Ria Hall

Ria Hall
Hall in 2016
Background information
Born	1982 or 1983 (age 41–42) Maungatapu, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand
Origin	Tauranga, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand
Genres	New Zealand hip hop * New Zealand reggae * soul * R&B
Years active	2011–present

Ria Hall (born 1982 or 1983) is a Māori recording artist, singer-songwriter, television presenter, and political candidate. She has released two solo albums, Rules of Engagement (2017), which topped the Official New Zealand Music Chart shortly after its release, and Manawa Wera (2020). Her work reflects Māori society and history, and Hall regularly sings in Māori as well as English.

Born in Tauranga with an extensive background in kapa haka, she moved to Wellington in her early twenties to attend university and launch her music career. She initially fronted the reggae band Hope Road. After sporadically performing with other contemporary Māori musical acts, such as TrinityRoots, Hall rose to prominence after performing the New Zealand national anthem for the opening ceremony of the 2011 Rugby World Cup. Her self-titled debut EP, released that year, won Best Māori Album at the 2012 New Zealand Music Awards. Her debut album Rules of Engagement is a concept album about the Tauranga Campaign, specifically the Battle of Gate Pā, featuring contributions from Tiki Taane and Che Fu. Hall would later win Best Māori Female Artist at the Waiata Māori Music Awards for the work. Her second album Manawa Wera featured collaborations with Rob Ruha and L.A.B, and peaked at number 10 on the Official Albums Chart. Her song 'Te Ahi Kā Pō' won the APRA Silver Scroll in 2021.

Hall has also had a prominent career as a television presenter on Whakaata Māori (formerly Māori Television), one of New Zealand's two state-owned indigenous television networks. She has also collaborated with Stan Walker, Maisey Rika, and Troy Kingi. Having long been involved in advocacy for the Bay of Plenty, in 2024 Hall announced her candidacy for Mayor of Tauranga in the 2024 Tauranga mayoral election, part of the first local elections since the 2021 suspension of Tauranga's local government. She came fourth on provisional results.^[1]