Joint headliner: LOST BiRD and Just Janie
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LOST BiRD is singer-songwriter Ali Whitton. Born in Aotearoa but raised in the UK to British parents. Ali cut his teeth playing solo in the UK gig circuit in the early 2000’s including playing regularly with a then-unknown Ed Sheeran. During his time in the UK, Ali had local or tour support slots with Bill Callahan, James Yorkeston, Tom McRae, and other touring folk and alt-country acts.
LOST BiRD is releasing his debut album 'Between the Forest and the Stars' in 2025. Produced by Dave Khan and Reb Fountain, it mixes poetic storytelling with folk noir and alt-country landscapes.
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JUST JANIE is a folk musician born in the heart of Central Otago, and based in Ōtautahi, with a case of nostalgia for the Laurel Canyon daydream.
In the winter of 2023, Janie travelled to the Blue Mountains, NSW to record her debut EP ‘Muse and Musician’ with producers Rick Turnock and Abby Smith (Smith and Jones). The trio worked on three live recordings surrounded by bird song in their studio backing into the Australian Bush. 2024 has seen Just Janie embark on her first nationwide solo tour ‘Love Letter to Myself’ and a second tour with Pōneke based musician Sig Wilder began in the Spring to promote their collaborative double single 'Sylvia'.
Drawing inspiration from the folk scene of the late sixties and early seventies, Janie’s music can be described as captivating and tender.
‘I laughed, cried and fell in love on the first song’ - David Milligan, The George Foundation.
