30 October 2025
By day Maria Collins is a hospice social worker, supporting local patients and their families through one of the most difficult journeys they’ll ever take. By night she’s an ‘old skool’ DJ who spins vinyls under the stage name DJMC.
Maria started DJing 17 years ago. She spins her records in bars and for private functions and has regular gigs at the Leigh Sawmill Cafe. Next month she’ll be dropping the needle to raise funds for Harbour Hospice alongside local talents, Beat Wrangler and BIZAR-RO. Beats for Hospice will be held on Saturday 6 December at the Sawmill, with all proceeds going to hospice patient and family services in Warkworth/Wellsford.
The self-confessed hiphop fan, who has entertained crowds as a fire poi entertainer in past times, says, “Expect an unforgettable night of funk, hip hop, Jazzy House, soul, and everything in between.”
Maria came up with the idea while having coffee with a hospice colleague. “We’d been talking about a recent fundraising event, and how one of the attendees said she’d enjoyed it but wished we had more events for young people. I thought, ‘Why not host a DJ event, and the idea morphed from there.’”
Maria hopes the event will raise awareness about hospice among young people. “I'm hoping this will create some conversations so that death is not so scary for everyone. By talking about it and being open to conversations about it, that’s what takes the fear away. I want younger people to know that there's support there for them, and that hospice is not just for the elderly, it’s for everybody, and it’s about whānau.”
Maria has a unique style of DJing – she chooses her lineup of songs as she plays them on the night. “So I usually arrive with four or five boxes of records and I try to bring stuff that I think people might know, and then if I can see people singing or tapping their hands on the table then I'll go, ‘Right, I'll follow along with that kind of beat and that kind of music’.”
She owns more than 2000 records, including the first ones she listened to as a child and the first record she purchased with her own money as a teen, a Jimi Hendrix album. She stores her collection in no particular order – not alphabetical or according to genre or anything - and says it drives her family crazy. “Many, many people have offered to catalogue them for me, but I like the idea of just coming across a record and thinking ‘oh yeah, I love that artist’, or ‘I love that song’!”
Maria reckons she’ll never stop playing records. “I love the sound records produce. I love the feel of putting the needle down. I love the covers, and I love the smell when you pull a record out from its cover. There's a story behind every one of my records and I can remember when I purchased it or who gave it to me, or the times in my life when I played it.”
Maria can’t wait to share her tunes at Beats for Hospice. “I’m nervous, but excited too. Let’s hear it in the house for hospice!”
Beats For Hospice is on at the Leigh Sawmill Café, Saturday 6 December 2025, 7pm – 11.30pm. Tickets are $30, to secure yours go to harbourhospice.org.nz/event/beats-for-hospice/
