Independent artist Colette Rivers is releasing her second full-length album, The Backyard Wonder, an intimate exploration of healing, change, and the quiet beauty of ordinary moments.
This album holds special meaning for Rivers: after being diagnosed with cancer in July 2023, her planned sophomore release had to take a back seat to recovery. But when the cancer returned in early 2025, she felt compelled to finish and release the album, not just as a legacy project, also as a celebration after hard times, with a focus on how “you can find the wonder in life, even in your backyard.”
A lifelong creative, Rivers records, mixes, and produces in her home studio in Masterton, and plays every instrument heard on The Backyard Wonder. Her debut album, Memory Lake (2020), was shaped by early years spent in the US, and her move to Taupō at age 11; this was followed by a nationwide tour. Now based in the Wairarapa and working as a secondary school drama teacher, Rivers continues to move between solo performance and full band sets, while staying rooted in the acoustic traditions that define her sound.
