Both the Whanganui Musicians Club and Jazz Club will hold their December club nights this weekend as the country moves into the New Zealand Protection Framework.
This means all performers and members of the audience must be vaccinated against Covid for any music venue to operate effectively within the guidelines. Although it is not yet clear how the clubs will monitor these requirements, what is clear is that anyone fully vaccinated is welcome to come to either event.
On Friday, December 3, the Musicians Club hosts an open mic session from 7pm, followed by three bands to celebrate the upcoming holiday season. Adam Hattaway and the Haunters will be travelling up from Christchurch to play the music from their recently released fourth album, Rooster. Two local bands you may not have heard before will take to the stage - The Mean Owls and Bad Juju.
On Sunday, December 5, the Jazz Club will meet again at the St Johns Club for the first time in four months, with our own River City Big Band playing a new repertoire. Last year's performance at the club was met with great enthusiasm and since then, the band has made significant progress under the direction of both Clyde Dixon and Riwai Hina.
At the time of writing, it is not certain what colour the traffic light will be in Whanganui. Green has been excluded. If we are looking at orange, there is no limit to the number of people allowed to attend, but if we are at red, then only 100 people will be admitted to any event.
Live music creates an atmosphere like no other, always presenting the possibility of magical moments that everyone applauds. Those moments bring us together and inspire joy and hope. That is reason enough for your music clubs to do whatever they can to present the music to the Whanganui public.
