The small town of Ophir is on the map again this NZ Music Month, as all things musical are celebrated across the country.

Country-folk singer songwriter Tess Liautaud is playing a gig at Ophir’s historic Peace Memorial Hall celebrating the release of her new single ‘Gold Digger’ on May 17.

She’s playing 12 shows across New Zealand together with her band members Adam Hattaway, Frankie Daly, Elmore Jones and Michael Kime.

The tour is visiting some other small South Island places, including Arrowtown, Wānaka, Oamaru, Banks Peninsula, Lyttelton, Mapua and Golden Bay. 

Tess is originally from Paris, but is now living in Dunedin. 

Her newly released single was written in Otago and has been described as having a “through-line; honest truth cloaked in humorous word play and a simple melody” by website Under the Radar.

Watch the video of the Gold Digger on YouTube. It was filmed in Otira and Arthur’s Pass in January.

Gold Digger Tour poster. PHOTO: Supplied

NZ Music Month launched in 1997 as New Zealand Music Week, in 2001 it moved to a month-long format. Visit the NZ Music Month website for more information.

In 2023 Ophir’s Peace Memorial Hall hosted another pair of country musicians during May, kiwi musicians Kerryn Fields (Te Kuiti) and Matt Joe Gow (Dunedin).