News that this weekend's Big Day Out will be the last one must be a worry for festival promoters throughout New Zealand. The 18-year-old event has given up the race for purely financial reasons – it just doesn't make enough money to continue.

The big question is whether this is specific to the Big Day Out, whether their structure was just too top heavy – too many expensive acts in a short timeframe – or whether it is a more general problem. Given the profusion of festivals about to take place, one must hope it was the former.

And we're about to find out in the Bay, what with February on the horizon, the month that Tauranga goes into fully-fledged festival mode.

Last week I wrote about Summer Fest, which happens at Blake Park on February 5.

I also talked about guitarist Aaron Saxon, who has been involved with organising the music for the day and is running the Packing Heat Battle of the Bands that will pick three youth bands to play at the Fest.

What I didn't have room to mention was that those of a musical bent can currently catch Aaron live, something that doesn't happen a lot aside from specific gigs at events such as the Jazz Festival.

The LBC (Little Black Corner – on the corner of Maunganui Road and Pacific Ave at the Mount) has changed hands and Aaron, along with drummer Mickey Ututaonga and bass player Karika Jr Turua are the resident band every Saturday night, stirring a melting pot of original music (funk, fusion and vocal tunes).

There'll be a special session on Feb 3 and 4 when Aaron will be joined by three Australians, Todd Bynes (drums), Damian Barnard (bass) and Aaron West (guitar), who are all in town to play at Summer Fest.

Also planned are guest artists and bands, both national and international, who are set to be included in the new club's line-up once every 4-6 weeks.

And Aaron, for one, is certainly not pessimistic about the year: 'So much doom and gloom around 2012....pfffffff! This is a new beginning, an exciting new beginning! Go the Mount and Tauranga!”

The week after Summer Fest it's time for Tauranga's annual shot of blues-lovin' in the form of the Marchwood Blues Picnic.

Taking place again at Pete Archer and Carol Murphy's lovely property on Youngson Road, the line-up for 2012 is an interesting mix of local and national acts, leaning a little more towards the electric guitar end of the spectrum than previous festivals which have mixed acoustic, electric and regular appearances from Jan Preston on boogie woogie piano.

Topping the bill this time is venerable Kiwi blues icon Midge Marsden, one of the very few performers for whom I can honestly say 'needs no introduction”.

So here's a weird thing that happened to me yesterday (true that). I was down in town and happened to see a sign that was partly obscured. It said: '…idge Mar…”. My immediate thought was, hey, Midge must be coming to town, so I moved to where I could see the whole sign. It said 'Bridge Marina”.

Returning from last year's festival are American singer Dianne Harris, who will again be singing with R ‘n' B kings Brilleaux and, from Wellington, (early) Fleetwood Mac tribute band Manalishi.

New to the bill are Chris Gunn and Gunshy, who have been acting as the house band at the very successful monthly blues jams at Drivers bar on 11th Avenue.

Along with the Brilleaux rhythm section of Ian ‘Beano' Gilpin and Brian Franks they feature Morgan Lewis on guitar and Lewis Martin on sax (and, of course, the venerable Chris Gunn himself).

The another recent-formed band is Chill Factor, a band started by vocalist / bassist Dave Porter (who also plays with John Michaelz and The Usual) and Marchwood co-founder Pete Archer (whose harmonica has graced every festival so far).

They play high-energy electric blues and roots music and are rounded out by drummer Paul Davies and ace guitarist Derrin Richards.

Marchwood Blues Picnic takes place on February 11. Tickets are $40 up till the end of this month then $50 afterwards and on the gate.

For more information visit www.bluespicnic.com