Jenny Mitchell: Bringing the heart of country to the Wanaka Show

The Gore-raised country artist Jenny Mitchell returns to the Wanaka A&P Show stage this year. Photo: Supplied

Country artist Jenny Mitchell has spent the past year on big stages across Australia and New Zealand, opening for international acts, winning awards and building serious momentum.

 But when she steps onto the Wanaka A&P Show stage on March 13 & 14, it’s a kind of homecoming.

Because long before the tours and the awards, there were A&P shows, rural halls and small-town crowds.

“I grew up going to A&P shows and field days,” Mitchell says. “There’s something special about everyone coming together at the end of the day and having music to gather around.”

Now 27 and already one of New Zealand’s most recognised country artists, Mitchell returns to a setting that feels familiar.

Raised in Gore, she grew up immersed in country music, performing alongside her father Ron Mitchell - himself a respected country singer - and her twin sisters.

But her early audiences weren’t festival crowds.

 “Most of our gigs growing up were in retirement villages,” she says. “Dad always believed music is something to be shared. That’s how we learned to play for people.”

Mitchell will perform at Wanaka with her band - and one of her sisters - delivering songs from her latest album ‘Forest House’, alongside a few well-loved covers.

 The team behind the show has invested in creating a more dedicated music space this year, turning the performance into a true end-of-day gathering point.

And Wanaka feels personal.

“I’ve got quite a bit of family in the area, so it’s always emotional playing there,” she says. “It’s harder when people you know are in the crowd, but it’s also really special.”

     Jenny Mitchell performs alongside her sisters. Music has always been a family affair for the Southland singer-songwriter. Photo: Jameson Photography

Photo: Jameson Photography

A Big Year- and bigger stages

Mitchell may be young, but her trajectory has been more meteor than rising star.

An Aotearoa Music Award winner for Best Country Artist and a four-time Australian Golden Guitar nominee, she has toured extensively across New Zealand and Australia. In 2025 she opened for global folk-rock band The Lumineers and spent much of the year touring alongside Australian country icon Kasey Chambers.

“That tour was life-changing,” she says. “Kasey’s albums were part of our household growing up.”

Mitchell’s latest album, ‘Forest House’, was recorded in a remote rural house in New Zealand, surrounded by native bush and open skies.

The record explores what happens “within the four walls of a house” - the often unseen and unspoken joy, tension and the heartbreak.

It’s storytelling at its most honest – hauntingly beautiful yet relatable in a world of polished Instagram stories and ai content.

“It’s all about that storytelling and a connection with an audience and being able to hopefully tell stories that they relate to.”

And perhaps that is why country music feels more mainstream than ever.

Award-winning country artist Jenny Mitchell, whose latest album Forest House was recorded in a remote rural setting. Photo: Nikki Parlane

Photo: Nikki Parlane

In a world of digital noise, algorithms and short attention spans, Mitchell believes audiences are gravitating back to something simpler.

“I think people are craving real storytelling again,” she says.

“There are people my age who never would have listened to country at school, and now they’re wearing cowboy boots and heading to festivals.

 “There’s been a real shift.”

She points to artists like Kaylee Bell helping bring pop-country to radio audiences, while singer-songwriters such as Tami Neilson and Marlon Williams continue to shape the alternative country space.

“What I love is that there’s space for everyone,” she says. “You can have Marlon Williams and Kaylee Bell in the same conversation.”

Back to the Paddock

While Wanaka will see Mitchell on a formal stage, she is also launching something entirely new in 2026: ‘House of High Country’ - a concert series that takes live music directly onto farms around Aotearoa.

It’s an idea Mitchell has been thinking about for years.

“The first one in Kingston has a shed where the audience will sit, and the stage will be set up in a paddock. After that, we’ll just take each farm as it comes. Some places have big sheds, some don’t. I love the challenge of figuring out how to bring the band and the show into different spaces. We’ll just go wherever we go.

“I love the thought of stripping it all back. It’s about storytelling and connection.”

Each farm show will include a fundraiser barbecue supporting a local community group a school, sports club or cause identified by the host farm.

“The Give Back BBQ at each farm show will support a local community group: a school, sports club, whoever needs fundraising. In small towns, everyone knows where support is needed.”

Mitchell has already raised funds for Forest & Bird and Women’s Refuge through previous tours, generating more than 200 Safe Nights for women and children escaping violence.

 “It was one of the most moving things I’ve ever done,” Mitchell says. “So many people in my audience had personal connections to Refuge.”

And on show day in Wanaka, when the dust settles and the crowd gathers, it won’t be about awards or accolades.

It will be about songs shared at the end of a rural day - just as they always have been.

“Wanaka is such a beautiful place, and there’ll be so many familiar faces there. I can’t wait.”

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To follow Jenny Mitchells music and upcoming tour dates, or to host a House Of High Country event on your farm visit www.jennymitchell.co.nz