The Musicians’ Club has the longest-running open mic in Whanganui, and last month’s session has taken it to the proverbial “next level”. We cannot pinpoint how this happened, but anyone who was fortunate enough to participate - either as a performer or as a dancer or listener - in the July iteration witnessed an extraordinary evening of entertaining music and artistic camaraderie.
For one thing, there were no fewer than 10 acts on the stage, and the quality of performance was outstanding, as was the diversity. There were solo artists like Owen Hugh, Sophie Toyne and Jamie Henare, duos like Izzy and Alex and full-on bands like Out of Work Genius, Magic Bus, Bylaws, Foodslut, Bad Juju and BB & the Bullets.
For another, the hall was packed with dancers and listeners. This produced an atmosphere of sheer celebration that was felt throughout the evening. And the club brought its ever-evolving professionalism to the party, with enhanced lighting, sound engineering, audio recording and photography.
It is no wonder that we eagerly await the next session on Friday, August 2.
