Category Archives: Concerts

AR monthly concert Lindsey Shields, with Heather Innes, Jo Moir & Simon Harding, and WilkieMac

Thursday 28 November, Collective Community Hub, 33 Johnsonville Road (opposite NZ Post), Johnsonville, Wellington, 7:30 pm. Parking, bus and train nearby. 

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

 

Lindsey Shields is a singer and songwriter with her own take on things personal and political, including well-crafted lyrics on topics as diverse as real estate, Harrison Ford and the menopause. She is active in the Dunedin music scene, currently performing with Folkalyptica and the Irish band Erin St. Festival appearances include the Australian National Folk festival, the Vancouver Island Music Fest, and Auckland Folk Festival. She has also toured New Zealand twice and performed in house concerts and folk gatherings in the UK.

 

 

With her clear voice, great feeling, and delicacy Heather Innes will take you through the gamut of emotions from powerful ballads to gentle lullabies in a performance tinged with timely humour. She had toured numerous countries singing in folk clubs and pubs with various groups and in her a cappella duo Caim has even performed twice for the Dalai Llama in Northern Ireland.

Hill-start is the musical collaboration of Porirua couple, Jo Moir (Hobnail) and Simon Harding (Obediah). Simon (guitar & mandola) and Jo (fiddle) have been playing songs of heartache, love and other nonsense, that pack a punch, following the country maxim of “three chords and the truth”. Simon & Jo craft their own versions of songs from favourite artists including Neil Young, Jason Isbell, and Gram Parsons, coloured in with harmony and weaving fiddle lines.

WilkieMac, Lynne Wilkins and Michael Mackinnon, are based in Raglan. They have recently completed several recording projects and are looking forward to sharing songs from: ‘The Guinea Stamp’, a collection inspired by Robert Burns; ‘The Pleasure Will Be Mine’, a collection of favourite celtic and local folk songs; and ‘When the West Wind Blows’, a collection of Lynne’s songs and tunes.


No AR monthly concert in October – get ready for Wellyfest!

We’ve had some terrific main events this year so far, but we’re taking a break this month for the Wellington Folk Festival, occurring at Labour Weekend.

To find out more about that, go to the website or follow Wellyfest on Facebook. It’ll be the biggest event in the Wellington folk annual calendar. 

Meanwhile our usual smaller events are still on – please see our Events page for details. 

First cab off the rank:  Acoustic Routes Social Club, Tuesday 2 October 1.30pm

We’ll see you at one of those events or at the Festival. Check back here to find out details of our November concert with Lindsey Shields all the way from Dunedin. 


AR monthly concert with Black Eyed Susie, Duncan Davidson, and Pick & Mixolydian

Thursday 26 September, Collective Community Hub, 33 Johnsonville Road (opposite NZ Post), Johnsonville, Wellington, 7:30 pm. Parking, bus and train nearby. 

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

A woman playing a fiddle and a man playing a guitar
Black Eyed Susie

Black Eyed Susie is a band born and bred on the Kapiti Coast, featuring the violin and guitar duo of Susan Colien-Reid and Ramon Oza. Susan has supported many artists including The Blind Boys of Alabama and Ramon is the slick funky blues guitarist with the husky voice who has played since he was 14 including drifting with the “Drifters”, so he’s pretty darn good… Susan and Ramon have worked together for many years and have played festivals, gigs and venues all over the North Island.

A classically trained violinist, Susan has had many accolades offshore and nationwide with her internationally acclaimed band Carousel, performing at Festivals in NZ and Australia. Ramon is one of NZ’s finest guitarists and a song writer in his own right. Together they have written and recorded songs with a strong Celtic / Blues / Funk sound. They are passionate about supporting needs in their own community and have performed and composed songs for White Ribbon Day events, Amnesty International, Food Banks, and Children’s Services. Their performances always include original songs, Fleetwood Mac, Beatles, Fisherman’s Blues, and a Raggle Taggle Gypsy-O.

https://on.soundcloud.com/PTHEoqSDqDoSKtNV9

A man seated playing a bouzouki
Duncan Davidson

Duncan Davidson is a New Zealand native with a clear passion for trad music. He has mixed Scottish, English and Irish heritage and has become an accomplished multi-instrumentalist with an emphasis on Irish trad and Scottish to a lesser degree. He is most sought after for his playing of the 2-row button accordion but also loves to play the tin whistle, trad flute and bouzouki! He loves sharing his music with live audiences whether in a concert setting or a tasty session in a pub or house alongside his muso friends. Duncan has also been teaching trad music over the last couple of decades and enjoys imparting the skills and nuances he’s picked up over the years.

 

A man and woman seated playing pipes and guitar
Pick & Mixolydian

Pick and Mixolydian are a Wellington-based acoustic duo featuring Jo Shrigley on ukulele and vocals with Bruce Omundsen on small pipes, tin whistle, and vocals. Jo’s singing with Wellington’s WOSOSI (World Song Singers) choir cemented her love of things international. As well as picking away at her ukulele, she is studying Music Theory at Victoria University. Highland piping has been a constant presence for Bruce over the last 40 years. Scottish and other Celtic music is a natural choice for the duo, but Bruce enjoys expanding on the mixolydian scale available to his pipes. Together Bruce and Jo have been building a varied folk repertoire and look forward to sharing their joy of music with you.


AR monthly concert with Vikki Clayton, Kevin & Rosie, and Don Mackay

Thursday 22 August, Collective Community Hub, 33 Johnsonville Road, Johnsonville, Wellington, 7:30 pm. Parking, bus and train nearby. 

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

A Londoner by birth, Vikki Clayton got caught up in music early. By the age of 13, she was asking for a guitar and her recognised musical talent led her to the Trinity College London, and eventually an honours degree in Performing Arts. Although she started out singing English folk songs, she continued listening to rock and progressive rock and the rest, as they say, is history, from the folk rockers ‘Ragged Heroes’ to Fotheringay and Fairport Convention.

Vikki has also recorded eight solo albums with guests including John Giblin (Simple Minds), Martin Barre (Jethro Tull), and Liam Genochey (Steeleye Span), and sung with other folk luminaries, including Richard Thompson, Ralph McTell, and John Martyn. She can make you laugh, cry, rejoice and celebrate within the first set.

We are delighted that Vikki has made New Zealand one of her three current homes and are excited and honoured to have her as a guest at Acoustic Routes.

Kevin and Rosie sing traditional unaccompanied folk songs. When they met in the singing circle at Wellington Folk Festival, they already had a voice apiece, then they found their voices agreed with each other, and they have been singing harmony together ever since. Their repertoire is flavoured by Kev’s Sussex origins. Farming, songs of the sea, social commentary, history, thievery, and pretty little small birds, sung with feeling: real unadorned old-school trad.

Don Mackay is a Newtown based singer-songwriter best known as one third of “Don and The Divorcees”.  His songs wander about the borders between folk, country and rock.  He has been described as “angry old man shakes his fist at the clouds, and 3 chords”.

 


Acoustic Routes concert – a smorgasbord of 4 great acts!

Thursday 25 July, 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). 

We’ve got a multiplicity of artists from the Wellington region for our July concert, with a loosely country/Americana/bluegrassy sort of flavour, and a healthy mix of covers and self-penned songs. There’s sure to be something to tempt you, so do come along and enjoy a night of warmth and harmony.

Dean Murray is a singer songwriter, luthier, builder, environmentalist, gardener, and fisherman. His large collection of songs, written over a period of 20 years, traverse conversations and observations about places, people, politics, and the planet. They are delivered with sincerity, along with a bunch of stories. Expect a very special combination of homemade songs on handmade guitars in various genres from folk through country to reggae, with occasional harmonica on the side.

Phonic Fever are an exciting new band keen to share their eclectic mix of original songs with ragtime, blues, swing and bluegrass influences. All four sing, sharing lead vocals and four-part harmonies. Anne O’Donnell (harmonica and ukulele) and Charles Greenlees (guitar, mandolin and fiddle), otherwise known as Chazanne, co-write most of the songs. Geoff Pearce (acoustic guitar) is a promising new songwriter and Jenny Kilpatrick of the Eagals and Madillionaires (acoustic bass) completes the line up. Their songs are often tongue in cheek with an element of infectious fun, but with occasional serious undertones and social commentary in unexpected places, for example The Bluegrass Boys and Let’s all love lettuce .

Haewai (Houghton Bay) Collective began a couple of years back when Janine Mitchell recorded an album of her original songs “Etched in My Soul”, with the support of Jack Binding’s great lead guitar and vocals, plus Kevin Ikin’s mandolin magic. Since then, they have performed at various venues including the Moon Bar and Thunderbird café in Wellington and at The Mussel Inn in Golden Bay and have recently been joined by Pete Lamb with his sensitive percussion.

Janine continues to write songs in a 60’s / 70’s folk style, and the group also has lots of fun reviving many of that era’s covers. Favourites include anything that touches the heart; political, protest, environmental and social issues. They are also collaborating on writing new songs.

Ratproof includes Cara Brasted, Rose Dohig, Phoebe Smith, Alex Howie and Rachel Dohig (but without Cara for this gig). They bring a unique mix of instruments and harmonies which have appeared round many kitchen tables, bonfires and more recently the stage, and feature solos on fiddle, banjo, flute, harmonica, and mandolin. Ratproof play acoustic folk/Americana music with both traditional and contemporary selections.

Where the name came from is unclear, even to the band themselves. Is it because Rose caught several rats and a weasel and on her trapline? Or because one day they’ll turn punk? Or because their first gig was at a seed swap? Who knows?


Acoustic Routes Winter Singaround Special

Monday 17 June, Tawa Community Centre, 5 Cambridge Street, Tawa, 7:30 pm. Parking on site or catch the number 60 bus, or the Porirua train to Tawa station.

Entry: $7/$5 for members. Cash only (no eftpos facilities). 

June is a big month for the stars, and this is your chance to star! 

June 21 is the Midwinter Solstice (and the shortest day) and towards the end of June, the cluster of stars we know here as Matariki (the Pleiades) will rise in the sky, giving rise to the beginning of the Māori New Year. We’d like to invite you to celebrate whatever part of that may be important to you in a singaround with a hygge-style (cosy) ambience at the Tawa Community Centre.

Bring your songs, poems or tunes with a wintry, starry and/or Matariki theme and let’s warm up the winter’s night together. To keep it cosy there won’t be a sound system, and to keep it safe, there won’t actually be an open fire!

If you’d like to participate by performing a number or two, please contact Ruth on 0274 515 486 to register.

We’re looking forward to seeing you there. We may even have some seasonal refreshments to share!

Note we have changed both the venue and the usual main event date so as not to clash with other events that may be scheduled at this time. Our usual singaround at Johnsonville on the third Monday is cancelled for this month.


NZ Music Month at Acoustic Routes – 3 great local acts!

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…


Karen Clarke plays for Acoustic Routes

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.

Jon Sanders plays for Acoustic Routes

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 

Winter Wilson plays for Acoustic Routes

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