Invercargill’s O-Week offers a treat of top New Zealand music to tertiary students returning to study at the Southern Institute of Technology this year.

Well known audio engineer and musician Richie Allan (L.A.B, Koura, Heavy Metal Ninjas) opens the show on Tuesday, February 16, with a performance and Q&A at the SIT Sound Auditorium.

More chart-topping top New Zealand performers will keep the ball rolling for the rest of the week, before some of Southland’s top musicians and audio production students present the finale on Saturday, February 20.

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Richie Allan’s show will be a guitar play-through of some of his original material with Heavy Metal Ninjas (HMN) band member and former SIT music student Ngarewa Reid. 

His L.A.B band mate and SIT graduate, Miharo Gregory, will also be performing during O Week.

Miharo Gregory is a talented keyboardist from Christchurch and completed a double degree at SIT in Audio Production in 2014 and Music in 2015. 

L.A.B had a record-breaking year in 2020 with hits and multiple chart toppers. 

L.A.B’s hit song In the Air has been top of the playlists on NZ radio and TV this summer, enjoying 60 weeks in the official New Zealand charts. Another eight songs have been sitting in NZ’s top 20. 

The official video of In The Air has had well over 4 million views on YouTube.

Miharo Gregory of L.A.B performs on stage. PHOTO: Supplied

L.A.B hit the record books late last year when the band became the first New Zealand act since records began to have five singles in the NZ top ten.

It had number one and two spots on the charts at the same time, and two number one singles in one year – only the second local independent artist to ever achieve this. 

Also attending O-Week is Raquel Abolins-Reid (Riiki) – a multi-talented, up-and-coming musician, dancer and choreographer from Wellington.

The 20-year-old performer got her start in the music business at high school, performing with her indie-rock band, Retrospect, in Smokefree Rockquest. 

Sam Notman from another internationally successful kiwi ensemble, the Thomas Oliver Band, is also performing.

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SIT Audio Production tutor Charlie Rodgers is L.A.B’s production manager and has been with the band since their first show back in 2015. 

He will perform with Miharo Gregory, Sam Notman, Ngarewa Reid, Raquel Abolins-Reid and Metua Marama (from local band, Left or Right), in their band White Rhino, in a free R18 show, at Tillermans on Thursday February 18.

Charlie Rodgers said White Rhino plays electronica covers by artists such as Shapeshifter, Groove Armada, Major Lazer, Kieza, Hybrid Minds, Full Crate, Wilkinson, and more.

Local Invercargill band Left or Right will perform another R18 show at Tillermans on Saturday February 20 from 9pm ($5 entry).