Upcoming events
Saturday 3rd February – Concert – The Lonely Heartstring Band
Saturday 10th February – Concert – Dan Walsh
Sunday 11th February – Bluegrass Music jam session (free) and banjo workshop ($20 – bookings essential)
Friday 16th February – Society Night – Jude Madill
Saturday 3rd March – Concert – 10 String Symphony
see below for the details
Note there will also be a seating allocation system for those wanting specific seats allocated prior to concerts. Allocated seats should be requested well prior to the concert. Click on following picture for further information on this option.
Saturday 3rd February – Concert – The Lonely Heartstring Band
Band Members of The Lonely Heartstring Band are George Clements (guitar, vocals), Patrick M’Gonigle (fiddle, vocals), Matt Witler (mandolin, vocals), Gabe Hirshfeld (banjo) and Charles Clements (bass, vocals).
Rooted in the tradition of bluegrass, The Lonely Heartstring Band is a Boston based acoustic quintet that creates a unique blend of old and new styles.
Concert – The Lonely Heartstring Band
Saturday 3rd February 8:00pm
Wellington Bluegrass Society, 54 Richmond Street, Petone
$30/$25 members or children – tea and coffee included
Bookings accepted before the day – by email to wellingtonbluegrass(at)outlook.com or phone (04)477-0069
Doors open at 7:20pm for those who have booked
Otherwise door sales on the day from 7:50pm
Saturday 10th February – Concert – Dan Walsh
Nominated for best musician at last year’s BBC Folk Awards, Dan Walsh combines ‘virtuoso playing and winning songwriting’ (MORNING STAR). Describing what Dan does is no easy task but at the heart of it is British, Irish and American folk music delivered with a healthy dose of funky grooves – all performed with his unique and dazzling take on clawhammer style banjo helping to challenge all preconceptions about the instrument. Add to all that poignant songs, astonishing musical departures and lively humour and the result is a truly memorable live show which has wowed audiences across the world from intimate seated rooms to huge dancing crowds in festival fields.
New album ‘Verging on the Perpendicular’ is Walsh’s fourth solo album and again has received much critical acclaim and is accompanied by a hectic touring schedule taking in the UK, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Both solo and as a member of the award winning Urban Folk Quartet, as well as guest appearances on stage with Imelda May, Joss Stone and the Levellers, this unique and eclectic musician has stunned audiences across the world.
His eclectic and innovative approach has led to many exciting collaborations alongside his solo work and the UFQ. The latest is with fellow banjoist John Dowling, combining beautiful harmonies with red-hot picking. Other work has included tours with North East concertina legend Alistair Anderson, sensational Indian sarangi player Suhail Yusuf Khan and Canadian country singer Meaghan Blanchard. Dan is also an in demand session musician with recent guest appearances, on stage or in the studio, with the likes of Imelda May, Joss Stone, Seth Lakeman, the Levellers, Duane Eddy, Martin Simpson and even the City of London Sinfonia.
Concert – Dan Walsh
Saturday 10th February 8:00pm
Wellington Bluegrass Society, 54 Richmond Street, Petone
$30/$25 members or children – tea and coffee included
Bookings accepted before the day – by email to wellingtonbluegrass(at)outlook.com or phone (04)477-0069
Doors open at 7:20pm for those who have booked
Otherwise door sales on the day from 7:50pm
Friday 16th February – Society Night – Jude Madill
Details to come.
Society Night – Jude Madill
Friday 16th February 8:00pm
Wellington Bluegrass Society, 54 Richmond Street, Petone
$10 door sales – tea and coffee included
Floorspots to follow, then a jam session – bring your instruments and join in
Saturday 3rd February – Concert – 10 String Symphony
Nashville duo 10 String Symphony began as a partnership of mutual admiration a much needed creative release valve for Rachel Baiman and Christian Sedelmyer, two 5string fiddle players and veteran sidemen of Nashville’s music scene. Rachel, a former Illinois state fiddle champion in the old time tradition, needed an outlet for the new sort of songs she was writing, while Christian, originally a classically trained violinist, now a current touring member of the Jerry Douglas Band, was looking to get in touch the impetuous spirit of the rock bands he played in before his arrival in Nashville. With the love of the 5string fiddle and its musical possibilities as its focal point, the band’s mission statement was as clear as it was expansive: Two fiddles. Two Voices. Epic music.
And yet, “Weight of the world,” the band’s latest batch of recordings to be released on Oct. 23rd, is not at all the record one might expect from a duo of seasoned Nashville fiddlers. This is not a record of showboating no mere polished showcasing of technical virtuosity. Rather, at its core, “Weight of the world” is raw and intimate a nuanced and patient record with designs to move rather than merely impress its listeners. Rachel and Christian’s musical prowess and chemistry is certainly on display for those in the know, but listening deeply reveals that these flourishes are always in service of reaching the listener emotionally the spiritual earnestness of songcraft which keeps us perennially returning to the roots of American music.
ALL THINGS MUSIC has described the band’s’ sound as a “new take on old ideas,” a concept and tension that the duo continues to explore throughout “Weight of the World.” This is showcased on songs like “Someone to be Good For,” where a timeless fiddle melody is underscored by Rachel’s acutely personal and timely take on the search for romantic fulfillment in the midst of brokenness. Or in the searching harmonies and exploratory fiddle runs of a song like “I’m Not Lonesome” While the title may hearken back to the tradition, Christian’s haunting melodies and searching cadences bespeak of an artist that has spent as much time with Wagner and Pet Sounds era Beach Boys as he has with the Seeger brothers.
And perhaps this is what makes “Weight of the World” such a brave record: Its the soundtrack of a process a picture of a band striving to maintain the purity of purpose of the American oldtime tradition, while simultaneously stretching its limitations with unique arrangements, unflinchingly personal lyrics, and a bravely progressive melodic palette.
Concert – 10 String Symphony
Saturday 3rd March 8:00pm
Wellington Bluegrass Society, 54 Richmond Street, Petone
$30/$25 members or children – tea and coffee included
Bookings accepted before the day – by email to wellingtonbluegrass(at)outlook.com or phone (04)477-0069
Doors open at 7:20pm for those who have booked
Otherwise door sales on the day from 7:50pm
and much more to come !
Second Sunday each month – Jam Session – Old Time Music or Bluegrass
This is a new venture for the WBS, having come together after years in the making. Over the years the WBS has organised Old-time banjo camps, then Old-time music camps and many Old-time instrument and workshops as well as various Bluegrass sessions. There has been a calling for an Old-time and Bluegrass jam sessions
I hope you all will embrace this opportunity so the jam sessions can flourish.
Old-time Music and Bluegrass jam sessions
second Sunday of the month
Petone Community House
6 Britannia Street, Petone
2:00 – 4:00pm
Free entry all welcome
Sunday 11th February – Bluegrass Music jam session and banjo workshop
A new venture! in conjunction with the jam session:
banjo workshop, for absolute beginners!
In response to requests from some of you, there will be a clawhammer banjo workshop, for absolute beginners. Running in parallel to the jam session, at the same venue, this will cater for anyone who has either just picked up a banjo, through to getting you up to jamming with others.
banjo workshop for absolute beginners
Sunday 11th February, 2:00 – 4:00pm
Petone Community House
6 Britannia Street, Petone
$20-00 per person
Please email wellingtonbluegrass(at)outlook.com
asap to register your interest in this workshop
“Even” months will be bluegrass jam sessions
“Odd” months will be old-time music jam sessions
Wellington Bluegrass Society, Petone New Zealand for good fun and fine music !
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