New Zealand musician and songwriter Jaqualyn (Jaqi) Taimana Williams is a dynamic force in the Aotearoa music scene. A songwriter of gutsy indie rock for adults and a celebrated bilingual creator for tamariki, Jaqi bridges generations and cultures through song.

Even though she wrote her first “real” song at age 7, Jaqi’s professional music career didn’t really start until age 18 at the Arts Centre in Christchurch fronting a covers band formed by university students. She ended up playing keyboard, vocals and guitar professionally in Christchurch’s top hotel bands and duos. Over the years Jaqi has gradually accumulated an extensive range of original, catchy and very Kiwi songs. These range from indie rock and roots, comedy songs, parodies, songs written in te reo and bilingual songs for children.

A self-described Polynesian Asian Caucasian – Jaqi is a mother of four, kuia of one, stand-up comedian and qualified early childhood teacher who has recently completed a certificate in tertiary and adult teaching through Literacy Aotearoa.

Jaqi released her exhilarating and engaging debut 16 track rock/pop album Statues of Liberty in October 2019 at age 50. Recorded at Kog Recording Studio with the track production expertise of Tim Skedden (The Feelers, Babysitters Circus) and the mastering skills of Chris Chetland, this collection of songs represents her most popular works emerging over decades of songwriting and performing. The album features one song in te reo, Waiho Mai which reached the Top 100 on Dunedin Student Radio in 2024. “It’s a triumph for me, a body of work that is truly dynamic and diverse and plays through beautifully as a whole album. I’m glad I didn’t give up on my dreams when I was just a DV survivor/ solo Mum of twin toddlers on the DPB 20 years ago.”

Jaqi combined her professional language learning knowledge with her natural songwriting talents to create a teaching resource for language learners in Aotearoa and released the eight-song bilingual children’s album, Waiata Tamariki (2018) with Ian Rushton.

In 2020, Jaqi performed live at Urban Flava, a Music For Parks event in South Auckland just before the first lockdown, moved to Hamilton before the second one and has become an annual local feature at the Hamilton Arts Festival.

NZ On Air funded four music videos for four tracks from the follow up eight-song childrens’ album Waiata Tamariki 2 (2022), and one was selected to be aired in the Show Me Shorts film festival. With music education organisation ONZA and Senior Auckland University lecturer Robyn Trinick, Jaqi delvered teacher music education and literacy workshops based on retelling Māori legends through sound and movement.

“I do this as a language learner as much as a teacher. I was not brought up in a Māori speaking home as I was adopted out as a baby and I’m far from a te reo expert. What I am is a good learner of language. I create these songs to help myself and others learn te reo. With short, repeated simple phrases and words and the English translation already within the song, I can help listeners (children, teachers, parents) to say/sing and understand the Māori
words. Research shows that using the medium of song to help people learn te reo actually works.”

Highlights of her stunning career to date include:

• being a student of performing arts at Hagley Theatre Company in 1995, hired as a singing jester on bus trips. This led on to the development of stand-up comedy routines and a context to perform comedy songs. She has performed at iconic historical bars like Kitty O’Brien’s and The Temple and The Classic in Auckland, Bath St Bar and New Atheneum in Dunedin and the Wunderbar and Dux Lux in Christchurch alongside Rhys Darby, Guy Williams and Grant Lobban (Damo from Shortland Street). Since then, she has curated and performed in many stand-up comedy shows for HaHaHamilton comedians collective before creating her own comedy production company, Jaqi Taimana Comedy.

• Touring Germany in 1998 in a female acoustic duo, The Mona Lisas, selling CDs of original recordings.

• her rock-style originals band Mothership was played regularly on Christchurch’s Cry Music TV

• her multi-cultural, multi-gender line-up Manu Taniwhā played an original Naaku, on TV2’s Ground Zero music show in 1999

• Jaqi’s electronica/country song Buying Heaven was included on an NZ Music Month CD sent out free with The Christchurch Press in 2005.

• Five years later, Jaqi celebrated the production of a homemade compilation of her recordings over two decades, Crowning Jewels with a live show at Fat Eddie’.

• Her final performance as a Christchurch resident was Lunchtime in The Square, Christchurch 2011.

• Following the earthquakes, Jaqi moved to Southland and won the Female Solo section of the 2011 Glen Country Music Club’s annual Talent quest.

• She played solo at Speight’s Alehouse and Waxy O’Shea’s Irish Bar and opened the Queens Park Waitangi Day concert in Invercargill.

• Like any true humanitarian Aquarius, Jaqi has performed to raise funds to help relief eiorts in the Philippines and at the 2013 Relay For Life Cancer Society event.

• Jaqi performed an acoustic originals show at The Church in Dunedin as part of the 2011 Fringe Festival

• In 2015, Jaqi recovered from a partial mastectomy at North Shore hospital and worked full time as a kindergarten teacher in West Auckland for 6 years

• In 2021 Jaqi moved to Kirikiriroa Hamilton and performed the first of many family-friendly comedy and music sets at the Hamilton Garden Arts Festival

• Performed and live to air recorded at the Turangawaewae Regatta before the Māori King

• a follow up eight-song childrens’ album Waiata Tamariki 2 was completed and released in 2022

• In June 2022 Jaqi & Jade kids music duo hit the stage for Matariki at Hamilton Lake Domain and at Puketepapa Manu Aute Kite Day atop Mt Roskill and took an interactive learning experience to early childhood centres in and around the Waikato

• In 2023 she released the EP Guns Of Dialogue. Jaqi was nominated for Best Producer in the 2023 NZ Comedy Guild Awards

• In 2024 Jaqi completed a nationwide solo comedy tour with her musical comedy gem, The Coming 2nd, which was also included in the Wellington and Whangārei Fringe Festivals

• In 2025, Jaqi put together a five-piece all-woman blues band Piece of Cake which played at the Hamilton Blues Society and BOP Blues Club events and supported local Aussies, 19-Twenty in Mt Maunganui during their nationwide tour

• And here we are in 2026! Jaqi has re-formed her blues rock/ indie te reo backing band The Lucky Devils with Auckland legends, Jimi Kara, Gef Fitzi Bassman and Steve Rooney for the next round of festivals and is putting together premium stand-up comedy shows in and around the mighty Waikato.

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