Elevating Local Artists To A Global Stage

A new pilot initiative is set to amplify the voices of emerging Hawke’s Bay musicians, providing them with professionally produced content, allowing them to share their original music with the world. UPSTAGE, a collaborative project between Backline Charitable Trust, Toitoi Hawke’s Bay Arts and Event Centre and Ideaschool@EIT with support from Creative New Zealand, is breaking down barriers by offering local artists high-quality video and audio recordings of their work.

The recordings are professionally produced and showcased on UPSTAGE’s YouTube channel, with all content shared with the artists for their own streaming platforms and promotional use. Sarah Terry, Toitoi’s Producer - Community Outreach says “The goal is to build capacity, celebrate local stories, and foster pride in our region’s creative talent on a global scale.”

“Access to high-quality recording facilities can be a major hurdle for many emerging artists in our region,” Terry continues, “There are only a few studios available, and the high costs—especially factoring in travel outside Hawke’s Bay—make it a significant expense. UPSTAGE is about supporting artists—helping them grow their careers without having to leave home. We’re thrilled to partner with local industry practitioners to bring this project to life.”

Through UPSTAGE, artists not only gain industry-standard recordings but also valuable experience in a professional production environment. The initiative is a rich learning environment, offering EIT students and staff opportunities to work alongside experienced industry practitioners to film, record and produce this work. This collective approach benefits both emerging musicians and the local creative sector as a whole.

“For us, investing in the next generation of musicians is vital,” says Kevin Murphy from Backline Charitable Trust. “Hawke’s Bay has incredible talent, and projects like UPSTAGE give our artists the skills, resources, and confidence to take their music further. When we invest in them, we invest in the future of our creative community.”

The first artist to participate in UPSTAGE, Nick Herbison, enjoyed his experience.

“Upstage has given me 2 songs professionally recorded as video. These two songs are shared on social media which has been engaged with by my followers but also non-followers. The video gives a great overview of how I sound when playing live. This is great for engaging listeners that want to know my live sound and help them decide whether to see me live. The videos are also great for pitching venues and events that I would like to play. The audio is also mixed and recorded well which gives me the opportunity to upload it as a ‘live version’ to streaming platforms. The artists were given a lot of support throughout the day which was appreciated.”

The next UPSTAGE release drops on Thursday, March 13th, and will feature up-and-coming local musician Liberty.

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