Lead singer and guitarist for L.A.B., Joel Shadbolt is riding a high after L.A.B. cleaned up in the last two year's Aotearoa Music Awards, with best album, best single, best group and best roots artist. L.A.B. is currently touring in the United States, playing sold-out shows, and is getting booked for US summer festivals. Joel has degrees in Jazz Music and Music Production and Performance and still maintains a small amount of teaching in Mount Maunganui alongside being a full-time musician with L.A.B. Joel is also a mentor with the New Zealand Music Commission education programme.

Tali is an award winning singer, songwriter, producer, composer, teacher, mentor, and author. She is sought after for her experience as one of the most prolific Female MC/Vocalists to emerge from the International Electronic Dance music scene. Tali has worked with some of the biggest names in Drum and Bass and toured the world several times over as an MC and with a live band. She has released eight studio albums, and numerous singles both as a solo artist and collaboratively. She has won numerous awards. Tali regularly performs at many of Aotearoa's major festivals and clubs, including, Rhythm and Vines, Northern Bass, AUM, Bay Dreams, Hidden Lakes, Splore and Electric Avenue, and in June and July of this year is embarking on a ten-date tour of Europe and the UK.

Laughton needs no introduction, being a certified kiwi music legend. Laughton has an incredible voice and immense talent. Laughton won the Smokefree Rockquest Nationals when he was 17. With KORA 2003-2012, he played festivals and shows all over the world. He was the performance coach on the TV show Popstars and regularly mentors youth with the New Zealand Music Commission education programme. Laughton has a performing arts degree and regularly features in theatre and TV productions.

Rei’s (Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Pākeha) music seamlessly bridges urban and electronic, with elements of hip hop, pop and dance flavors. With over 10 million Spotify Streams, 6 Waiata Māori Awards and 4 NZ Music Awards nominations, Rei is carving out his space in the world.

Lisa is a stand-out singer, not only because of her strong and beautiful voice but also the energy and enthusiasm she contributes throughout her performances make her a joy to watch. With over 30+ years experience in the music industry as a professional vocalist, she has performed, recorded, and travelled extensively throughout Australasia, Asia, UK, Europe and the US with the likes of Fly My Pretties, L.A.B, Lord Echo, Trinity Roots, Neil Finn, Hollie Smith, Shapeshifter, Fat Freddy's Drop, Sola Rosa, The Pink Floyd Experience, and Rhombus. She continues to tour regularly and considers it a privilege to pass the mantle on to aspiring young musicians via coaching and mentoring.

Paddy Free began performing live electronic music with an all-hardware setup in 1990, and has been an Ableton Live user since 2002. Recording and performing around the world as one half of Pitch Black and as a solo artist, he has written music for film, theatre, dance, television and multimedia art as well as acting as producer and engineer for many kiwi artists including Crowded House, Killing Joke, Salmonella Dub, Moana and the Tribe, Kora, The Adults and the New Zealand Symphony and Auckland Philharmonic Orchestras. Paddy is passionate about sharing his knowledge and experience. He has given Ableton Live clinics and lectures around the world and devised and taught the Introduction to Ableton Live course at the Music and Audio Institute of New Zealand.

Mazbou Q is a UK-born, Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland) based Nigerian artist, producer, content creator and educator. Stemming from his background in classical, heavy metal and West African Highlife, Mazbou Q's particular brand of hiphop pushes the boundaries of the genre and captivates those with a deep appreciation for musicality. Also known as ‘The Rap Scientist’, Mazbou Q has built a large online community around the systematized learning and education of rap flow, and is being lauded for illuminating the musical complexity of a genre often regarded as lacking such.

Huia is an artist, performer, producer, manager, vocal coach and co-owns a recording studio. An award-winning producer, and Best Wahine Māori Artist in 2022, her music flows from ambient liquid drum n bass to dancehall bangers and incorporates Te Reo and Spanish. She has a vibrant stage presence. Huia has performed internationally and at most of Aotearoa's biggest festivals. She has just returned from the International Indigenous Music Summit in Canada and is about to embark on a Matariki tour with Rei ahead of joining us at COMMOTION.

Stephanie Brown is a composer and songwriter who is passionate about storytelling through song. She has a Bachelor of Music from the University of Auckland and a Bachelor of Jazz Performance at the New School University in New York. She has toured all over the world, playing alongside Patti Smith, Cyndi Lauper, and Etta James, and recording with Kanye West. In 2012 she won New Zealand’s most prestigious songwriting award, the Silver Scroll. She has since released two EPs and a full-length album as Lips, and her music has appeared in television, documentaries, and film soundtracks.

Hailing from the booming metropolis of Lewisburg, West Virginia, music producer/multi-instrumentalist Fen Ikner has plumbed the depths of the music industry, clocking hours in studios and vans across the world with the likes of Lips, Anna Coddington, Kimbra, Calexico, Devotchka, and countless others. He’s produced dozens of albums (Lips’ I Don’t Know Why I Do Anything and Anna Coddington’s Beams were finalists for the Taite Prize in 2021 and 2022), composed and recorded music for film and TV (Daffodils, What’s Your Problem?, The Guard) and played live alongside acts such as My Chemical Romance, Cake, The Beths, Ben Folds, Patti Smith, and more.

LMC has had over 10 Billboard entries in the past two years, with 2 platinum RIAA certified plaques & 1 gold plaque, solidifying himself as a world-class Hip Hop producer. LMC has recently spent back-to-back weeks on the Billboard Charts with his production for superstars Gucci Mane, Lil Durk & Lil Baby. LMC has produced for the biggest names in hip hop and has had releases with Lil Baby, Lil Durk, Lil Tjay, Gucci Mane, Nardo Wick, Yo Gotti, 42 Dugg, Est Gee, Moneybagg Yo, Big30, Melodownz, Maxo Kream, Rylo Rodriguez & more. Recently LMC has gained recognition with Spotify's biggest Hip Hop playlist Rap Caviar, featuring on their Producer Spotlight. Apple music has also recently recognized LMC for his production efforts, awarding him with his very own official 'The Producers' playlist. LMC has also gained a strong New Zealand following DJing at almost every festival over the summer including Bay Dreams, Soundsplash, Rhythm and Vines, Listen In and local shows in between.

Josh Edmonds is a songwriter, music producer and audio engineer based in Grey Lynn, Auckland. Originally from Nelson - Josh studied contemporary music at NMIT before moving north. Josh has become a go-to collaborator for some of Aotearoa’s top artists including Aotearoa Music Awards finalists Foley, LA Women and Niko Walters. As well as having a hand in developing rising NZ artists such as BEXY, Park Rd and Alayna.

Gideon first experienced learning guitar at age 7, but it was around the age of 14-15, when his passion for music was ignited, through the discovery of Rock Music and Electric Guitar. Following high school, Gideon attended and completed MAINZ with a Bachelor of Musical Arts. It was during his time there that he meets singer Filivaa. Who asks him to audition for the Heavy Metal band ‘Shepherds Reign’ after witnessing one of Gideon’s performances. Shepherds Reign has since, had their 2019 hit single ‘Le Manu’ gather over 3 million YouTube views; they've toured all over Australia, and won 3 awards at the PMS’s (Pacific Music Awards), with the most recent being a 2022 ‘Creative NZ Award’. Some of Gideon’s favourite bands are: Paramore, Periphery, Babymetal, and Plini. Some of his guitarists include: Mateus Aasto, Guthrie Govan, and, Joe Satriani.

Sylvee is a singer-songwriter from Nelson, New Zealand. Her exquisite vocals and warm melodies exude raw emotion and intricately weave together a landscape of poetic lyricism and production, which shifts effortlessly from delicate to soaring. After releasing her Sophomore EP’Downpour’ in April this year, Sylvee’s journey in music is just beginning.

The creator of NZs first tertiary accredited DJ school and a top party rocking DJ / MC able to flip any style of music. DJ Shan, based in Wellington, is the sensei of 100s of young DJs that have come out of the capital and is the owner of the Aotearoa DJ Academy and a Serato certified trainer. Shan has also been the face host MC or headline DJ for some of New Zealand's biggest parties period! The Rugby Sevens street party, Homegrown, Bay Dreams, The Wellington Cup, Fashion in the field, Cuba Street Carnival, Bowlarama, Rhythm & Vines, Mardi Gras, and Synthony. Get ready for some education and fun on the Turntables

Dayna Sanerivi from Nelson/Whakatū loves her work as a Singer and Vocal Coach. Accredited teacher at the Nelson Centre of Musical Arts and running her own private music studio for the past decade, Dayna is passionate about assisting youth in their musical pursuits.
For the past 8 years, she’s been working as part of the team at The Smokefree Rockquest, enjoying a variety of roles including judging, mentoring and event management.

Luke Wilkes is a local Nelson multi-instrumentalist proficient across many styles of music, with extensive performance experience both on stage and in a studio environment. He is most well known as the lead guitarist for original local acts Spinoza, who have recently opened for Tiki Taane; as well as new band The Violet Project.

Raised in the beautiful Marlborough Sounds, Sam's passion for music and drums started off early in his life. Sam spent 4 and a half years in Auckland pursuing various music-related projects which saw him playing multiple shows in different bands each weekend and doing several studio recording sessions. One such band took him to Europe in 2018 to record in a studio in Norway with NZ-based producer Greg Haver. Sam is now based in Nelson and continues to pursue his musical journey, currently performing for bands such as: Paper City, Little Oceans, Reece Milton, Liam Poole + Friends, Spinoza and Grip-Tape.

Trilby grew up in the world of music, going to live shows, being surrounded by PA and production talk and always having some sort of musical instrument at home being fixed or played with. So wasn’t a shock to her parents when she started working alongside bands at shows, doing the door as soon as she was of age, booking shows and tour managing. Trilby loves music and especially seeing live bands! But she also gained interest in Music licensing and production when she started working for a film and TV production company in Wellington. She joined the APRA AMCOS team in 2016 and the rest is history.

Archie’s start in the music industry was in production and DJing, he has performed at notable festivals across New Zealand and he also has a platinum record with fellow musicians Sachi for his work on their song ‘No More’. His expertise has since transferred over to artist and tour management where he looked after high-profile New Zealand artists and also toured the world with them. He is now using his knowledge as the Artist Services Manager at DRM to help musicians navigate the complexities of the music industry and ultimately supports them in building their careers.
DRM is the largest independent NZ-owned and operated digital distribution service based in Auckland looking after over 5000 artists all over Aotearoa including Fat Freddy’s Drop, Dave Dobbyn, Tiki Tanne, Kaylee Bell, Devilskin, and Poetik to name a few. DRM is also the only New Zealand-based YouTube Partner operating Music, Publishing and Entertainment Network support to musicians and content creators all over the world. Our goal is to support musicians releasing and promoting their music on streaming platforms and provide a service that is catered to the needs of each individual artist.

Emily has a double degree in Law and Political Science and a Post Grad certificate in Business Administration. Emily worked for United Nations Electoral and Peacekeeping Operations for over 10 years living in Cambodia, Nigeria, South Africa, East Timor, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Burundi, New York and Haiti. Emily then established the Kenbe La Foundation Charitable Trust, and it's highly successful 'Purple Cake Day' fundraiser celebrating and connecting children globally and raising money to provide educational opportunities for children in poverty and hardship. Kenbe La Foundation has supported children in Haiti, Kenya, Nepal, Vanuatu and those affected by the Christchurch earthquakes and it is now in it's eleventh year of operation. Alongside her humanitarian work, Emily has a passion for music.

Scott is the Top of the South Regional Conservation Manager at Forest & Bird. He has a Masters in International Development. For 20 years he ran an experiential education business called Pacific Discovery, which offered 10-week duration, Outward Bound style programmes for US university students to five different regions of the world. These programmes took the form of an overland journey and were focused upon the student’s personal development and learning about the region the programme traversed. Scott managed an office staff of 7 and an instructor team of 14.

JR is the founder of VenueTech, who spearhead the technical operations of Nelson’s Theatre Royal and Centre Of Musical Arts. He has over 12-years experience in the live events industry during which he’s worked with many leading artists from NZ and abroad. His core passion is live sound engineering for concerts, where he seeks to create a professional and positive environment that supports artists to perform at their best.