Small Hall Sessions & NZ Music Month presents:
Hawkes Bay Music Month: Week Four
25th – 28th May 2023
Hawkes Bay, New Zealand.
Review by Rob Harbers, photography by Andrew Caldwell.
Well, like all good things, the special Hawkes Bay Music Month set of Small Hall Sessions had to come to an end. As brilliant as it’d be for them to continue, it’d be at the expense of the health, and possibly sanity, of the crew to be going any longer – they tired me out and all I had to do was attend half of them! But in their time they more than adequately met their concurrent missions of both giving exposure to the wealth of talent that is to be found in Hawkes Bay, and bringing a small degree of succour to the soul of a region still deeply affected by the climatological trauma visited on it in the middle of February. There is still much more recovery to go through, but this type of event offers the opportunity to focus on something else, if only for a night, and as such is hugely valuable!
But enough of the misery-dwelling, tell us about the music, I hear you say! Night 13 took place in the settlement of Sherenden, the small community gathering together in it’s historic hall, one which was a hub during the worst of the immediate recovery process. And in a truly meant-to-be fashion, the opening act, stepping in when another had to pull out, happens to live in the area! Christina Gunson, a singer/songwriter of long experience who’s had a period of hiatus for the domestic stuff of motherhood and all that real-life kind of shit, delivered a short set of her original songs, which had a common thread of compassion, for oneself and for others, and delivered in a strong voice. A good positive introductory act, and one very fitting for the general theme of good vibes!
Second on the bill were a duo with their origins in the Bay, but now based further afield, who were fortuitously in town for the 10th anniversary celebrations of Hastings’ coolest little venue™, namely The Common Room. They trade under the collective title of Vagus Plum, and together, with just acoustic guitar, drums and vocals they put down a sound with strong echoes of Ry Cooder soundtrack albums, Jack Johnson (minus the ennui, i.e. the songs don’t all blend in to one), and a healthy dose of Delta blues. These are two players who know each other’s every move, and their interplay is something truly special to see, as they deliver original material that speaks of such timeless themes as domestic bliss, addiction, and the joys of life in general – welcome returning visitors indeed!
The third act of the night was Arahi. Having recently relocated to Tamaki Makaurau for the purposes of pursuing his progress towards the firmament of New Zealand music, his appearance in this run of sessions continues the theme of returning former residents, albeit that his departure was considerably more recent. This is an artist who I’ve seen a few times now, and he continues to impress as he builds both his repertoire and stage presence – this is a name you’ll be seeing in lights! He delivered just as consistently as ever, his strong original material complemented by a couple of covers, one of which, Jimmy Webb’s Wichita Lineman, inspired him to write one of his own songs. As with every time he appears, I’m sure he garnered some new followers tonight, perhaps best demonstrated by the way in which he captured the audience’s attention sufficiently to silence the elements who had previously found their own conversations to be of more interest than what was happening on the stage – quite the achievement! Like I said, this lad will go far…
And thusly, having vanquished the unruly while bringing solace to souls, did the night conclude, to be continued further at the next venue!
So on to the grand finale, held very appropriately given the solace-bringing component of the mission, in the Puketapu Hall. This is a community, and a wider area, that was among the most impacted by the tropical visitor whose name we don’t mention – two fucking bridges disappeared, ffs! They went through the waters of hell, and the land bears the scars to prove it, so any degree of cheer that could be provided was going to be gleefully accepted. So where the other nights in the series delivered three separate acts a piece, this one featured five, including surprise appearances, guest artists and cross-pollination…
Rock’n’roll dreams come true!
First in the lineup was local multimedia artist Floyd Pepper, aka CASHEK, providing low-key electronic pieces to gently ease the night off. In the nature of his performance was a clear example of the diversity and breadth of repertoire offered in the Bay – we have it all here!
Next up was Sarah Terry, a singer/songwriter of some repute in these parts. The fact that both her and Floyd are among the teaching staff at EIT shows the importance of the institute in the developing of local talent, borne out by some of her guests, but more on that later. She delivered a set of raw and powerful material, while ruminating on the fact that a life of domestic bliss such as she now enjoys, in contrast to earlier years, has the downside, from an artistic point of view, of not being such a wellspring of inspiration – but she struggles on through! However, when it comes to angsty inspiration, the area as a whole has been provided with plenty of that, as evidenced by the first of the songs on which guest artists featured, the never before heard “A Wishful Dream?”. For this she was joined by EIT alumni D.E.L.U.N.E. and Sinead Hegarty, both of whom had played spots in their own right earlier in the month. Their collaboration on this song was borne out of the trauma inflicted by you-know-who, a powerful ode to the power of home, and a lament for what it has endured. The run of guests was not yet over though, with Ben Throp, another who had previously appeared in his own right, joining Sarah for their collaboration cyclone song, with a repeated poignant refrain of “The tuis can fly again”.
Third on the bill was Arahi, his performance given added interest by the fact of some of the songs having been written literally just down the road, in a shed just a few hundred metres from the very hall – full circle right there! As mentioned above, he is making his way in to the higher echelons of Aotearoa’s music scene, and perhaps emblematic of the reception he’s receiving there is his ongoing collaboration with Nikita Tu-Bryant, of Wellington’s Kita who provided additional vocals on a couple of the songs.
The billing of this finale teased the prospect of surprise guest appearance(s), some of which are noted above, but in a real rabbit-from-a-hat move, Jamie then introduced a real live international person. From overseas! America, to be precise! How, you ask, does such an entity get to be described as being from the Bay? Let’s just say, by a quite liberal interpretation of the eligibility criteria, extending to the fact that she spent a year living here a few years back. And in any case, it’s Jamie’s party and he’ll invite who he likes! The beneficiary of this largesse, extremely well deserved as it was, was Elizabeth Wise, a singer/songwriter from the state of Virginia, although she bears more of a stamp of Mississippi in her bluesy stylings and powerful songwriting, coming straight from the heart. A quick three song set, giving a tantalizing sample of her skills, coming from similar territory to Bonnie Raitt, for one, and then she was out, but not without wowing the audience and making some fans of people who but a short time before hadn’t even heard of her! In spite of this previous state of ignorance, she held the attention, to an extent that she confessed to being unused to – that’s the joy of a Small Hall Session…
After the intermission, it was time for the ultimate performance of the season, from the Phil Edwards Band. This is another example of the phenomenon of artists with local origins who have departed and then returned to the congenial climes of this area. Phil recently relocated from Tamaki Makaurau, where the band was formed and had a measure of success, and where some of the other members still reside, which necessitated the temporary importation of some Aucklanders, but this is entirely forgiveable given the quality of the sounds emanating from the keys played by one of them. The Hammond organ has a particularly distinctive and harmonious sound, and this was employed to great effect as a component of the chill feel of the band. Think John Mayer, acoustic Ben Harper, summery vibes – delivered by a very tight combo. The guest appearances weren’t yet over with either, with Paula Sugden and her partner Cyril bringing their characteristically distinctive touch to a couple of the songs. So much cross-pollination occurring in this wee province! In any case, this is a band who impressed greatly, and will definitely be worth looking out for around the traps – I’ll say it again, and I’m going to keep on saying it, Great things grow here!
And then we’d arrived at the end of this hugely impressive season, with Jamie promising to do it all over again next year! Given that the selection process for the sessions began with a list of over 300 potential acts, there’s plenty more scope out there to dream it all up again, and may next year’s version be less overhung by shadow than this inevitably was. But as earlier stated, one of the season’s driving missions was to bring light to the darkened souls of this region, and in this they have succeeded in spades (not shovels, mind – we need all of them to clean up the damn silt)!
An absolute triumph, and a tribute to the talents of all involved in its execution! Nga mihi, Small Halls.
Were you there in the Hawkes Bay for any of these intimate gigs? Or have you seen any of these acts perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Note: Ambient Light was provided passes to review and photograph these concerts. As always, this has not influenced the review in any way and the opinions expressed are those of Ambient Light’s only.
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