Bluesmen to unite for Wairarapa

POWERHOUSE: Bullfrog Rata will play an acoustic set at King Street Live alongside bluesman Midge Marsden before busting loose with his mate and The Interlopers at the Masterton venue. PHOTO/FILE

Kiwi rhythm and bluesmen Midge Marsden and Bullfrog Rata are uniting for a Wairarapa performance at King Street Live in Masterton.

The pair will play the first half of the show as an acoustic duo and will be joined for the second half by The Interlopers, featuring Ted Frickleton on drums and Tony Faulkner bass and vocals, Rata says.

"Midge is amazing live and has a great rapport with any crowd, and he doesn't often get to Wairarapa so it is a rare chance to catch a Kiwi icon," Rata said.

"His brand of earthy, primal blues has been a work in progress, from playing in bars and cafes in just about every town in Aotearoa, to blazing trails through Texas, California, Mississippi and on to London's most packed bars, he has paid his dues many times over."

Marsden boasts a career spanning four decades and has become renowned through his live performances throughout New Zealand and regular appearances on network television shows.

In 1990, Marsden was voted New Zealand Entertainer of the Year and his critically-acclaimed album Burning Rain went gold in 1991.

Rata said that although Marsden was known as a bluesman "his tastes are many and varied and like all swampy critters, he is at home on water or land".

"This could mean a driving Texas shuffle, or a sly Memphis swing, maybe a tender acoustic ballad or a stinging harmonica solo perhaps. Who knows? Maybe the likes of Johnny Cash or Bob Dylan could drop by, but have no fear; Elvis has definitely left the building."

Marsden said the repertoire for his upcoming Wairarapa performance would depend on "what feels right, with me, the band and the crowd at the time. But blues is definitely the glue that holds the gumbo together".

"And you can't have gumbo without Bullfrog Rata and The Interlopers. I am really thrilled to be playing with these guys - they seem to know where I want to go even before I do."

Rata started his performance career in the late eighties as a busker on the streets of towns throughout New Zealand and has since become known as a premier Kiwi blues artist, who has notched up an impressive list of support slot credits alongside Tina Turner, Jethro Tull, Taj Mahal, Charley Pride, Junior Wells and Canned Heat among others.

He has played for shoppers on the streets of Wairoa and gang members in Taumaranui, has been helicoptered to private parties on Waiheke Island and performed for diplomats on the top floor of New Zealand House in London.

Midge Marsden and Bullfrog Rata play alongside The Interlopers at King Street Live from about 8.30pm on Thursday, February 13.

Tickets costs $20 and are available online at www.dashtickets.co.nz.