The last two weekends have felt like a quiet kind of triumph — moving from a sort of caged stillness into something unexpectedly powerful.
The weekend before last, I wrapped up the first ever acoustic music series in the Whangārei Quarry Gardens’ abandoned tunnels. It felt like stepping into a held breath. Months of preparation gave way to a late summer’s day. Wearing my favourite summer dress brought me into an alignment with the weather that induced a unique sort of pleasure — the kind only lovers of such things will understand.
Everything was beautiful in that way that feels like nature is showing you something brilliant and fleeting.
I didn’t feel the need to push or prove anything. My voice was still raw from weeks — months — of daycare bugs. But I didn’t wish it, or the moment, or the space to be anything other than what it was. I just let the beauty hold me. Let myself be present, in a way that felt relieving rather than acute.
There’s something about spaces like that which gently reorganise you.
The official photos from that day — linked above — were taken by our newest local live music photographer, Coen Cramer. I always love seeing these moments through someone else’s lens, and I’m so grateful they were captured.
When I teach, I talk about a concept I call somatic listening — listening with your body for what the singer is doing with their body. Which muscles are engaged, how the breath is being carried, where the sound is placed. I have students practice this by listening to others, and to recordings of themselves.
Looking at these photos induces in me a similar process.
If I focus, I can sense what was moving through my body at the time. I see the rawness. What stands out the most is the meditative commitment to the moment that allowed me to be fully there.
It feels like evidence that I’m nearly grasping something wise and necessary.
When I look back at these images years from now, I wonder what else I might see.
Musically yours,
Maggie
🎤 Upcoming Events
🍷 Maggie Cocco Acoustic at Botticelli Wine Bar
📍 Botticelli Wine Bar
📅 Sunday March 22nd
🕔 5:00 – 8:00 PM
An intimate evening set in one of my favourite local spaces.
🌈 The Giant Drop-In Choir – PRIDE EDITION
📍 In collaboration with Whangārei PROUD
📅 Every Monday in March | NZ Pride Month
💲 Pay What You Can (Recommended $10–$20)
💡 NOTAFLOF – No One Turned Away For Lack Of Funds
The Giant Drop-In Choir is a community singing experience where anyone can take part — no auditions, no experience needed.
This Pride Edition celebrates diversity, self-expression, and belonging through song. We’re inviting the rainbow community and allies to connect, make some noise, and experience the power of many voices becoming one.
📀 Project Updates
Like A Moth remains released on CD and vinyl only, available for immediate listening and purchase at Diggers Factory. With the current war-mongering nature of leadership behind many streaming platforms, I am reticent to release digitally until I am satisfied that I can do so in a way that doesn’t risk supporting the war machine. My subconscious is chewing the fat until an answer bursts into my consciousness.
Meanwhile, discussions for the recording of Elodie have begun with co-producer Alex Selman and Harvest Studios.
🎶 Student Sponsorship | Maggie Cocco Music Studio
Maggie Cocco Music Studio currently has four low-income students.
No earnest student is ever turned away due to lack of sponsorship — if sponsorship isn’t secured, I donate my time to ensure they still receive their lessons.
If you would like to help sustain this work and directly support students who are passionate about music but navigating financial constraints, you can:
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Become a paid Patreon supporter
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Make a one-off contribution OR reach out to sponsor a specific student’s weekly lessons
💳 USA Zelle/PayPal: maggiecocco@hotmail.com NZ Bank Transfer: Maggie Cocco Music | 38-9022-0416841-0
Music changes lives. I see it every week.
Thank you for being part of a community that believes access matters. 🤍
🤍 Thank You
If you’re here, you are part of the reason I get to build art and community at the edge of capitalism. Your support has and will always mean the world to me.
More soon.