Artist In Residence – Barnaby Weir (The Black Seeds)

SOLE Music Academy is proud to present Artist In Residence Barnaby Weir!

Lead singer of The Black Seeds, Fly My Pretties and Dub Connection, Barnaby Weir, will running two Masterclasses on the 1st of May as a way to kick start New Zealand Music Month and warm up the SOLE Music Academy stage for our three-part Speaker Series.

Songwriting Masterclass – Age 18+, 11.00am-1.00pm

Songwriting Masterclass – Age 12+, 3.30pm-5.30pm

I?n these masterclasses Barnaby will give you advice on songwriting, teach you different ways of coming up with ideas, and how to formulate these into a song.

Limited spaces available, so get in quick!

Barnaby Weir Bio –

Wellington born (1978’), long-time musician and songwriter, Barnaby Weir is a founding member of well-loved bands, Fly My Pretties and The Black Seeds,well known as songwriter and producer in his own right. Barnaby’s professional musical career spans more than 23 years, performing in almost 20 countries and contributing song-writing and producing on over 24 albums.

Songs like, ‘So True’, ‘Cool Me Down’ help define kiwi summer moments, while the indie rock ‘Let’s Roll’ and Americana / kiwi-ana ‘Old Friend’, highlight his contrasting musical song-writing styles.

The Fly My Pretties concept (2003) has produced multiple national, theatre tours, and the 6 live album recordings and collaborations included contributions from over 60 different established and up and coming kiwi musicians. In the last two years, Fly My Pretties have released ‘The Studio Recordings’ parts one and two, studio versions of some of their best work to date. Fly My Pretties recently played a well received show on the main stage at Womad 2023. Iconic dub/reggae band, The Black Seeds (1998), continue to record and perform live with their unique blend of future retro funk and reggae infused rhythms across Aotearoa and abroad. However, recent Covid-19 restrictions, has provided the opportunity to focus on what will be their 7th studio album ‘Love & Fire’. This summers gig run saw The Black Seeds support Jack Johnson and L.A.B as well as memorable performances at Electric Avenue and Homegrown.

A team player, with a number of award winning and multi platinum albums under his belt and a reputation for engaging stage performances, Barnaby’s regular solo performances are the culmination of all his musical treasures and original song-writing personality delivered in person. His dad rock album ‘Tarot Card Rock’ (2010) showed a new depth in his songwriting.

Weir has a wealth of experience as a music producer for The Black Seeds, Fly My Pretties and as Flash Harry but also as a music mentor with frequent appearances and workshops at YAMI in Wanaka and similar education offerings around Aotearoa.

His latest collaboration with TRIPS see’s a more experimental side to Weir, while Andy Christiasen tracked most of the instruments, Weir played a strong hand in the production and conceptual ideas and vision. TRIPS is Weir’s most exciting current project and his contributions will likely turn heads, perk the ears and move the feet of listeners.