Holly Afoa AKA Aunty Rae - Singer-songwriter, Musician & Communications Representative

📸 Jerome Warburton

Holly Afoa AKA Aunty Rae is a Samoan singer-songwriter and musician. Her music journey began when she was a schoolgirl who climbed trees to sing songs about loving God. Early on, Holly’s mother arranged for her to have private piano lessons which she attended for 10 years! Learning to play Classical Piano was exceedingly difficult, but Holly was grateful for the personal discipline and resilience that she discovered as a result.

As Holly grew into her high school years, her unrelenting work ethic as a pianist persisted. However, her spirits were dampened when she failed her final exam. After tirelessly practising for half of her life and self-funding a Diploma in Music Performance, an offensively disinterested and uptight examiner failed her because she didn't curtsy at the end.

Fortunately, music didn’t leave Holly at that moment. On the same day that Holly picked up that dreaded phone call from her piano teacher about her devastating grade, she aced her audition to study Pop Music at The University of Auckland. Throughout this degree, Holly learnt to write songs and play guitar better. But she reckoned that the best takeaway of those three years was the network she was exposed to.

Before releasing a solo EP, Holly played in a band - Round Buddha - with musicians who she connected with at University. Round Buddha was her introduction to playing gigs with Jazz and Hip Hop artists, singing in a studio and collaborating to make original songs. It turns out that creating a music career really is about who you know.

At the end of her degree, Holly felt completely lost on what to do next. So, she frantically raced over to the office of one of her lecturers, Graham Reid, on her last day. Graham used his industry connections to help Holly land a job as a publicist at The Label NZ. There, Holly learnt on the fly and her network just kept growing.

Now, Holly works at APRA AMCOS NZ as a Communications Representative. As a result of knowing when to change course and who to ask for help, she has found her place in a community full of passionate, Pasifika creatives and artists.