Rob Ruha Claims Historic Kapa Haka Award at 2026 APRA Silver Scrolls

Aotearoa’s music industry marked a historic milestone on Wednesday night as the 2026 APRA Silver Scroll Awards officially recognised kapa haka as a distinct songwriting category for the first time. Held at Auckland’s Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre, the 61st annual ceremony saw Māori musician and cultural leader Rob Ruha, of Te Whānau-ā-Apanui and Ngāti Porou descent, become the inaugural recipient of Te Tihi o te Maunga Tito (the Kapa Haka Songwriting Award). Ruha received the honour for his composition Te Tapuni, performed by Te Taumata o Apanui (TOA) during the Mātaatua regional Te Matatini qualifying competition. The waiata honours the late Ricky Lee Tapuni Mitai of Te Whakatōhea, celebrating his commitment to te reo Māori and performing arts. Ruha noted that the award is a long-awaited acknowledgment of generations of Māori composers who have used kapa haka to preserve whakapapa and cultural identity. During the ceremony, he also advocated for the wider entertainment industry to provide professional respect and fair compensation for kapa haka groups commensurate with their craft. The night further celebrated the strength of Māori and Pacific voices with the APRA Maioha Award going to husband-and-wife duo Aro. Charles and Emily Looker won the prize for their waiata Puna Ora, from their 2026 album Tāwauwau. The song explores the spiritual foundations of identity and the connections between tūpuna (ancestors) and mokopuna (grandchildren). In another groundbreaking moment for the 100-year-old organisation, the main APRA Silver Scroll Award was won by the group LEAO for their song LALELEI. Written by David Feauai-Afaese, Navakatoa Tekela-Pule, Levi Gemmell, and Larsen Taylor, it is the first composition written entirely in Gagana Samoa to win the prestigious prize. The evening, which opened with a cross-cultural welcome from Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, signals a transformative era for Indigenous language and creative expression in the New Zealand music landscape.