Taking a moment to pause, breathe, and connect with you—my closest friends and allies here on Patreon.
I’ve just wrapped up ArtBeat, a month-long celebration of the arts in my small adopted hometown of Whangārei, where I had the huge honour of organizing the main music events – Festival Stage, Instrument Petting Zoo, & more. Now we’re rolling straight into NZ Music Month and Whangārei’s very first Festival of Consent, which I’m co-organizing with Whangārei RapeCrisis.
For the past several weeks, I’ve been organizing event after event for causes I care deeply about—music, equity, community, consent. It’s been a lot. But it’s also been clarifying.
The truth is, it’s always been easier for me to do things for others than for myself. Things I’ve struggled to justify chasing when it was “just for me”—like making certain music industry connections, producing at scale, or addressing some of the systemic issues I see around me—I’ve found real traction with when I’ve shifted focus toward collective benefit. When I’m aligned with a greater purpose, the path clears.
Organizing these festivals & events has been a big part of my own healing and clarity, and I hope it becomes part of something much bigger—something that lives on after us.
Here’s what I’ve got my hands in this month (so far!):
🎶 Curating and supporting grassroots music growth across Tai Tokerau for NZ Music Month
💜 Whangarei’s first Festival of Consent with Whangārei RapeCrisis – a week of events designed to build awareness, community, and a culture of consent through creativity, kōrero (conversation), and action.
Festival Program Available here: WRC_Festival of Consent 2025 Programme and @Whangarei RapeCrisis
These kaupapa (Te Reo Māori for principle or policy; the philosophy of a person, group, or organization) are deeply personal. They represent everything I believe art and community can do— connect, heal, educate, empower, and transform.
To be honest, I’ve rarely pushed myself so hard for such a sustained period. But as my co-organizer at Whangārei RapeCrisis said to me yesterday, “Your energy seems limitless!” And I think it’s because I’m moving with purpose. Carried forward by something much greater than myself. If only the time available to me were as limitless as my energy!
If you’d like to get involved, there are a few beautiful ways to do so. You can take the Consent Awareness Challenge (I learned so much doing it myself), come along to one of our Festival of Consent events (in person or online)—we’ve designed them to be engaging, creative, and relevant to a wide range of people—or help spread the word by sharing a post, starting a conversation, or inviting a friend. Every bit of energy adds to the collective momentum, and it would mean the world to me to have your support on these intiatives.
Thank you for supporting me as I pour myself into this work. Every bit of love, encouragement, and patronage helps me keep showing up, heart first.
More soon—with photos, music, and updates on the beautiful chaos to come.
Musically yours,
Maggie 💫
P.S. I’ve been writing a lot of prose lately and have been hesitant to post too much of it here between music release updates and livestreams. Would you be open to seeing more text-only posts like Anchored In Music & Community: Finding My Home Without Ancestral Roots? I’d love to share more of these thoughts and journeys if you’re into it.
P.P.S. Some huge, lifechanging announcements are on the horizon—things that are shifting the shape of my work and my world – locally and globally – for which I don’t yet have the words. Stay tuned.