Jackson Five? Try the Halton Hart eight
Meila Scully, 12, and her cousin Taegan Evans, 10, at the Dunedin Country Music awards, fresh from winning first and second for the junior section and ready to play more. Photo: Kayla Mahon
It was a family affair as the next generation of Gore country music made a big show at the Dunedin Country music awards.
Meila Scully, 12, and her cousin Taegan Evans, 10, were the junior overall winner and runner-up at the music competition respectively.
Not to be outdone, their other cousins Hazel Evans, 7 and Erica Byers, 10, won the "Tiny Tots" and was the runner-up for the gospel section respectively.
Meila with another cousin, Georgia Martin, 11, won the duo section.
Altogether, the girls, alongside others in their family, perform as the Halton Hart band, named after the street their grandparents lived on in Gore and their love of hunting.
Meila said the eight family members in Halton Hart were accomplished musicians on their own, but loved getting together for a jam.
"We do a bit of country, bit of gospel, some of us do rock music, it's just a lot of fun, it makes me feel really happy.
"It feels really good that you get to do it with your family. I just love singing with them," she said.
Their aunt Kayla Mahon has mentored all of the family band from a young age, providing the expertise she has honed through her country music chops.
Practice clearly makes perfect as the awards keep piling up and the opportunities getting bigger and bigger.
Meila said Halton Hart would be hitting the charts, with a focus on family.
"[The song] we're releasing in a few weeks is called Granddad Mait, it's about our great-granddad who started our music career.
"He loved to sing and he taught aunty Kayla how, then she taught us like she was taught," she said.
Meila will also be recording her own song, called To Heaven, written in dedication to people in her life who have died.
Next up though, the country music dynasty in the making will be hitting the Golden Guitars, with plenty more individual and group accolades expected for the group.
Meila said she spoke for not only herself but all of the group when thanking her long time teacher.
"Big thank you to Aunty Kayla, for being the best music teacher ever, and helping me get this far."
gerrit.doppenberg@alliedpress.co.nz
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Otago Daily Times
20-05-2025
- Otago Daily Times
Halton Hart release debut single
Four of the Halton Hart eight are (from left) Taegan Evans, 10, Erica Byars, 10, Jaelyn Scully, 10, and Hazel Evans, 7. Photo: supplied The eight cousins and band members of Halton Hart, with ages ranging from 7 to 17, debuted their first single Grandad Mait last Friday. The girls' great-granddad loved traditional country such as Tex Morton, Slim Dusty, and Johnny Cash. He passed that love on to his granddaughter, Gore-based recording artist Kayla Mahon, a statement said yesterday. The band got its name from Halton St, in East Gore, home of Granddad Mait and Nana Horrell, Ms Mahon said. Halton Hart is comprised of Caitlyn, Marissa, and Erica Byars, Jaelyn and Meila Scully, Taegan and Hazel Evans, and Georgia Martin Ms Mahon, mother of Georgia Martin and an aunt to the rest, said she was carrying on the family tradition by teaching the young girls music. She said every week, she, her three sisters and their eight offspring got together for a three-hour session where the children continued to learn the guitar, mandolin, bass and banjo. The sessions can get pretty "crazy" she said, as only family can, but it was a great way for the girls to really hone their skills. "Since they could talk, I've got them into music," she said. "That's probably all they've really known is that you sing and you play and you have fun learning music together." The Gold Guitar Awards are massive on the group's calendar, she said and all of the girls, in different combinations, were entered in the competition. "It's always like a Christmas for us, mid-year Christmas," Ms Mahon said. She said the awards were a place where songwriters thrive and two of the girls will be performing their own original songs this year. Ms Mahon really encouraged the girls have their own lyrical content she said, as it was really important, particularly for the country genre, that they understand what they are singing. "That's a really huge thing when you're performing is being believable, and singing with emotion ... That's the secret to making an impact to the audience," she said. Halton Hart and the music video for Grandad Mait can be found on their Facebook page.
Scoop
15-05-2025
- Scoop
Halton Hart 'Grandad Mait'
Halton Hart are Caitlyn 17, Marissa 16, and Erica Byars 10, Jaelyn 10 and Meila Scully 12, Taegan 10 and Hazel Evans 7, and Georgia Martin 11. Between them the girls can play acoustic guitar, bass, ukulele, banjo and Mando Guitar. Halton Hart is a very rare and unique musical family of 8 girls, where music plays a massive role in their lives. All the girls have been taught music by Gore based recording artist Kayla Mahon with all starting at the young age of 2, up on the stage, singing on the country music competition circuit. To honor their family's heritage and create a name that bound them together, the girls chose Halton Hart. 'Halton' comes from Halton Street, Gore, the home of Grandad Mait and Nana Horrell. Grandad Mait's love for traditional country music and yodeling set the stage for a family tradition that has continued through Kayla Mahon and now finds new voice in Halton Hart. Following their engaging performance as Halton Hart at the 2024 Waikaia cavalcade, the girls are now launching their own gigs, fuelled by a genuine love for singing! Georgia, Meila and Jaelyn recently travelled to Tamworth Country Music Festival 2025, winning hearts, and were asked to perform in the Busking Finals for guests at the Tamworth Bowlo. Meila made the top 5 at the Golden Gig Finals at Tamworth Country Music festival also. Georgia and Meila also go under the duo name ' The Sparks ' and are the current runner up overall Junior Gold Guitar winners. The girls opened for the Mitchell Twins last year at Gore's Little Theatre. Georgia is the current Junior Overall Winner for the Dunedin Country Music Awards 2023. A love of the outdoors binds these girls together. Hunting, exploring remote hill country, four-wheel driving, and motor biking are more than just hobbies; they're shared passions. With their Stony Creek gear on, they live for these adventures. The girls listen to a lot of the new country music, and have a strong love of the music of Lainey Wilson and Kaylee Bell. Halton Hart often open gigs for Kayla Mahon, their Aunty, who is exceptionally proud of them all. A funny tale about Grandad, he was cheeky and always liked to have people on. ' Grandad Mait' tells a snippet of his life and he loved to share his stories with his family. This song has the good old country feel that we hope brings you a smile. Grandad loved his traditional music: Tex Morton, Slim Dusty, and Johnny Cash. In the studio, it was an amazing experience. The girls recorded their singles at Music South by Aaron Ives and had a great time using the big studio at Southland Institute of Technology in Invercargill. Capturing their voices at this time will always be such a treasure as they grow older. Their personalities are all different, from the quiet, dark horses that bring out the music magic, and then to the 'no holding 'em back' attitude that drives the spark in the family.
Otago Daily Times
30-04-2025
- Otago Daily Times
Fierce dancers to fight for fair pay
As International Dance Day celebrations return to Dunedin for the third year, offering free events across the city, a new dance organisation hopes to lift the art form's commercial standing. Fierce Entertainment has been founded by principal creator Willow de Jonge as a professional dance group. "Fierce has come into the community with the ethos of ensuring fair compensation for performers, artists, dancers." The group aimed to make sure dancers received professional payment for work at weddings, functions, theatrical performances or public events, she said. The artistic community in New Zealand had "quite a problem" when it came to being paid for its services. "Like all creative endeavours, this won't be accomplished overnight. "But with time, care and support from the wider Ōtepoti artistic community, we hope to get on board with dance schools and Dunedin theatre. "And, you know, just put a dent in artists getting fairly paid and compensated." The group will have a major presence during International Dance Day. "You can catch Fierce Entertainment on George St on Saturday, entertaining the public and pulling everyone up to the Lower Octagon for Dance Ōtepoti's International Dance Day events to kick off. "So they will be very spunky, they will be moving down George St, giving you a flyer, jamming out to music, handing out some jelly beans for kids, doing all that stuff to entice the community up here at the weekend." Dance Ōtepoti founder and general manager Anna Noonan said the Ōtepoti Festival of Dance for International Dance Day aimed to celebrate dance in all its forms and share its joy and benefits. There will be a wide range of activities to enjoy. Events include beginner classes, performances in the Lower Octagon, Te Whare o Rukutia and Toitū Otago Settlers Museum as well as taster sessions such as Tiny Tots (18 months to 3 years), salsa and line dancing. More than 200 dancers, dance artists and groups will be involved throughout the weekend. The Ōtepoti Festival of Dance is supported by the Dunedin City Council. INTERNATIONAL DANCE DAY 2025 Saturday Classes • 8.45am, Yoga for Dancers, Te Whare o Rukutia • 10am, Absolute Beginner Ballet, Te Whare o Rukutia • 10.45am, Absolute Beginner Jazz Cabaret, Te Whare o Rukutia • 11.30am, Absolute Beginner Swing, Te Whare o Rukutia • 12.15pm, Absolute Beginner Hip-Hop, Te Whare o Rukutia Performances • 1pm, IDD Performances, the Octagon • 3pm, IDD Performances, Te Whare o Rukutia Events • 4pm, IDD Talk: dance as resistance and resilience, Te Whare o Rukutia • 8pm, Dunedin Folk Club: Community Barn Dance and Ceilidh, Ravensbourne Community Hall, Wānaka St • Running throughout the day: Ad Parnassum Purapurawhetū — VR and Full Dome Experience by Good Company Arts, Tūhura Otago Museum —12.30pm-1.30pm, Assisted VR Experience, Beautiful Science Gallery —3.30pm-4.30pm (on loop), 10 minute Full Dome Planetarium Film, Perpetual Guardian Planetarium Sunday All events at Toitū Otago Settlers Museum Taster sessions • 10am, Tiny Tots Taster • 10.45am, Dance with GASP! • 11.15am, Line Dance Taster • 11.45am, Contra Dance Taster • 12.30pm, Salsa with Vuelta Dance Performance • 1pm, IDD Performances Balfolk Mini Bal • 2.30pm, Balfolk Dunedin Mini Bal
