Ōtara’s rising talent take centre stage at inaugural free South Auckland music festival

South Auckland’s young musicians are getting their own stage and they are ready to show the community what they can do.

The free, family-friendly Ōtara Music Festival will take over the town centre on 19 September, bringing together local youth, emerging artists and established performers.

‘Aisea Lātū, the operations manager, says the festival is a chance to put South Auckland's creativity front and centre.

"There’s so much talent out South,” Lātū tells PMN Tonga. “The festival is just a snapshot of what you get from all of these talented young people.

“Most of us grew up in church and singing and choirs and stuff like that. So it's nice for all of them to just showcase their talents on a stage where everyone else can see it for themselves."

Lātū is also the frontman of nine-piece Pacific funk-soul band Island Vibes, who was nominated for a Pacific Music Award this year.

Watch 'Aisea Lātū and Anne Filimoehala's full interview below.

He says music is also about keeping Pacific stories and traditions alive.

“As Pacific people, it's like what we use to tell our stories, our history, our heritage. So for them to just keep that tradition going in their own unique way, that's pretty cool,” Lātū says.

“And I can't spoil too much, but it's pretty exciting to see what these kids will be doing on the day.”

Ōtara Music Festival is a free, family-friendly event. Photo/Facebook

The Ōtara Music Festival is a revamp of Sistema Aotearoa's annual community showcase, comes at a time when music is increasingly shaped by digital tools and artificial production.

Lātū says there is still something special about seeing young people perform live and share their own stories.

The event is presented by Sistema Aotearoa alongside the Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board, Creative Communities, and the Ōtara Music Arts Centre.

It will also bring different musical worlds together as classical orchestral performers share the programme with local hip hop, reggae, and R&B talents.

Anne Filimoehala, the Music Director at Sistema Aotearoa, says expanding their usual end-of-term showcase into a community festival opens classical music to a wider audience.

“Without spoiling too much…we'll have our senior orchestra performing as well as our senior brass. And so we'll have a little bit of classical as well as some brass band classics,” Filimoehala says.

“I'm hoping we can inspire a few people and make an impact on the community. If that happens, we'll have to applaud everyone on the team who's putting in so much work to make this happen.”

Filimoehala says the māfana (warmth) and support of the community can make a big difference for young musicians.

“You have the little kids playing something as simple as Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and you look into the audience and everyone's just cheering,” she says.

“It's amazing to see the kind of support our people have for the people that they love, and it will continue to grow.”

With student performers, emerging and local artists alongside the Ōtara market, the festival is designed to celebrate more than music.

It is a chance for South Auckland’s young people to take the stage, tell their stories and have their community behind them.

The Ōtara Music Festival takes place on the 19 September at the Ōtara Town Centre.