The Inaugural Hawke’s Bay Music Month – Keeping It Rural

Small Hall Sessions and NZ Music Bring Communities Together Post-Cyclone

“For a week after the cyclone I was totally stunned, wading in silt, and busy cancelling three upcoming tours, but after a week or two I got to thinking…”

You get the impression Jamie Macphail probably never stops ‘thinking’, as evidenced by his lifetime in the entertainment industry, the production of myriad events over the last decade including the Hawke’s Bay Arts Festival, and most recently the creation of ‘Small Hall Sessions’.

The idea to bring mainstream folk, pop and country artists to the 61 community halls dotted around the Hawke’s Bay region was borne of the COVID lockdown. Jamie saw it as an opportunity for communities to connect, to revitalise historic halls, and to grow a new audience for touring artists. Out of every trial the indefatigable Jamie seems to find inspiration, and Cyclone Gabrielle was no different.

For years, Jamie had contemplated adding a local dimension to national music month: “New Zealand Music Month has achieved its goal to give New Zealand artists a national, even global platform. I felt maybe it was time to support and promote artists on a more regional level. I was torn as to whether the time was right post-cyclone. Should I be asking people to spend money after such devastation?”

He decided the benefits to the traumatised communities of a good night out balanced the value in providing much-needed paid work for Hawke’s Bay artists. Jamie forged ahead  with ‘Hawke’s Bay Music Month’, contacted NZ Music Month’s Rodney Fisher and secured support of the NZ Music Commission, followed by sponsorship from wellbeing organisations Farmstrong and the Rural Support Trust, and local councils, substantially reducing the cost of the tickets.

Thanks to Jamie’s passion for small halls and rural communities, not only was the focus on local music, but the tour encompassed the whole region including some of the areas hit hardest by the cyclone. In under four weeks Small Hall Sessions and NZ Music Month pulled together 16 nights across 16 halls, every evening featuring three different artists, totalling 89 acts across the entire tour.

Each of the 90-minute concerts included an emerging artist, an established artist and an artist with a national profile. The line-ups were selected and curated by Sarah Terry, Head of the School of Music at Eastern Institute of Technology/Te Pukenga (EIT), Richie Jackman, owner of Napier Music Machine, and Kevin Murphy, Events Manager for Napier City Council and founder of The Backline Trust:

“All bar one of the acts performed their original material, no covers bands, just homegrown songs by homegrown artists. Locals performing songs that they’ve written, right here,” Jamie said. On the production side, things were ready to go: “I use a top-end minimalist approach!” Jamie laughs. “We use a high quality but small DB Audio PA system, which you can’t see but sounds beautiful; a bespoke lighting rig and desk developed by Henry Norton at Hastings-based Sight & Sound Services; a whole lot of pipe and drape; and our own spectacular box office and bar.” Designed by local engineer Isaac McCormack in just three days, Jamie is very proud of the collapsible kit: “It combines the feel of an agricultural show with a shooting gallery, transforming the halls and bringing a bit of circus to the occasion.”

The crew of five, including Seb Woodham-Budge on sound and Kalib ‘Kake’ Walsh on lights, ensured a professional show every night. From its inception, Jamie’s Small Hall Sessions has worked with the music department of EIT to offer employment to their full- time students to learn live sound and lighting production, and Seb and Kalib have now delivered over a hundred Small Hall Sessions: “Of course, the cyclone threw up a few curve balls! One hall took an hour longer to get to than it had prior to the cyclone, a few were civil defence centres that had fortunately reverted back to normal by the time we toured, and a one hall was even being used as a classroom by a damaged school, but thankfully they moved out the day before.”

Logistically demanding but highly rewarding is Jamie’s conclusion: “The musicians all commented on how focused the audience were on the music and the lyrics. The audiences were stunned by the depth of talent in Hawke’s Bay, from 17-year-old students to our 60-year-old fire chief playing wonderfully poignant, but funny, folk songs.”

Some of the outstanding performances included: Arahi (Jamie’s tip for the next New Zealand breakthrough artist), who performed both solo and with his new band, Te Tokotoru; and Project Prima Volta, a youth group who had sadly had their performance of ‘Magic Flute’ cancelled due to the cyclone.

Each show was opened by a video message from ex-All Black and spokesperson for Farmstrong, Sam Whitelock: “He recorded a beautiful message reflecting on the aftermath of the earthquakes in Christchurch and how important it was to take time to go ‘off-farm’. He reminded everyone that you can’t keep running on adrenalin or you’ll drop. It was a sincere, heartfelt message from someone who understood.”

Jamie was pleased by the overwhelming response. “We are in constant competition with streamed entertainment and to get over 1,000 people out was a great achievement. One lady recounted she’d only come grudgingly after a friend had forced her along, but enjoyed every minute and was now reflecting on the downsides to her family’s typical night in, five of them all on a device each. I want to challenge people to make the effort to go out, connect socially and be uplifted by music. With everything that people have been through recently due to the cyclone, it’s perhaps even more important. People are hurting and concerts are an opportunity to open the taps on their emotions and let go for a couple of hours.”

Jamie acknowledges that the Small Hall ‘movement’ in New Zealand has a way to go: “In Australia, it is well established. Fanny Lumsden, our next touring artist, sells out over a hundred small halls and the Aussies have a highly successful Festival of Small Halls. Here, to make it happen, we have to do everything from booking the hall and finding the artist, to promotion, production and ticketing, along with carrying all the risk. I would love to be able to get more support and develop a model that can be replicated across the country.”

Could that be next on the unflagging Jamie Macphail’s list of things to do?

Feature Photo Credit: Hugh Chesterman of the Ministry of Culture and Heritage