Calling all guitar freaks!
Fingerpicking Delights is a thematic guitar concert focusing on the fingerpicking style of playing. This concert has now earned its place as Christchurch's premier Guitar Showcase, and this year's smorgasbord has been assembled by concert founder Tony Hale to leave you salivating: six acts - six different guitar styles.
Headlining is professional musician and long time Folk Club supporter Graham Wardrop, regarded by many as New Zealand's finest finger-style guitarist and singer-songwriter. Playing concerts internationally, Graham has worked widely in the Pacific, the UK and Europe. He's worked onstage with some of the planet's most highly regarded guitarists, songwriters and bands - Tommy Emmanuel, Martin Taylor, Valdy, Leo Kottke, Manhattan Transfer, Michael Crawford, Vanessa May.2016 has been a 'gypsy year' for Graham: He has been wandering the globe while his home is being rebuilt after the 2011 Christchurch earthquakes and has just returned from his ninth tour of Canada, seven weeks playing festivals and concerts with some of Canada's top songwriters and musicians and, after tonight, heads down to the Queenstown Jazz Festival over Labour Weekend. Graham is currently working on a new CD of his compositions. He will have CD's on sale at the break.
Go to www.grahamwardrop.com for links to YouTube clips and lots of other info.
Should it be your good fortune to be passing the Pegasus Arms on a Monday night, you may care to drop in on the fiddle session at play. There, says guitarist Jonathan Le Cocq, you will often find him at the second table on the right alongside fiddler Tessa White. This new and exciting duo have also popped up at Boo Radley's, the Central library during March's NZ Music Month, the Waimate Folk Festival and the Folk Club's Irish Dance and Music night in June. While they can dash off anything from Leo Kottke to originals to computer game music, tonight's spotlight is mainly on Celtic Expresso, with Tessa's fluid fiddle set to soar over Jonathan's supercharged whirr of strummed inversions and passing chords. Amongst all this frenetic action we can also look forward to some slower, melodious lines on the mandolin cradled by lush fingerpicked nests of guitar chords. These two are going places.
Upholding the world of nylon strings is Spanish Flamenco guitarist Oscar Lerma. He writes: Oscar Lerma is a Spanish Guitarist originally from Madrid. He has been playing guitar for more than 20 years, and plays a wide variety of styles, from classical and flamenco guitar, to gypsy, jazz, rock, blues, bossa-nova, mix with his own compositions and improvisations, and sing songs in Spanish, English, Maori, Japanese and Brazilian. He plays at festivals, libraries, markets, cafes and private functions, organize his own concerts and music workshops, and teaches music all around New Zealand. Enjoys interacting with the audiences and asking them for the style and language they would like to hear from him, plays music for pre- schoolers, and in kindergartens, and organize puppet shows. Oscar will have CD's on sale.
Sole returnees from last year's concert Tony Hale and Kristina Godfrey bring something new - 2016 has seen them at Open Mic's at the Folk Club and The Bog, the Canterbury Folk Festival, house concerts, New Brighton's library during New Zealand Music Month and fund raisers such as for Diamond Harbour Cancer Survivors. Kristina's crystal-clear vocals are at ease with a variety of styles while Tony's intricate fingerpicking style subtly weaves in and around the vocals. When not duetting, Kristina is honing her African djembe drumming and song writing skills and is putting the final touches to her first self-composed CD Awaken while Tony works with other duos and teaches guitar. Tonight the guitar steps forward to give new life to some of Joni Mitchell's haunting open tunings, her songs characterised by this unique chordal style and so harmonically complex as to be rarely heard these days. Together, Tony and Kristina's seamless combination will take you to another place.
Blues with personality, or rather, blues with irrepressible personality.that's Eric McEachen, stalwart of the NZ folk music scene since the late 1960s and still going strong in his 7 th decade. Apprenticeship completed at Wellington's famed Monde Marie Coffee House, Eric became a pillar of folk festivals and their after hours' sing- alongs up and down the land - and still is within the South Island. With a classically- trained voice, Eric the ex-choirboy (can you believe it') has the tonal control to voice a palette as varied as British trad. to soft romantic (McTell's Nana's Song), bawdy songs populated with accents (Chastity Belt), sea shanties to folk blues without blowing out his voice. And it is the folk blues of Robert Johnson and Big Bill Broonzy lighting up the menu tonight, fingerpicked in 1960's style with his own cadences and embellishments. The on-stage bonhomie and chord runs are all part of Eric's getting into the zone of performance. And his lack of inhibition is all part of the fun for us! Eric's CD 'Live by Request' will be available tonight.
https://youtu.be/63OLKEurJaI
On behalf of the younger generation and a more modern percussive guitar playing style we introduce Michael Thwaites. Michael has been a bit reluctant to tell us much about himself; he just wants to get on with the playing. However, he did briefly visit a few questions. He writes: I started playing after hearing my family play together several times at parties and fairs. I also remember seeing a DVD of Don Henley play 'Boys of Summer' and knew that's something I'd wanna do. In 2015 Tony Hale met him in a St Bede's College music class playing a complicated piece by Canadian Calum Graham, learned off YouTube. Michael gives context: I gained excellence for most of my music assignments. It definitely helped me develop skills that I could see becoming useful in the music industry, and definitely something I'd consider pursuing further.' Self-taught, Michael listens mostly to young guns Ben Howard, John Butler, Calum Graham and Tobias Rauscher. He concludes: All of these artists have helped me develop a unique sound that I can call my own. This rising young talent has played at Boo Radley's a few times and once last year at a Folk Club Open Mic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch'v=iynoA3igxyU
The incomparable Neill Pickard returns as compere.
$10 Members $15 Non-members $5 Students with ID
Doors open 7.00pm to view the performance starts at 7.30pm, you will get a seat if you arrive close to 7pm.
VENUE: Irish Society Hall, 29 Domain Terrace, Spreydon
The hall is situated up the long driveway, directly next to Domain Park, and there is plenty of well-lit off street parking.
DOOR SALES CASH ONLY: Please note: there is no Eftpos available on site.
Tea, coffee, biscuits and cake available during the break, also cash bar facilities for cold refreshments throughout the night
