Sal Valentine and his band the Babyshakes, seen here performing at Russell's Duke of Marlborough, were festival favourites. Photo / Peter de Graaf
Sal Valentine and his band the Babyshakes, seen here performing at Russell's Duke of Marlborough, were festival favourites. Photo / Peter de Graaf
A strong line-up of New Zealand and overseas bands attracted a record turnout at this year's Bay of Islands Jazz and Blues Festival, which celebrated its 30th anniversary over the weekend.
See the photos here:
Image 1 of 16: The talent and professionalism of Two Kay, made up of Whangarei Boys' High students, belied the band members' years.
Organiser Shirley May estimated 900 tickets had been sold, at least 100 up on last year. Saturday saw the highest number of one-day tickets ever sold.
Mrs May put the success down to the appeal of popular Kiwi acts Midge Marsden, who performed with Whangarei guitar virtuoso Chet O'Connell, and Sal Valentine and the Babyshakes. New Orleans jazz trombonist Robert Harris was another big drawcard.
Mrs May said festival-goers also raved about two high school bands - Joe's Van, from Mt Maunganui, and TwoKay, whose members attend Whangarei Boys' High School. She said TwoKay also impressed at the 2014 festival with many patrons coming back especially to see them again.
Of the half-dozen Australian acts, the James Southwell Band, who play the blues infused with heavy rock, drew the most enthusiastic reviews.
The Lex Pistols, a group of Auckland lawyers, have played with various line-ups at every festival to date. Frontman Ted Smith, who has performed at the past 25 festivals, said the event's appeal was the atmosphere and the chance to hear other bands. Audiences at their Auckland gigs just sat and watched, but in the Bay of Islands everyone was keen to have a good time.
Watch James Southwell play a blistering blues solo on acoustic guitar here:
Banjo player Mary-Anne McAllum said people flocked to the festival "to enjoy themselves and feed their souls with music".
Mrs May, who has organised 22 of the past 30 festivals, said the event was no money-spinner despite the record crowd. It would be a few days before she knew if it had broken even.
She urged music lovers to continue supporting the festival.
"It's no use saying, 'We'll come next year'," she said.
The festival would not be possible without the generosity of moteliers who put up the performers without charge during the three-day event, she said.
Just under 50 bands performed at seven venues in Paihia, Russell and Haruru Falls. Bands also played free street shows and two took part in church services in Paihia.
