Gish made a special guest appearance for NZ Music Month celebrations in Levin.
Gish made a special guest appearance for NZ Music Month celebrations in Levin.
A roaming New Zealand comedian and busker made an impromptu appearance at an annual music festival held in Levin.
Justin Hansen, better known by his stage name Gish, joined in with the New Zealand Music Month celebrations at the weekend, playing music, singing songs and taking on the roleof MC on one of the main stages.
Organiser Paul King, of Kings Sound Centre, said Hansen had wandered into his shop a couple of days earlier, asking if he could play a few songs outside the store.
Justin Hansen, better known as Gish on the comedy circuit, presents Diahna Williams with a ukelele during NZ Music Month celebrations in Levin.
As the conversation continued, he ended up offering his services to perform at the festival.
“He was really great. I hope he comes back next year,” King said.
Diahna Williams, 3, tries out the new ukulele given to her by comedian Gish as part of NZ Music Month celebrations in Levin, while her mother Lizzie watches on.
“I heard him singing and he was amazing. He came into the shop and we started chatting and he agreed he would MC for us. What a guy. He was there right ‘til the end.
“He’s got a great personality and was laid back and was ... perfect. When he came on stage wearing a dressing gown ... I thought he’d just come from the supermarket down the road.”
First up for New Zealand Music Month celebrations in Levin on a stage near the southern end of town was a band from Speldhurst Village.
Hansen introduced performers, told jokes and sang songs himself, and interacted with the crowd, giving away prizes throughout the day.
King and his wife Eboney kicked off the annual music festival in 2014 and it has grown every year since, but he said the weekend’s festival was the biggest yet.
It involved 50 acts appearing on several stages throughout town, from brass bands to poets, ukulele groups, death metal and reggae bands, folk musicians, country singers and rappers.
There were 50 different acts involved throughout the day on a variety of stages as Levin celebrated New Zealand Music Month.
There was even a karaoke machine set up in one takeaway restaurant while on the corner by the Post Office heaps of instruments were provided for people to pick up and jam with.
“When you think about how many people were involved, there would be hundreds of musicians,” King said.
Levin hosted 50 different acts on the town's main street at the weekend to celebrate New Zealand Music Month.
“It starts off a bit slow in the morning but people drive through town and stop and it’s not long before there’s a big crowd.
“The feedback we get is amazing.”
Fred Macdonald gives the bongo drums a try during NZ Music Month celebrations in Levin.
