‘Life has changed drastically’: Kiwi DJ Messie shares her experience on Fred Again tour

Wellington DJ Tessa ‘Messie’ Hills is now experiencing a huge shift in lifestyle after her whirlwind tour with popular UK DJ Fred Again.

After a lengthy process, Messie was chosen by Fred Again to join him on tour just two weeks ago, after he arrived in New Zealand on March 22.

She saw that Fred posted on his Instagram looking for local DJs, submitted her details, sent in a mix, and the entries were narrowed down.

“Eventually I got a DM from Fred, I was in the kebab shop at 10pm and saw it and just dropped to the floor.”

On the night, she played a back-to-back set with Fred Again and friends, at the Coroglen Tavern in the Coromandel.

Adding to the chaos, she was also asked to join Fred Again on the Perth leg of his tour, with him pulling the strings to get her expired passport renewed in time.

“Fred’s the one that stirred the pot by putting it on Instagram and asking New Zealand parliament to help but honestly it was going to go through anyway,” Messie says.

“My messages were flooded with politicians.”

Now that the tour has wrapped up, she is navigating the aftermath, going from just 3000 Instagram followers, to 16,000.

“It’s just kind of exploded. I’m getting so many messages I haven’t even gotten through them all. There’s probably around 1000, but I’ve tried to just reply to everyone — there’s been so much support.”

Messie is continuing to grow post-tour, talking to people in the industry and picking up as many opportunities as possible.

She will be joining New Zealand DJ duo Lee Mvtthews on tour at the start of May, and will be in Auckland later this month, planning to play multiple pop-up shows.

Listen: What is next for Messie and how she is coping with this huge shift in lifestyle?