Midwinter rhythm and blues rave-up at Titirangi venue attracts top musicians
Titirangi destination venue The Refreshment Room, just 5 minutes from Titirangi Village, is gearing up for an exciting midwinter rave-up featuring one of Auckland’s most respected rhythm and blues musicians: singer-guitarist Tom Rodwell and his band Storehouse.
A treat for dancers, drinkers and diners, the event features a delicious two or three -course meal, and live music all night from artists who guarantee an evening of raucous, foot-stomping blues and boogie.
The dinner-dance concert takes place on Saturday 23rd August, at The Red Room, the underground function cellar at The Refreshment Room. Reserve your tickets by phoning 09 817 8655. More info on www.therefreshmentroom.co.nz
Tom Rodwell - Sheffield's answer to Lightnin' Hopkins, according to the NME - has toured internationally since 2003 and is a fixture on the Auckland club scene and throughout New Zealand.
He recently fronted a documentary on the roots of blues and gospel music for Radio New Zealand, travelling to the American deep south, reporting from the Georgia Sea Islands about the persistence of African identity in gospel music.
Rodwell’s uniquely dance-orientated take on rhythm and blues music takes influences from calypso, slave spirituals and West African juju music - making his playing thoughtful, sometimes to hard to categorise, but always instantly accessible.
By turns wild, angry, hypnotic and sensual, it's as uncompromising as it is funky and some of the best live music I've seen, remarked Blues in London. Metro magazine has described his work as infectious: “Rodwell’s reinvention of blues never fails to get the joint jumping.”
Aside from from Rodwell's notoriously popular work in blues music, he has also worked extensively as a session guitarist with artists including Don McGlashan (The Mutton Birds), Jeffrey Foskett (The Beach Boys), Robert Lamm (Chicago) and Andy Kim (“Sugar Sugar”). His band has been called upon to support artists like Leon Russell, Trinity Roots, Derek Trucks (Allman Brothers), the John Butler Trio and Grammy nominee Otis Taylor.
He appears with NZ jazz sax and percussion legend Jeff Henderson - former artistic director of the Wellington International Jazz Festival - and cult Auckland guitarist Phill Dryson, known for his work with underground legends Meatbix and the Benka Boradovsky Bordello Band.
