Fly My Pretties

Fly My Pretties are New Zealand’s favourite live collaborative group starring a selection of the country’s finest contemporary musicians, all set to a visual backdrop.

Since its inception, Fly My Pretties has grown to become a local legend of music that continues to reach people all over the world. Fly My Pretties first entered New Zealanders’ hearts and minds in 2004, with the idea from The Black Seeds front-man Barnaby Weir and Mikee Tucker (Loop), to assemble a talented and exciting group of Wellington-based musicians for a special project.

The objective: To meet, exchange ideas, and then perform and record the results in front of a live audience. Fly My Pretties performed their first season at Wellington’s Bats Theatre over five nights. It was a hit, and Fly My Pretties became Bats most attended event of 2004. Likewise, the album Fly My Pretties – Live at Bats achieved platinum-status, received 6 B-Net nominations (winning Best Pop Album), and was released internationally in the UK.

Then in 2006 building on the first event, The Return of Fly My Pretties saw key members reunite with new faces Hollie Smith and Adi Dick. Their new repertoire encompassed an even more diverse range of styles and the theme reflected the state of contemporary Aotearoa New Zealand: A nation isolated in the pacific that is searching for its identity, while remembering where we have come from.

Once again the Fly My Pretties shows were a sell out nationwide and the second album The Return of Fly My Pretties also went on to achieve platinum status, worldwide popularity and won best Aotearoa, Roots album at the 2007 New Zealand Music Awards.

In 2009 Fly My Pretties returned for a third time, featuring 16 musicians from all over NZ including some of the original Wellington crew and many new faces. The concept of Fly My Pretties – A Story saw Fly My Pretties joined on stage by Barnaby Weir’s legendary radio broadcasting father, Dick Weir who wrote and narrated the story that the show was based around.

A Story attempts to entertain and reflect on innocence, imagination and the solving of complex problems – which may enable a sustainable future. With this in mind, the cast put together 14 exceptional songs inspired by Dick Weir’s story in just 8 rehearsals before taking the show on the road.

In January 2011 the best of Fly My Pretties 1, 2 and 3 reunited for one South Island and one North Island show at two of New Zealand’s finest vineyards. The show featured a 20-strong cast from all three Fly My Pretties incarnations. A mix of faces from the past, a bunch of the A Story cast and a few fresh faces kept things interesting – once again seeing Fly My Pretties evolve into something completely new and unique.

In late 2011, Fly My Pretties united once again with a brand new show that saw a fresh cast collaborate with visual artist, Flox, and homegrown fashion labels, Cybèle and MisteR. The tour also marked the collective’s first international foray, playing a sold out Melbourne date as part of the tour.

The new show saw the 16-strong cast unite with an exciting new concept, re-inspired style and re-invigorated sound to challenge audience’s senses and redefine what Fly My Pretties was to their fans. Via a unique collaboration, renowned visual/street artist Flox found inspiration in each song to create 16 original and dedicated pieces of art. A unifying thread throughout the show, the artworks were brought to life through projection, animation and visual trickery. These visuals have been uniquely mixed with the live video to create an amazing DVD.

The 16 new songs on their 4th CD and DVD represent the best takes from November 2011’s sold out tour. These new songs were performed, filmed and recorded live across nine sold out shows to over 10,000 people.

2013 saw Fly My Pretties produce their 5th album, The Homeland Recordings, with 13 songs recorded live during a national tour in September. Beginning at Aotearoa’s tip in Kaitaia and ending in the southern-most city of Invercargill, the 23 date Homeland Tour saw FMP delve deep into heartland New Zealand create something truly special.

The album stands as a testament to the talent that made up the Homeland cast and we hope it provides a stepping stone for you to uncover great music created by the artists.

On February 12, 2016, Fly My Pretties played the Isaac Theatre Royal in Christchurch for the second year in a row. Again, Christchurch came to the party and again, Fly My Pretties delivered a truly memorable show.
The 15-strong cast produced a 5 song EP, Live at the Isaac Theatre Royal, which is accompanied by a live music video for each track, capturing the amazing live performance at the amazing Isaac Theatre Royal.

August 2016 has a 14 person cast play 4 shows at the Mercury Theatre in Auckland and 5 shows in Wellington at The Paramount, recording each night for Fly My Pretties 6th album, String Theory, due out in November and an announcement due on August 22 for a national tour in January 2017.