When Sol3 Mio star Moses Mackay appears via Zoom from Los Angeles, the singing sensation is hot and bothered, his hair tousled and his Samoan tatau poking out from under a black singlet during a break from recording his first solo album in the Californian heat.
While appearing on The Bachelor NZ last year feels like a lifetime ago, the 32-year-old quips that he’s found true love in LA. He grins, “My love life is full because it’s music! I haven’t felt so at peace in a long time.”
As excited as Moses is about being in the States, though, there’s one occasion back home that he’s reluctantly missing – one that could signal he’s going to have to get used to sharing the stage with another in his talented family.
His younger sister Anasetasia Mackay, 23, is deep in rehearsals for her musical theatre debut in the home-grown stage show Pacifica: The Musical, a love story featuring music by some of Aotearoa’s most beloved musicians, including Stan Walker, Six60, Anika Moa, Hollie Smith and Nesian Mystik, plus a cast full of fresh Pasifika talent.
But joining Woman’s Day on the virtual chat, Anasetasia – the youngest in the Mackay family, which also includes brothers Marley, 35, and Matthias, 24 – says Moses has always been there for her, and she values his advice on things like vocal technique, stage presence and navigating fame.
Some words of wisdom that Moses has offered to his sibling is that there’s no such thing as rejection – just redirection.
He explains, “It took me a long time to learn that, so I’ve shared it with her because I want her to do it easier than me. I also tell her at no point should you ever back down whenever you’re going through strife or difficulty.
“All you have to do is keep going forward because there’s always going to be a lesson in it. You might not see it at
the moment when it’s quite stressful and there’s a lot going on, but just show up because you’re going to look back in hindsight and think, ‘I did that!’ It’s easy to just walk away and cop out.”
Moses has been at her side during some challenging times. A former head girl at Carmel College, Anasetasia became mum to her daughter Kavatoiana, now five, just weeks after she finished high school. She recalls an evening when, feeling overwhelmed by the pregnancy, Moses brought her a hot chocolate and quietly sat with her.
“Sometimes you just need someone to sit with you and say nothing,” she says, adding that her daughter is “the greatest gift” and she’s determined to show Kava that she can chase her dreams.
“I want to encourage her to be who she is, like, ‘If you want to sing, you sing, baby. You want to do athletics? Then you do that!’ I believe we should give our children every single opportunity we can and maybe it won’t work out for them, but you have to keep them open to different things.”
Anasetasia with daughter Kava.
While Anasetasia grew up in a family where singing was part of life, she doubted her own ability after she auditioned for a primary school musical and a teacher told her, “I don’t think your future lies in singing.” Crushed, she didn’t sing solo again until high school, where her talent was finally recognised and encouraged.
Anasetasia joined the New Zealand Secondary Schools Choir, travelling around Aotearoa and Canada to perform. Weeks after Kava was born, she started studying music at the University of Auckland, but her degree went on hold after she moved to Northland and became a youth worker. She’s unsure of whether she’ll return to full-time study.
“I’m really pursuing my own musical journey as an artist,” says Anasetasia, who has released her first EP, and is performing her blend of soul, R&B and pop in intimate Auckland venues.
She’s also joined Moses on stage from time to time. “When we’re on stage together, we can just look at each other and I know exactly what he needs to get to this key or hit this note,” she enthuses. “It’s home. It’s comfortable for me. One of my favourite things is when I go over to his place on Waiheke Island and he plays the piano while I lie on the couch, and we just sing.”
And she’s confident Moses will one day watch her on stage. Anasetasia smiles, “I’m pretty sad he can’t see me this time, but whatever will be will be. If not now, there will be another time.”
