BIO

Hailing from Whangarei, Northland, our journey began in 2014 as a humble three-piece band with a shared passion for music and storytelling. Over the years, our sound and ensemble have grown, expanding into a dynamic six-piece lineup by 2020. It was during this period that we released our self recorded album, Songs in the Key of Brown, marking a pivotal moment in our evolution.

Today, we’re proud to be a 10 to 12-piece band that brings a unique marching band flair to every performance, reinventing ourselves again under ‘Mermaid Bait and the Brass Monkey‘ . Our music is an eclectic blend that spans across genres, weaving in tales of seafaring adventures, quirky lyrics, and songs crafted with and for our friends. The rhythmic pulse of our percussion drives each tune, creating an energetic atmosphere that’s hard to resist.

Our dinghy Sweetpea (pictured below) not only looks cool, she houses all of our amps & speakers, making us and our sound completely mobile & wireless. 

We’ve become a favourite on the Aotearoa NZ festival circuit, bringing our distinctive sound to stages and anywhere our roaming boat ‘Sweetpea’ will take us, at events like Shipwrecked (2024), Auckland Wooden Boat Festival, Brew of Islands (2024) and more.

In 2022, we were honored to win the ‘All the World is a Stage‘ award at the Whangarei Fringe Festival for our innovative Elevator Tour, a testament to our commitment to creativity and pushing boundaries.

As we continue our journey, we’re riding the wave wherever the music and the sea take us, sharing our music, passion and stories with audiences far and wide.