Year 13 student Kahu Sanson-Burnett had the absolute privilege of playing on stage with The Beths in Wanaka earlier this month. Today, we had the privilege of hearing a bit more of Kahu's story.

Kahu has been a musician from a young age, starting with joining the choir and learning guitar at primary school.

"My parents encouraged me to start music, as they had always wanted to but didn’t get the chance," he said. "Once I got to intermediate school and joined the rock band I was hooked!"

Kahu joined the Nelson Intermediate rock band in Year 7 (2017), where he met singer Florence (Floss) McNabb. Their band won the regional Bandquest that year and also won 'Best Original Song' nationwide.

In 2018, Ethan Carde joined the band and again they won the regional Bandquest competition. The group continued the band into high school, entering Rockquest every year. In 2020, they decided on the name 'Parallel Park.'

Today Parallel Park still play regular gigs and are working on a second EP. They have also made it through to the regional Rockquest finals (yet again), being held at the Theatre Royal next Friday. 

The current members are: Kahu Sanson-Burnett (Electric Guitar), Florence McNabb (Vocals), Ethan Carde (Electric Guitar), Maisie Lucas (Drums), and Zac Irving (Bass).

Kahu says their biggest achievements so far have been, "Opening for The Beths in Nelson [and] releasing our debut EP." 

Their self-recorded and produced debut EP is named ‘Parallel Park Vol. 1’ and you can listen to a preview here. 

As well as being a member of Parallel Park, Kahu and his cousin Alyahna Sanson-Rejouis have recently started a new duo named 'JOLA BURNS.' They play a mix of Pop and Electronica with many influences. So far they have opened for Opera in The Park and played at a few festivals (Ciderfest, Taste Tasman). They are also working on an EP at the moment.

When asked how he landed the incredible opportunity to play for The Beths, Kahu replied, "My Dad (Scott) and I were already heading down to Wanaka to attend a weekend of music workshops called Yami. Liz and John from The Beths were actually tutors at Yami. A month or so before we were to head down, I saw that The Beths were playing at the Saturday night performance (Yami has a Saturday night performance for the tutors and a Sunday night performance for the students). The poster said Liz and John + Guests. So, I reached out to the organisers and asked if they needed anyone to play. Liz and John are the guitarists in the band, so knew they wouldn’t need more guitar. I offered to play bass. The organisers surprisingly got back to me and said I had gotten the gig!"

Kahu only got the list of songs to learn a week before the gig so there was plenty of practicing on the road trip down to Wanaka!

The Beths are a New Zealand indie rock band, formed in Auckland in 2014. The group principally consists of lead vocalist Elizabeth Stokes, guitarist Jonathan Pearce, bassist Benjamin Sinclair, and drummer Tristan Deck. Meeting at the University of Auckland, the band signed to Carpark Records in 2018, where they have released the albums Future Me Hates Me (2018), Jump Rope Gazers (2020), and Expert in a Dying Field (2022). They have toured internationally with Death Cab for Cutie and received praise from Rolling Stone and Pitchfork. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beths

Playing bass for The Beths was Kahu's first time playing bass at a gig. While he plays a bit at home, he mainly plays guitar and produces music on his computer. He also plays a little drums and keys, and writes lots of his own songs. "Not so much lyrics," he said, "But I do lots of the instrumentation for Parallel Park and JOLA BURNS."

Next year Kahu hopes to study a Bachelor of Commercial Music at Massey in Wellington. He would like to either join a touring band and tour the world, or start his own studio and record bands and produce music for a living. As well as song-writing, performing and keeping up with schoolwork, Kahu has also started working at a few venues around Nelson, running the sound for bands and performances. He's the main Sound Tech at a new venue called The Loft and also does sound for the Golden Bear Brewery. 

Congratulations on your stellar music career so far Kahu and we look forward to seeing where your talents take you!