South Waikato Awards

08/10/2026

Good luck to all of contestants in this year's Entertainer of the Year. Elsa Griffiths, Connor Family, Jasmine Taare, Neil Mackenzie-Hall and Christine Drake

05/10/2026

Good luck to the finalists from South Waikato Awards.
Elsa Griffiths, Connor Family, Jasmine Taare, Neil Mackenzie-Hall and our songwriter Christine Drake .

Looking forward to cheering you on x

29/09/2026

Congratulations to Christine Drake on being one of the top two songwriters finalist at this years NZCMA Entertainer of the Year.
So very proud of you lovely lady xx

***** INTRODUCING OUR 2026 TOP 2 SONGWRITER FINALISTS! *****

Over the past week or two, we’ve showcased our songwriter finalists, all of whom won the songwriter section of an NZCMA affiliated awards.

The award winning songs have all been judged again to compete for the ‘Songwriter of the Year’ title which is announced in Rotorua at Entertainer of the Year.
Today we are excited to share another one of our top 2 songwriter finalists (we shared our other finalist yesterday).

CONGRATULATIONS CHRISTINE DRAKE!!!
Her song is called How Do I Say Goodbye.

Here are a few words from Christine…
In my late 70's I discovered the world of country music. I was encouraged to try songwriting after a friend read some of the poetry I had written over several years. So began my adventure into the exciting, often frustrating but very rewarding challenge of songwriting! It is very gratifying to be a finalist in the Songwriters section of Entertainer of the Year for the 4th year running. Now in my 86th year, I'm still enjoying my song writing journey, and living proof that it is never too late to try something new! All my original songs have been recorded by Kym Cormack and are available to you on “Spotify” and “You Tube” and all good downloading sites.

16/08/2026

24/07/2026

Way to go Jasmine Taare. Whew glad I dressed up 😆 🤣

Jasmine Taare dedicates winning song and performance to late sister.

21/07/2026

Items left behind from the awards weekend.
A pair of black pants with a belt and a cream flask.
Chord charts left behind but so well named - will post tomorrow.

18/07/2026