Thursday 27 July, Roseneath School Hall, Roseneath, 7:30 pm

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

Bob Cooper-Grundy has been playing blues guitar and singing country songs for 50 odd years and has opened for Guy Clark, Townes van Zandt, Tom Russell and Jimmy Lafave. He plays finger picking and slide guitar with some virtuoso flourishes.

Kate Marshall plays violin, accordion and flute and sings beautifully. She started with classical piano and singing in choirs and you don’t have to listen that carefully to hear Bach and Mozart lurking behind Bob Wills and Memphis Minnie. In this gig she might add in her new secret weapon of jazz glockenspiel!

Based in the Wairarapa, and regular guests at folk clubs and festivals, Bob and Kate’s song list veers between swing sounds of Texas, the blues and jazz, served up in the Bob and Kate way.

Check out their Bob and Kate facebook page for details.

Rachel Hird is a Wellington based singer-songwriter who has studied music and played piano for many years. She started writing songs a few years ago with jazz singer Lucy Smyth and is currently a member of Charlotte Yate’s Songwriting School. A regular attendee at Newtown Acoustic Sound open mic, she enjoys meeting and connecting with people in the music community. Her songs are inspired by people and situations past and present.

Glenn Barclay originally hailed from Auckland, where he had some involvement in the folk scene in the 1970s, but now lives in Porirua, after 40 years in Wellington.  He has been playing for many years, sometimes in bands that would average a gig a year, but mainly for relaxation. After a bit of a break, he has begun playing solo, featuring tunes from the broad Americana songbook, including one or two of his own, and is looking forward to the concert.

Thursday 22 June, Roseneath School Hall, Roseneath, 7:30 pm

Entry: $15/$10 for members. A bargain! Cash only (no eftpos facilities). Vaccinations and masks encouraged.

Singer songwriter Rob Joass moved to New Zealand from his native Sydney over 30 years ago and has toured and released 10 albums with his bands Hobnail, Too Many Chiefs and The Shot Band, as well as 3 solo albums (currently working on a 4^th). He has been a finalist at the NZ Music Awards three times (twice for best country song, once for best folk album) and has had songs covered by artists in New Zealand, Australia and Canada.

“…a songwriter’s songwriter…beautifully done, understated, and allows the songs to breathe.” 4/5 stars – music.net.nz

Change of programme: Don & the Divorcees. Don and the Divorcees is a collaboration of songwriters Beans Maries, Hollie Wright and Don Mackay playing a pick and mix of one another’s songs – think of us as the $2 shop version of  Crosby Stills and Nash!!  Beans’ and Hollie’s songs are like random notes from therapy, while Don’s are more like bullshit pub yarns.  Your chance to see 2024’s smash hit sensation, “before they were famous”.

Sean and Rosie O’Connor. Sean and his wife Amanda became a feature of the Kiwi folk scene in the nineties with their diverse folk pop Celtic originals, beautiful harmonies and fine guitar and flute playing. The late 2000s saw them on tour as a family band in NZ and overseas, until Amanda’s sudden death in 2011.

In the last few years Sean has completed a solo album including songs written during the O’Connors’ earlier years, their family tours, in response to Amanda’s death and beyond. Rosie, his daughter, has a beautiful voice and a great ear for harmony. Expect great songs with heart and harmony.

Thursday 25 May, Roseneath School Hall, Roseneath, 7:30 pm

Entry: $15/$10 for members. A bargain! Cash only (no eftpos facilities). Vaccinations and masks encouraged.

“Let’s take a stand, protect this land…”

You don’t get much more appropriate for NZ Music Month than a classic song about defending our land from a threat posed by a larger power, and that’s how we’re starting this month’s concert. We have four fantastic acts from the Wellington region, from some of whom have been playing it a bit cool for a while now to other more familiar faces, with a mix of original numbers and well-known covers. 

The Hot Tubs are a band formed from members of Swing Club Music Group, including Sandra (uke), Lily (bass), Jarrad (guitar), Lynn (uke, guitar), and sometimes Mike (tenor guitar), and Manu (cajon and drums). They play an eclectic music mix of country blues, swing, ragtime and other upbeat genres and their set will include Lynn’s classic song ‘Send the Boats Away’. Come along and experience the social and music benefits of the Swing Club Music group for yourself.

Kevin Ikin is a singer, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter who hails from Dunedin but has lived in Wellington since 1986. He played with Dunedin’s Pioneer Pog ‘n’ Scroggin Bush Band (The Pogs) and is a founder-member of Wellington dance band The Jimmies, and one half of the duo Ktoo. If you’ve been to any Acoustic Routes event in the past thirty-some years, you’ve probably seen him, either performing, compering or working to make sure the event goes smoothly. But did you know he composed and performed the Country Life theme heard weekly on National Radio? Instrumentalist Susan Ellis will be accompanying Kevin on fiddle and cello.

Don Franks has been enthusiastically singing and playing (mostly American) light music for the last sixty or so years. For this occasion, he has done a bit of homework and come up with an eclectic programme of genuine made-in-New-Zealand compositions for your entertainment and delight.

Sage is the duo of Sue Rose and Murray Kilpatrick, who have been singing and playing a very eclectic mix of songs together for over twenty years. Their set will be a great way to round off the evening.

Thursday 27 April, Tawa Community Lounge, 7:30 pm

Entry: $10/$5 for members and performers. Cash only (no eftpos facilities). Vaccinations and masks encouraged.

Since ANZAC Day is 25 April, the theme is war and peace. Come along and share up to two songs each or bring a poem or story to share. Put your name up on the night until the list is full. Listeners, foot-tappers and sing-alongers welcome too.

There will be a bring-and-buy table where you can bring anything related to folk music that you want to give away or sell. This will be operating from 6:45-7:30 pm, when the concert starts, and during the break. The Committee would appreciate you taking home any of your treasures that do not find a new owner.

Entry: $10/$5 for members and performers. Cash only (no eftpos facilities). 

Thursday 23 March, Roseneath School Hall, 7:30 pm

Entry: $20/$15 for members. Cash only (no eftpos facilities). Vaccinations and masks encouraged.

Enda Kenny is an Irish-born songwriter who has made his home in Australia since the late 1980’s. His thoughtful, descriptive stories of his adopted homeland have struck a chord with festival audiences here and beyond. His songs are always memorable and spiced with plenty of humour. 

After a decade of juggling performance with a career in Public Housing, Enda returned to full-time music with the release of Kitchen Ballads in 2019. After the interval (COVID) he is happily back on the road.

Described by Rock and Reel as ‘a cracking live entertainer’, and by Colum Sands as ‘the finest Irish songwriter living overseas’.

Our support act for Enda is Caoimhe Lane, a young Wellington based singer and guitarist who performs contemporary and traditional acoustic folk music. After completing a music degree majoring in jazz performance at the University of Auckland, she is studying composition at the New Zealand School of Music in Wellington. She was a winner in last year’s Acoustic Routes’ Joan Prior Young Performers Award.

Caoimhe performs her own songs as well as traditional songs. In her music she seeks to explore her Celtic roots given to her by her Irish mother and bring the joy that she exudes throughout life into her songs.