Tyson Smith is a guitarist/singer/songwriter originally hailing from Manuka Bay on New Zealand's east coast, though his last decade of musical meanderings has taken him from Christchurch to the Caribbean, Central America, New York, Europe and most recently Wellington where he's currently based.

Initially starting out on homemade polystyrene guitars and miming along with "Money For Nothing" for unsuspecting family friends he began learning on the real thing at age 9. It wasn't long before he was regularly making the 100km journey to Christchurch for lessons as well as performing duets with his sister, flautist Tamara Smith.
Tyson relocated to Christchurch for his final high school years and to attend the CPIT Jazz School, continuing to immerse himself in the local music scene. For some of this time he lived with a Peruvian family, learning Spanish and intensifying his interest in ethnic music.

In 2003, after performing around Christchurch in various ensembles ranging from pseudo-flamenco duos to 8-piece funks bands, Tyson decided it would be a good idea to invest in a cheap Tuxedo and fly to New Orleans. Over the next 3 years he could be found performing in showbands afloat the Caribbean or Mediterranean, or soaking up influences in Central America, Cuba or The States. During a few months in New York he took lessons from some of the city's top guitarists including Mike Stern, John Abercrombie, Wayne Krantz and Ben Monder and funded nightly pilgrimages through the snowy streets to various music venues by busking in the subway. He also found a place by Union Square where you can get a meatball sandwich and an ice tea for $2.

Since relocating to NZ's capital Wellington in 2006 he has been busy working on his own original music as well performing with a range of acts - he has been guitarist with singer Hollie Smith for the last 3 years and also played for various productions in both Theatre and TV. He also teaches one-on-one guitar lessons and has recently been playing guitar and banjo in "Mundi", a world music group lead by his sister Tamara.
In 2009 he produced an album documenting original compositions from the previous several years, available on CD and MP3 download here.
He is currently working on material for his new trio as well as solo acoustic performances.. Stay tuned for more info!

Mundi performing live at the Mussel Inn