Event - and organiser - still rocks

Shirley May is notching up her 25th Bay of Islands Country Rock Festival this weekend. Photo/Peter de Graaf

The woman organising her 25th country rock festival in the Bay of Islands this weekend says she can't believe the event made it to 10 years, let alone 25.

The 25th Bay of Islands Country Rock Festival kicks off Friday with more than 55 bands performing during three days at eight venues.

Pakaraka farmer Shirley May has organised every festival and seems as surprised as anyone by the event's longevity.

"I can't believe it has lasted this long. I didn't give it even 10 years," Mrs May said.

The festival started in 1990 when Bay of Islands Jazz and Blues Festival founder Mike Nettman saw an opening in May for another music event at what was then the Waitangi Hotel, now the Copthorne.

He called Mrs May, a stalwart of the country music scene, to ask whether she thought a country and western festival would fly. She offered to lend a hand. Three hours later Mr Nettman called back to take up the offer, and Mrs May and the festival have been inseparable ever since.

The event started as a get-together for club musicians. In its first year, it featured 17 bands and Whangarei's Johnny O'Connell as its top drawcard. Over the years the event has grown. The first international act, in 1995, was the US's Thom Bresh from Nashville.

Top of the bill this year are "voice in a million" Eddie Low and Australia's Paula Costa.

To mark the anniversary Mrs May dreamed of bringing back the biggest stars of the past 25 years, but that was well beyond the event's modest budget.

Instead she compiled a 100-page album with more than 700 photos of performers, which will be raffled for charity.

Now into her 60s Mrs May has no plans of quitting.

"I'll keep going'til I drop, I guess."

Mrs May also organises the Bay of Islands Jazz and Blues Festival. That event will notch up its 29th year in August, and 21 years with Mrs May at the helm.

In 2012 she was honoured by the Variety Artists Club for "her generous gift of time over the past 20 years and her unwavering support and ongoing contribution to the entertainment industry of New Zealand".