6 and 60. Perhaps not everyone's two favourite set of numbers, but nevertheless, undeniably iconic to anyone from Aotearoa who didn’t forget their roots. It’s generally known that this band name came from the flat on Castle Street that the four members started off in (you’ll never guess the flat number). And so, Six60 was born! They blossomed in the Ōtepoti music scene and every supermarket thereafter would play their discography on repeat until the end of time.
Looking to stamp their claim on the birthplace of the band’s legacy, Six60 bought the flat and leased it to the University in 2021 for a scholarship-based accommodation for aspiring student musos. Each year, four special somebodies receive a scholarship package including a whopping $10,000 towards rent rebate for the 660 Castle St flat; access to the University recording studio; and mentoring opportunities with Six60 band members.
But there are some rules. To qualify for the scholarship, you’ve got to be in your second or third year of study towards a degree in music, performing arts, or a related subject with an interest in the music industry (and with a minimum B minus grade average), and have an existing record in creating or recording music. In short – to get in the door, you need to prove your ability and dedication to being the next Matiu Walters. You fill in a wee form online, send that thang in for review and, if you’re lucky, land an interview (where you probably shouldn’t wear the same smelly Nirvana t-shirt).
At a time when musicians are forced to romanticise “the struggle” (reframing band practice in a lounge as kitschy and down-to-earth rather than a depressing example of underfunded arts spaces) and rent is a drain for StudyLink payments, the scholarship is a pretty sick deal for students. It’s become increasingly apparent, however, that the scholarship’s had a mixture of reviews since its establishment – a mix you’d probably want to check with KnowYourStuff.
Critic Te Ārohi deep dives into these crack-coded reviews and opinions to determine the true usefulness of that oh-so-appealing 10k by stepping inside the flat serving as many tourists’ background photos. Is the Six60 scholarship sick-60? The SparkNotes: yes, but students had some constructive criticism to share.
The Flat
Residents first raised an eyebrow when realising they’d have no say over their flatmates. It’s like flatting with randoms from Facebook marketplace, but one step further. For current flatties Jamie Hall, Casey Jowsey, Emilie Murphy and Ben McMorran, they met on the day they were photographed together for a University announcement of the winners late last year. This process certainly holds a niche similarity between receiving a Six60 scholarship and buying an ounce of weed. It’s all very secretive, you’re not sure who you’re gonna meet at the drop until you get there, then boom: that’s the person who could make or break your experience for the next 24 hours (or whole year in the scholarships case) depending on their honesty.
While the flat has seven bedrooms, only four are used to house the residents’ respective vinyl collections, band t-shirt stocked wardrobes, and ear-plug scattered bedside tables. The other three rooms are reserved for practice spaces. However, these came without any accompanying equipment save for a “real skody pair of DJ decks” that no one had touched. It’s BYOK (bring your own kit). But the scholarship comes with a metaphorical master key to the University music facilities, giving the quartet SIP status (slightly important people) and meaning the lack of in-house equipment wasn’t too big an issue. “There's certain rooms you can’t access without doing certain music papers, but we just get them all,” Jamie explained, saying it was “really convenient”. Lucky bastards.
When the members do choose to take advantage of the available space for jamming out, its lack of soundproofing can cause a ruckus that annoys even the hardest of Castle Street’s DnB frothers. Despite neighbouring residents not only deciding to live on Castle St – one of the rowdiest student areas in the country, but also right next to an acclaimed musicians house – there has apparently still been a couple complaints on the Castle25 page on Facebook about the noise. Ironically, one of the direct neighbours was pumping DnB at 10:30pm on a Sunday, right as Critic Te Ārohi arrived for the interview. Yeah, noise control seems to be a real priority ‘round there.
Mixed Feelings
One former resident, Barb*, said she had “mixed feelings” about the scholarship. While it was an opportunity for a “leg-up” for getting her foot in the door of the music industry and was certainly not turning her nose up at any financial help, she admitted to being disappointed with lots of parts of the scholarship. She claimed there was a lack of support outside of rent, especially with promises of studio time not holding up. “Not one person had time in the studios,” Barb said, despite a litany of back and forth email exchanges with the University.
Then there’s the promised personal mentoring session with Six60 band members. The residents were split between whether this or the free t-shirts they were given to share with friends and family was the biggest perk (valid). Shannon, who was a resident at the flat last year, admitted that her mentoring session with Six60 was “really awkward” despite the band members’ polite natures (perhaps too polite) but wished that she had more time with them as it was only a single session.
Barb wasn’t alone in pointing out that the $10k towards rent hadn’t been adjusted since the scholarship was established in 2021, meaning residents have to cover an increasingly larger portion of rent themselves. The first group paid about $80 extra for the year's rent, whereas the second year paid $1,500, and the third $2,800. This year, residents pay $3,000 extra. Our anonymous source raises their concerns over the scholarship's drop in value. But that being said, “3k rent for a year is real nice.”
Living Like a Celeb
The flat’s celeb status has earned it a decent amount of attention with everyone from visiting families for graduation, cruise ship tourists, and aspiring students down for Open Day stopping by to snap a pic with the iconic building. More a spectacle than a living space at times, it’s meant that some residents have felt unsafe over the years. “People definitely think the house is more free range than others.” Other named flats on Castle St would likely concur, often opening an ODT article to find a picture of their flat taken without their knowledge.
Barb described feeling “genuinely unsafe in the flat” on multiple occasions because “it is such a target”. Her era at 660 experienced a few break-ins, creating a general unease and worry for safety being in the flat, particularly when they were denied any form of additional security from the University who claimed it would be “too expensive”. It’s worth noting here that other Castle St flats have a similar sort of status on campus, all of whom are under the watchful eye of Campus Watch and their army of CCTV cameras.
Current residents have also experienced the celebrity that comes with the flat, but in a more bizarre way, having on one occasion actually been mistaken for the band itself. Drunk students one night shouted for Six60 to play them a song, recalled Emilie, which she took some offence at. “I’m very clearly a woman,” she said with a huff. Well, maybe breathas have developed a subconscious understanding of the socially constructed nature of gender. Regardless, it didn’t stop them from “blasting all the Six60 songs” next door (probably ‘White Lines’).
Some Tweaks
Ben says he’s “really loved it”, highlighting the good connections and handy practice rooms as some of the great perks that come with the scholarship. Critic did not notice any firearms or shining red dots on the foreheads of the 2025 residents when they gave their answers. But we did notice a poster of Joe Biden and Donald Trump smoking the ‘za upon entering the flat (nice). Shannon shared a similar sentiment stating it “definitely felt beneficial” as it allowed her (and her friends) to stay focused on music the whole year.
Barb had a “bomb ass time” as well, and was incredibly grateful for the scholarship, but she had some suggestions for tweaks, saying, “The scholarship could be so much better.” Rather than a rent rebate, she suggested that students might benefit more from contributions towards course fees, musical equipment (to replace the janky DJ decks), and private lessons (Six60 is cool, but other musicians exist). Anything that would leverage their musical career in the spirit of fostering the next generation of Dunedin success stories beyond the Pint Night line-up.
Especially in our practice room crisis for Dunedin musicians, they suggested that the flat itself should be turned into a bunch of practice rooms that other students could access for a small fee, noting that with only four students winning the scholarship each year, heaps miss out. “The Dunedin music scene can be more directly impacted by the house rather than a select few,” said Barb. Another suggested change was turning two of the three practice rooms in the flat into bedrooms, allowing six students rather than four and “more collaboration between musicians”.
Anonymous source number two, Charlie* agreed with a lot of the criticisms of the scholarship, from questioning the stagnant rent rebate to suggestions that there could be some tweaks made to help winners make the most of the opportunity to launch their musical careers. In the application stage, Charlie said, “It seems to be more correlated to grades and Uni performance and not on the creative potential of the applicants.” The whole process, they said, came across “really formal, and not a lot about music”. Maybe a white line would have helped in the interviews, and I’m not talking about the song (wink, wink). “If [the Uni is] wanting another Six60, something needs to change,” they concluded.
The Verdict
Alright, we’ve made it this far folks. We’ve heard from four sources, two yays and two nays to the quality of the Six60 scholarship. It is up to you to formulate your own opinions, dear reader. Now go! Flourish into the night! Start a band, a solo career, start kazooing on the streets, we don’t care! Applications for the scholarship end on the 31st of July this year, we will add, so if you are interested in applying, now is certainly a good time to consider.
And now, a printed serenade to bless your eyes and imaginative ears. I present, Don’t Forget Your Booze. Enjoy, my friend.
Don't Forget Your Roots Parody (Don’t Forget Your Booze)
Oh
Woah, yeah
Don’t forget your booze my friend, yeah
Don’t forget to bring your keys, yeah
Don’t forget your booze my friend
The drugs you take and the cops who caught you there
Don’t forget your booze my friend, yeah
You don’t really need to see, yeah
Don’t forget your booze my friend, yeah
Woah, yeah
Now Castle is a wild land (wild land)
Armed with the power of the breather men (breather men)
Essays are due, worth 15%
One more hit of the joint again
So, you look on to Leith thinking all is fine
But there's drunken girls, and the boys do lines
All our days are numbered, we’re missing our mothers
Won’t lose our faith, no, won’t be a slacker, but
Don’t forget your booze my friend, yeah
Come on, let’s have a geez, yeah
Don’t forget your booze my friend
Your dreams will come true, forget your law career
Don’t forget your booze my friend, yeah
Don’t forget to bring your keys, yeah
Don’t forget your booze my friend, yeah
Woah, yeah
So freshers thought that they were all that (all that)
Thought Toga would be good fun to dance at (dance at)
Eggs thrown at their faces, it's just the way
How Dunners is a famous name, yeah
So you lost your new couch and it don’t seem right
But it's sitting outside, being burned alive
All our days are numbered, we’re missing our mothers
Won’t lose our faith, no, won’t be a slacker, but
Don’t forget your booze my friend, yeah
Don’t forget to bring your keys, yeah
Don't forget your booze my friend
The lecturers hate you, they’re sick of seeing you here
Don’t forget your booze my friend, yeah
You don’t really need to see, yeah
Don’t forget your booze my friend, yeah
Woah, yeah
Oh
Woah, yeah
Don’t forget your booze my friend, yeah
Don’t forget to bring your keys, yeah
Don't forget your booze my friend
The drugs you take and the cops who caught you there
Don’t forget your booze my friend, yeah
You don’t really need to see, yeah
Don’t forget your booze my friend, yeah
Woah, yeah