Tauranga is changing

The thing that has struck me, though it has been slowly building over the past couple of years, is the huge increase of relatively small specialist music events catering for between 50 and a 120 people.

The difficulty with provincial cities such as Tauranga is that the smaller population size means missing out on a whole bunch of things, specifically the more specialist things.

To state the bleedin' obvious, the more specialist something is, the smaller its appeal is per capita, and if your capita isn't very big to start with that percentage won't make for
a worthwhile audience.

This manifests in everything, from the type of restaurants we get – nothing too left-field – to the type of films that come to cinemas here, though that has certainly improved in the past five years and, most obviously, in the range of touring music on offer.

There really has been an explosion of boutique touring acts, testimony if it was needed that Tauranga has now grown to the size of something very closely approaching a real city.

Leaving aside the regular rock venues – Brewer's Bar, MauaoPAC, etc – part of this has been the coincidence that both Baycourt and the Art Gallery have been hiring acts, effectively becoming promoters in their own right. They also host acts brought to town by others but their move into concert promotion has changed things in many ways and led to what is sometimes a veritable glut of events.

At the same time, groups such as the Katikati Folk Club, the Tauranga Acoustic Music Club, the Entertainers Club and many more have never been so active, and touring shows are happening at such places as the Te Puna Hall and the Omokoroa Boat Club.

Indeed, at the Omokoroa Boat Club tomorrow night (Saturday September 19) they have a special visitor in the form of American blues singer ‘Big Daddy' Wilson.

Big Daddy has one of those rich smoky honeyed voices that would sound soulful reading a phone book. He'll be backed by a pretty good Australian acoustic guitarist and accompanies himself on a small percussion set that is sort of attached to his body. The show is at 8pm, tickets are $20 from Eventfinder or $25 on the door.

And next week, attention all folkies!

On Wednesday (September 23) two of this country's folk royalty are passing through town on their way from Christchurch around the North Island. And they're playing a free show in Tauranga (the only one on the tour).

Helen Webby, New Zealand's leading Celtic harp player, and singer, luthier, guitarist and bouzouki player extraordinaire Davy Stuart will be playing at The Crown and Badger, an evening of fine tunes and songs from Ireland, Scotland and elsewhere. He was in legendary band Rua, she's also Principal Harp with the Christchurch Symphony. ‘Nuff said.

Mad if you miss it. Things begin about 7.30pm.


Helen Webby and Davy Stuart.

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