Kaitāia born and raised singer/songwriter Jayson Norris has been diagnosed with a rare and extremely dangerous type of blood cancer in the UK.
Kaitāia born and raised singer/songwriter Jayson Norris has been diagnosed with a rare and extremely dangerous type of blood cancer in the UK.
Kaitāia born and raised singer/songwriter Jayson Norris is in a battle for his life after being diagnosed with a rare and dangerous blood cancer in the United Kingdom.
London-based Norris is facing a long and expensive battle to overcome Multiple Myeloma and the Far North’s musical community is coming together to help with a fundraising concert in Kaitāia on September 7.
There’s a top line-up of local artists for the show at Collards Tavern with doors opening at 4pm and the acts from 5pm, including The PITZ, Jason Kerrison of Opshop, Carla Werner, Kere Tatana, Tihei Harawira, FNA, Jon Pirini, JTB, 484 Band, DJ Venom and Norizon.
More are expected to be added.
Werner is one of those behind the fundraising concert and said when she and others heard the terrible news, they just had to do something to help. Norris received his diagnosis in March after being ill for a year.
‘’Jayson is such a great musician and such a lovely man, who represents the Far North so well across the world. This is something that we wanted to do to help, to get together to support him and raise some money for his battle.
‘’It’s just one way to help a fellow Far North musician.’’
She said Norris was really starting to make inroads internationally and the cancer diagnosis was devastating.
Multi-platinum, multi-award winning singer-songwriter, producer Jason Kerrison is one of the acts playing the Jayson Norris fundraising concert in Kaitāia on September 7.
‘’This is a fundraiser to raise money to cover living costs while Jayson is undergoing chemo as part of his stem cell therapy for a cancer known as Multiple Myeloma. After he insisted on getting an MRI due to back pain they finally discovered it after one year.
‘’Stan Day came up with the idea to organise a fundraiser and I jumped in immediately, being closely connected to Jayson through music since we were kids and throughout the years. But that is the beautiful thing about music, it brings people together and keeps people connected, particularly if you’re born and raised up here, you never forget your roots.
‘’Our coming together in this way as a community, is our way of showing that. The goodness of Jayson has inspired many to be part of the evening, and I know he has influenced many of these musicians that are partaking in the event, through his extraordinary talent as a musician.’’
She said Laurie Gray, Kerrison, Day, Mike Shapiro and herself have pulled together the evening with the help of phenomenal, world class musicians in the North, and local businesses.
‘‘I had so many calls from musicians wanting to be a part of it, and it is all testament to who Jayson is as a person, as to the ‘why’. It feels weird that he won’t be here playing with us.’’
Norris’ inspiration to write music comes from a love of singer-songwriters, indigenous music, roots and rock together with tones, harmonies and melodies, elements that naturally arise from the cultural and musical heritage of New Zealand, Aotearoa.
Multiple Myeloma is a rare and extremely dangerous type of blood cancer. It builds up in the bone marrow and it affects the spine, pelvis, ribs and skull. It’s not known exactly what causes Multiple Myeloma.
Norris is currently having chemotherapy which will hopefully lead to him having a stem cell transplant, more chemotherapy and hopefully getting the cancer under control.
This has presented challenges that he never anticipated and it has taken a toll on his physical and financial well-being.
As a self-employed musician he has entertained thousands of people from all walks of life, from all over the world. However, he is now unable to continue working at the same capacity and the financial strain has become overwhelming.
Coming to terms with this reality and the fear and uncertainty it presents has been the most difficult time of his life.
Every dollar contributed will go directly towards covering treatment costs, regular hospital visits and essential living expenses while he navigates through his treatments and road to recovery while being unable to work.
