Thursday 23 May, Roseneath School Hall, Maida Vale Road, Roseneath, Wellington, 7:30 pm. Parking on site or catch the number 14 bus.

Entry: $15/$10 for members. Cash only (no eftpos facilities). 

There is probably no songwriter better suited to performing during New Zealand Music Month than Alan Downes. He was raised in a tiny back country Kiwi farming community and his songs form a narrative of our home, our country, and our place in the world.

Alan is a storyteller who only performs his own songs. They are (mostly) true tales of people and places told with careful observation, a good dollop of humour, and a little nostalgia. Armed with just an acoustic guitar, he shares a conversation with the audience about the stories behind the songs. His style can be described as a cross over between folk music and bush poetry.

Come along prepared to laugh and maybe shed a tear as Alan takes you on a journey through Aotearoa New Zealand. He has released four albums of original music: The Best (2013), Moving On (2014), Road Trip (2017) and No Going Back (2020). The songs keep coming.

Madillionette (A.K.A. Jude Madill & Joseph Coleman) are half of Folk/Americana group The Madillionaires. Jude and Joseph will entertain you with all original music about and inspired by life in New Zealand. They are very excited to be bringing a new song about Aotearoa to share with you for New Zealand music month.

Check out some of their original songs:
Madillionette, Play Music on the Porch day 2021 –  https://youtu.be/ycEx5SB5CeM
The Madillionaires, Levin Folk Club 2021 –  https://youtu.be/p4BUD5tv94o
The Madillionaires, House Concert 2020  –  https://youtu.be/HylwF6dAJTo

The Downundermutts are Peter and Cathy Dyer and like much of their music, they are American born and bred. They have made their home in New Zealand for over 20 years and are happy to play some of Peter’s originals as well as some Kiwi classics for New Zealand Music Month.

Peter plays rhythm guitar and loves singing early Americana such as Hank Williams and Jimmie Rodgers. Among his best known compositions are “Go Ahead and Cry”, “Yodeller’s Waltz” and “The Immigrants Song.” Cathy adds the big double bass and harmonies, as well as a bit of fiddle.

As part of the Downunderdogs they have been featured at Wellington Folk Festival, Kiwigrass Festival, Acoustic Routes, Wellington Bluegrass Society and the Auckland Bluegrass Club. Fair warning: expect to hear the occasional yodel as well…

Thursday 18 April (note this is the 3rd Thursday – a change this month), Roseneath School Hall, Maida Vale Road, Roseneath, Wellington, 7:30 pm. Parking on site or catch the number 14 bus.

Entry: $15/$10 for members. Cash only (no eftpos facilities). 

Karen Clarke has been lurking backstage in the provincial acoustic scene refining her feels for the last 25 years. With an active live performance schedule, two albums under her belt and another release due next month, collaborating with Wellington-based producer and kiwi blues legend Darren Watson, she’s well and truly earned her piece of the heartland acoustic music stage.

Starting out in folk Karen finds herself now firmly rooted where RnB and Alt-Country collide – you’ll detect a dalliance with jazz too. She has an eclectic repertoire of self-penned material dealing with themes of belonging, love lost and trying to figure out life’s riddles.

On stage Karen’s power-packed performance is strong. Grounded. Built. Warm. Emotionally direct with interpretations and song feels that move your waters.

Based in Taranaki, Karen runs an occasional acoustic venue called The Sound Shed with husband Mike Self and is the chair of the Taranaki Singer Songwriter Development Trust. Karen still holds a strong connection back to her former home base on the Kapiti Coast where she convened the Kapiti Live Music club for a while and played in Kapiti groups GingerJam and Mynimo; and Hard Candy.

https://open.spotify.com/track/6XRBraM21JeuogqW3x1EnY?si=25f044a7a54e4acb
https://open.spotify.com/artist/1zIwRIFCi5iIWGi3YUzOQq?si=wBb0V71sSCKuQWPeRqx9AQ

Al Witham started out with nothing and still has most of it left. As a youngster in the 80s he inflicted himself on folk club audiences who were kind enough not to lock him out. A youthful obsession with Bob Dylan led him to explore the weird byways of early American folk, blues, jazz, and country music. Somewhere via Mississippi John Hurt, Johnny Cash, John Lee Hooker, Charlie Christian, and Tony Joe White he began writing songs, plugged in an electric guitar, and stumbled onto his own anachronistic way of expressing this temporary existence.

Thursday 28 March, Roseneath School Hall, Maida Vale Road, Roseneath, Wellington, 7:30 pm. Parking on site or catch the number 14 bus.

Entry: $25/$20 for members. Cash only (no eftpos facilities). 

Fresh from his NZ tour, bassouki world music artist Jon Sanders brings his eclectic sounds to Wellington. Featuring tracks that explore the world of sound in the Celtic Folk, Afrofunk and Kirtan genres, Jon will play tracks from his latest project – Tenalach – embracing the synergy between nature and our inner circadian rhythms and tracks from his latest album Nada Brahma (meaning the world is sound in ancient Hindu).

According to The Irish Times, “Jon Sanders has developed a unique world music sound and style that evokes diverse cultures in a ‘quantum-leaping’ way”.

Versatile and very innovative, when he plays the bass mandola Jon uses a second pickup to add bass lines, creating a depth and colour to his compositions. With a percussive stomp and emotive vocals, the sounds soar into a new dimension! In contrast, he finger-picks funky back slap guitar and ukeleles giving Mali-inspired rhythms and Celtic melodies. The Irish Times arts section, The Ticket, describes his third album Zoukelele as ‘a deeply meditative, impishly playful, jazz-tinged collection’.

Spotify, Jon Sanders; www.jon-sanders.com; Facebook, Jon Sanders Music.

Our opening act, Annette Esquenet, is a Kāpiti-based singer-songwriter who began songwriting in 2012 and has a style all her own. Her songs are full of soft-spoken wisdom – she sets heart-felt lyrics to interesting melodies, accompanied in her own unique way.  

For our March concert Annette will be joined by Jo Moir – Jo’s smooth harmonies and beautifully crafted fiddle accompaniment are a real treat.

https://soundcloud.com/user-118808073/if-you-want-summer-1

https://soundcloud.com/user-118808073/henry-street 

Thursday 22 February, Roseneath School Hall, Maida Vale Road, Roseneath, Wellington, 7:30 pm. Parking on site or catch the number 14 bus.

Entry: $25/$20 for members. Cash only (no eftpos facilities). Vaccinations and masks encouraged.

Winter Wilson – Kip Winter and Dave Wilson – have a global reputation as superb writers, singers and musicians, and great all-round entertainers. Their 10 albums have all received rave reviews.

Pre-Covid, they completed tours of Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and most of Western Europe, in addition to the UK. Back in Lincolnshire throughout the pandemic, the pair streamed “Live from the Lounge” for 60 consecutive weeks and also wrote and recorded “The Passing of the Storm”, their tenth album. Now performing stunning new songs alongside old favourites, they are thrilled to be back on the road.

You will laugh; you may cry. You will certainly want to see them again!

www.winterwilson.com