-60s… Audio

It’s been 16 years since Scott Mannion released music with his duo The Tokey Tones. Now he's back with his first ever solo album, Loving Echoes. RNZ Music is stoked to the first to share his video for… Video, Audio

Taranaki born soul singer Bailey Wiley is becoming stronger and more resolutely herself with each release. Kirsten Johnstone finds out more about her evolution. Video, Audio

'Cosmic Cowgirl' Kacey Musgraves played the Auckland Town Hall on Friday, charming a diverse crowd of devoted fans. Kirsten Johnstone sat down with her to find out more about her psychedelic, Grammy… Video, Audio

New Zealand songwriter Aldous Harding teases with cryptic lyrics and a feather-weight feeling on her third album Designer. Kirsten Johnstone speaks to the woman behind the songs.  Video, Audio

Nick Cave has often been a mythical character, a dark horse singing songs of depravity and desperate acts. And tonight fans get the chance to ask him anything, in person. Video

Swagger Of Thieves is a documentary that follows notorious Wellington band from their reunion in 2008 and delves into the history that led to their demise the first time around. It's showing in… Video, Audio