Winning the competition granted Keira a $10,000 grant, studio recording time, and the guidance of a mentor throughout the recording process of their winning song, “Lambs Aren’t Waking Yet.”
Play It Strange is a charitable trust that aims to promote and inspire songwriting among New Zealand secondary school students through competitions and performance opportunities.
The 2025 Play It Strange songwriting competition is currently open to students in years 9-13, offering a top prize of a $10,000 new music single package funded by NZ on Air, mentor sessions, a $1000 Rockshop voucher, and an artist development session with Sole Music Academy founder Sascha Vee.
The competition deadline is July 16.
Keira, who was a student at Taieri College when they won the competition on their fourth attempt, shared that their winning song was quickly demoed in their bedroom over two days.
Following their win, Keira had the chance to work with mentor musician Dave Kean on recording the song at Roundhead Studios in Auckland, with Alex Corbett producing the track and a friend playing violin and mandolin.
A music video for “Lambs Aren’t Waking Yet” was also produced by Bunker Street Film Co, featuring filming in Tarras.
The single was released earlier this year through Keira’s distribution platforms, and they performed release shows in Lyttelton and Dunedin.
Keira, now studying Music and Marketing at the University of Otago, continues to perform solo and is part of the shoegaze rock band Motheaten and folk-country duo Dolly Possum with Kristian Groves.
They emphasized the valuable support received through Play It Strange and recommended the experience to other young musicians.
Keira is currently working on an EP and exploring different aspects of the music industry through their university studies.
For more information, contact brenda.harwood@thestar.co.nz.
