2020: The Year In Review

First and foremost, and what is possibly the understatement of the century – it’s been kind of a rough year. Not just for the music industry, but for humanity as a whole. As I am writing this I am hearing about the first reported cases of Covid-19 in Antarctica. England has gone back into a more regimented lockdown meaning many will be without their families for Christmas for the first time. American’s are dying from Covid-19 related illnesses at a rate of nearly 3000 people per day (and rising). There hasn’t been an event in human history that has affected the WHOLE world like this, and as such things like the live music industry worldwide were almost wiped out over the course of a few months.

But it’s a different story over here in little ol’ New Zealand. Sure, there were fears our industry wouldn’t survive. But due to our Governments strategy of “go hard, go early” we’ve been able to eliminate the public spread and have been able to return to our daily lives, including being one of the only countries worldwide that has seen a (safe) return to live music.

Despite this, there have been many times I have come close to throwing in the towel and abandoning Ambient Light this year, but the thought that we had to keep reporting on live music of all kinds so that we could, perhaps, be a beacon of hope for those who aren’t as lucky to be able to witness live music in any form, proof that no matter how bad it gets there will come a time when you will be able to get back amongst it all – is a very important thought to keep.

Of course Ambient Light isn’t just me, and I am very thankful for the other writers and photographers who have been out and about covering gigs, interviewing artists, reviewing albums and generally keeping the lights on through lockdowns and in one case life threatening illness. Dedicated just isn’t a strong enough word to describe these humans – and for all of you I am eternally grateful.

This year was also tough for another reason, in that a much loved, important Ambient Light crew member – Mr Leon Taylor, passed away. Husband of the O.G. Ambient Light writer Kate Taylor, Leon was also a much admired member of the wider music community as well as being our go-to artist, and also gave some of the best hugs I’ve ever experienced. We all miss you very much Yeti.

In defiance of all this, there have also been moments of light within this dark year. When the clock hit midnight on January 1st (and for the first time since Ambient Light was created) we upgraded the website, changing layouts as well as some of our back-end processes – meaning things are looking just a wee bit better while also allowing us to be much more prepared for whatever the future may bring. We have also extended our coverage outside of Auckland with a raft of new writers and photographers around the country, special mention must go to the crew in Hawkes Bay who have really come out swinging this year – we are really very stoked to have you all on board!

To finish up, I also want to thank you, the reader for giving us a reason to continue. It is because of your readership (and occasional donations) that Ambient Light is what it is today. So please join me in celebrating some of the greatest concerts, albums, and content from this year with our top ten lists below, as well as joining us in remembering the musical greats that are no longer with us, and we’ll see you all next year – roll on 2021!

Doug Peters
Editor in Chief – Ambient Light

Top 10 Concerts (by website stats)

It’s probably of no surprise to anyone who has interacted with music fans that when Queen (+ Adam Lambert) roll into town it’s guaranteed that any content about them is going to be popular. Case in point, this year was the first time in Ambient Light’s history that a piece of our content was viewed by over a million people worldwide, thanks in no small part to Queen themselves sharing our photo on their social media. We were also excited to see so many of our top Kiwi music acts so high in the rankings – proof that coverage of New Zealand acts is vitally important to you as readers as well as to the acts themselves. Pai ki a koe everyone!

Top 10 Interviews (by website stats)

While the amount of interviews we conducted this year has dropped, the quality of people we talked to certainly didn’t. From international music legends through to small Kiwi acts on the cusp of greatness we have chatted to them all, and below are the ones you the readers liked the most.

Top 10 performances (as chosen by Doug Peters / Ambient Light)

While the pandemic ruined any chance of international acts in the latter half of the year, we were still lucky enough to witness a wealth of talent as some of the greatest acts in the world performed in New Zealand. In terms of atmosphere, there wasn’t a greater show than that of Lizzo spreading her message of body positivity mixed with great musicianship to a field full of believers in West Auckland. As a long-time Tool fan who has been lucky enough to see them perform many times, this years shows were some of the best I’ve seen them perform and as such they deserved a spot near the top of the list. Special mention must also go to L.A.B with their triumphant post-lockdown show at Spark Arena in Auckland – it was the show we all needed at the time we needed it, and they absolutely nailed it.

Top 10 Albums (as chosen by Doug Peters / Ambient Light)

What a magnificent year it has been for music! No matter what genre of music you are into there have been some brilliant albums – and once again New Zealander’s showing we have some of the best musicians in the world, with a large chunk of my top ten albums going to Kiwi acts. Congratulations must go to Reb Fountain for producing hands-down the best album of 2020, an incredible piece of art that will continue to dominate my most played list for years to come I’m sure.

In Memoriam 2020 (Rest In Peace)

7th January: Neil Pert (Rush)
24th January: Sean Reinert (Cynic)
26th January: Bob Shane (Kingston Trio)
1st February: Peter Serkin (Tashi)
7th February: Steve Weber (Holy Modal Rounders)
19th February: Pop Smoke [Bashar Barakah Jackson]
24th February: Jahn Teigen (Popol Ace)
6th March: McCoy Tyner (John Coltrane Quartet)
20th March: Kenny Rogers
22nd March: Eric Weissberg
24th March: Manu Dibango (Soul Makossa)
28th March: Jan Howard [Lula Grace Johnson]
29th March: Joe Diffie
30th March: Bill Withers
1st April: Ellis Marsalis
1st April: Adam Schlesinger (Fountains Of Wayne)
7th April: John Prine
15th April: Lee Konitz
19th April: Ian Whitcomb
21st April: Derek Jones (Falling In Reverse)
22nd April: Robert “Bootsie” Barnes
24th April: Harold Reid (Statler Brothers)
28th April: Bobby Lewis
30th April: Tony Allen
3rd May: Dave Greenfield (The Stranglers)
5th May: Hillard “Sweet Pea” Atkinson (Was Not Was)
6th May: Millie Small
6th May: Florian Schneider (Kraftwerk)
9th May: Little Richard [Wayne Penniman]
10th May: Betty Wright [Bessie Norris]
11th May: John “Moon” Martin
15th May: Phil May (Pretty Things)
22nd May: Mory Kanté (Yé ké yé ké)
24th May: Jimmy Cobb [Wilbur James] (Miles Davis Sextet)
27th May: Leon Taylor
4th June: Steve Priest (The Sweet)
18th June: Vera Lynn
20th June: Aaron Tokona (Fly My Pretties / Weta / Cairo Knife Fight / AHoriBuzz)
27th June: Johnny Mandel
29th June: Hachalu Hundessa
6th July: Ennio Morricone
6th July: Charlie Daniels
8th July: Naya Rivera
12th July: Rod Bernard
21st July: Annie Ross
25th July: Peter Green [Peter Greenbaum] (Fleetwood Mac)
7th August: Constance Weldon (Boston Pops)
10th August: Don Martin (Mi-Sex)
11th August: Trini Lopez [Trinidad Lopez]
23rd August: Justin Townes Earle
2nd September: Ian Mitchell (Bay City Rollers)
4th September: Gary Peacock (Keith Jarrett Trio)
9th September: Ronald Bell (Kool & The Gang)
11th September: Frederick “Toots” Hibbert (The Maytals)
19th September: Lee Kerslake (Uriah Heep / Ozzy Osbourne)
21st September: Tommy Devito (Four Seasons)
29th September: Helen Reddy
29th September: Mac Davis
6th October: Eddie Van Halen (Van Halen)
6th October: Johnny Nash
8th October: Mohammad Reza Shajarian
11th October: Jon Gibson (Philip Glass Ensemble)
15th October: Gordon Haskell (King Crimson)
19th October: Spencer Davis [Spencer Davies] (Spencer Davis Group)
19th October: Tony Lewis (The Outfield)
26th October: Stan Kesler
28th October: Billy Joe Shaver
31st October: MF Doom [Daniel Dumile]
4th November: Ken Hensley (Uriah Heep)
7th November: Bones Hillman [Wayne Stevens] (Midnight Oil / The Swingers / Suburban Reptiles)
5th December: Ganxsta Ridd [Paul Devoux] (Boo-Ya T.R.I.B.E.)
9th December: Sean Malone (Cynic)
12th December: Charlie Pride
13th December: Andre Sapunov (Voskreseniye)
15th December: Sam Jayne (Love As Laughter)
16th December: Carl Mann
19th December: Per Alsing (Roxette)
19th December: Clay Anthony (Junkyard)
19th December: Pepi Salvaderi (Dik Dik)
20th December: Chad Stuart (Chad & Jeremy)
21st December: KT Oslin [Kay Toinette Oslin]
23rd December: John Fletcher (Whodini)
25th December: Tony Rice (Bluegrass Album Band)
26th December: Tito Rojas
28th December: Vladimir Yefimenko (Leysya Pensya)

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