Small Hall Sessions & NZ Music Month presents:
Hawkes Bay Music Month: Week Two
11th – 14th May 2023
Hawkes Bay, New Zealand.
Review by Rob Harbers, photography by Andrew Caldwell.
For the second week of the Hawkes Bay Music Month, it was very much (from the bits I saw) Ladies Night(s). As unremarkable as it should be for women to be taking centre stage to the same extent as men, we’re not quite there yet, and so the fact that of the six acts I saw, five of them were of the distaff is something to be celebrated! The 6th one also featured a very strong female presence, but more on that anon…
Opening duties on night six, taking place in the sylvan surroundings of the Matapiro Hall, were undertaken by the prodigiously talented Ella Pollett. I’ve encountered her dynamic presence before and was hugely impressed then, while in the interim she’s continued to develop with regular appearances at many events across the Bay. Her powerful vocals and entrancing stage manner captivated the audience, and provide further pointers to what should be an impressive career. Most definitely worthy of watching!
One with a few more years of experience was the second act, Teresa Trull. Almost unknown in her adopted province, this is an artist whose musical career stretches back to the 70s, and has encompassed, in her native land, working with such artists as David Sanborn, Joan Baez and Sheila E, also being nominated for New York Producer of the Year along the way. And she lives in the Bay!! She has an earthy style, both sophisticated and rootsy all at once, with an amazing voice that made all sit up and listen and be amazed at the depth of talent living just on our doorstep. Pure class indeed, and the word is that she’s promised to try and get her band out from the States for a full tour. Should this come to fruition, don’t stop to think about it, just get there!
As previously mentioned, there was one act of the six that isn’t exclusively feminine, but the presence of Paula Sugden, cellist extraordinaire, in Stretch’s sonic tapestry is powerful enough to continue the overall theme of female visibility! I’ve seen Stretch a good few times now, and like a musical postman he always delivers. In fact, the main note I made relating to this performance consisted of just two words: “on fire”! For that they were indeed, something about the night taking it to a whole new level – this was a band with nothing to prove, just a hunger for the creative expression. These are truly songs of this place, powerful outpourings of emotional intensity, kindled in these very communities! Could there be a more appropriate homegrown act than this? I doubt it!
The following night, it was the turn of Bay View’s King George Hall to experience the magic. Both of these two particular nights went into territory which bore the effects of February’s unwelcome visitor, and as such these events are a valuable part of the restorative process – the chance to “take the night off”, in the words of a Stretch tune. Bay View directly borders on perhaps one of the most affected areas, the trashed Esk Valley, so there are some heavy hearts around here!
Opening proceedings was the ever-evolving d.e.l.u.n.e. , bringing her distinctive sound to new audiences, making new fans wherever she goes. It’s a bit cliched to talk of the loudest noises coming from the smallest sources, but it’s definitely applicable in this instance! Her often Bjork-reminiscent vocals are accompanied by truly astounding guitar noise, delivered with an intensity and volume belying her diminutive physical size. And a winningly understated stage presence!
Continuing the (unwitting?) theme of strong female voices, rising star Danica Bryant was next up. It’s been a pleasure to watch her ongoing development, moving from strength to strength as she progresses. Through it all runs a spirit that’s not afraid to take on some very big subjects, with lyrics often dealing with the gender power imbalance, in various manifestations, but never being remotely preachy about it – the meanings are there, should you listen deeply, but not necessarily in your face. All delivered with powerful and distinctive vocals, another winning package!
This represented something of a return to roots for Danica, having grown up around the area – her previous appearance on this stage being on the occasion of leaving primary school! These gigs represented a similar sort of homecoming for Ebony Lamb, who grew up in Hastings, although now domiciled elsewhere. As has been frequently noted by others whose roots are here but now live outside the region, the heartbreak at seeing their familiar stomping grounds in such a ravaged state is very real, and encourages them to do whatever they can to help out – in Ebony’s case, how better to do so than to sing for us? The blessing of those born with the gift of a golden voice, indeed.
Bringing the fruits of a successful career with a band in tow, and complementing them with newer material from the long-awaited solo album, the singer who aspired (aspiring still? Keep your eyes open!) to be the next Kim Deal proceeded to hold the audience Spellbound (to borrow a song title from another female icon). Her truly individual vocals bind this material, with its lyrical content seemingly having dictated (early on) a musical style more in the realms of alt country/folk/Ameri-kiwiana. Very successful it was too, one song in particular being only pipped at the post for Country Song of the Year (2016) by the mighty Warratahs – a worthy loss! The first part of the set consisted of this early material, before delving in to the new stuff – a marked shift in sound, and one that shows much promise for the future, while demonstrating the versatility of her musical voice. Bring on the Kim Deal phase! (The Kiwi Breeders perhaps, with Julia Deans, Lani Purkis Et al.? Hmmm…)
At their heart, though, these events are about the rejuvenating power of community, the opportunity to forget, for just a night, the cleanup and restoration process, and this second run has delivered that in spades. It’d risk being cliched to talk of the extent to which this may have been aided by the strong female presence, so I won’t – just take from this that there is much to be found in them, and there’s still another eight to come! Tell everyone you know who lives near one that’s still to happen (and with the spread of them that’d cover a lot of people) to get along – for just $25 they can see some truly amazing talent that they may not otherwise encounter – get off your ass and come down here! (to steal another song lyric).
Were you there in the Hawkes Bay for any of these intimate gigs? Or have you seen any of these acts perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Note: Ambient Light was provided passes to review and photograph these concerts. As always, this has not influenced the review in any way and the opinions expressed are those of Ambient Light’s only.
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