Hawke’s Bay music month reaching its crescendo

Arahi is performing as part of the final week of Hawke's Bay Music Month.

The first Hawke’s Bay Music Month is reaching its crescendo.

Organiser Jamie Macphail, of the Small Hall Sessions, says it’s the last chance to be involved in the event, and everyone who has been thinking they’d like to come along should book themselves a ticket.

“Momentum has been building across the month, with near-capacity audiences in several of the halls.

“The quality and diversity within each show has really been uplifting. Finding an audience for original music can be a challenge, but every artist has worked so hard on preparing their sets, and audiences have been unanimous in their enthusiasm and praise for these events.”

With 79 individual musicians across the month performing in 16 different sessions, each in a different hall, and no two line-ups being the same, Hawke’s Bay Music Month has been an extraordinary showcase for local, home-grown musicians.

This week, a session runs in Sherenden on Thursday night, then in Twyford on Friday night, Waipukurau on Saturday and Puketapu on Sunday.

The Phil Edwards Band consists of Phil Edwards, Adrian Ashdown, Loujean Philander and Timothy William. Their live set brings together elements of blues, funk, reggae and country, all with a soulful vibe.

The headline artists this week are much-loved local Arahi Whaanga and the Phil Edwards Band. Arahi will do both solo performances this week and one night with his new band, Te Tokoturu.

The Phil Edwards Band consists of Phil Edwards, Adrian Ashdown, Loujean Philander and Timothy William. Their live set brings together elements of blues, funk, reggae and country, all with an honest soulful vibe that’s easy to move to and hard to forget.

Established in 2008, the band spent four years travelling across Australasia, performing at festivals such as Rhythm and Vines, the Melbourne Moomba Water Festival, Blues Brews and Barbecues and the Whangamatā Summer Festival. After a short two-year hiatus, the band are back hitting the ground running. As momentum builds for the band, they’ve been busy in the studio working on their second album and a number of music videos.

The final night of the month will be held in the Puketapu Community Hall, located on the grounds of Puketapu School.

It is an extended programme, with doors opening at 5pm and four different artists performing.

With the support of Hastings District Council, Napier City Council, Central Hawke’s Bay District Council, New Zealand Music Month, Farmstrong, FMG and the Rural Support Trust, ticket prices are just $25 for all of the sessions.

For more information and tickets, go smallhallsessions.co.nz.