Spotlight: Hahko Presents A Night With Pickle Darling

Tāmaki-based podcaster and producer Hahko aka Isaac McFarlane presents two more shows as part of his popular new A Night With... series, featuring Tāmaki multidisciplinary artist PollyHill and Ōtautahi folk songwriter Pickle Darling next on the lineup. Coming up June 30th at Auckland's Whammy Bar and July 7th at Christchurch's Space Academy respectively, each evening will feature an intimate performance, conversation and audience Q&A. Ahead of the coming events, Hahko invited Pickle Darling front person Lukas Mayo to share a formative musical memory...

Pickle Darling Musical Memory — 'Sweet Child O' Mine' by Guns N' Roses

"Before learning guitar I learned the ukulele, and I wanted to be like a proper ukulele shredder, I could play Sweet Child O’ Mine and Come As You Are but that was about it so I think that’s why I started to write my own songs? I didn’t pick up a guitar until around 2 or 3 years later, there was one lying around the house but it was like playing a cheese grater so it put me off for ages." — Lukas Mayo / Pickle Darling

A Night With Pickle Darling
Thursday 7th July - Space Academy, Christchurch
Tickets available HERE via UTR

'A Night With . .' raison d’etre

The through-line in my work for the last few years seems to be my attempt to highlight the voices and ideas of musicians in a way I think they are traditionally limited.

In a culture where the tools for making music have been democratised and simplified, I believe that the intention behind music has become far more interesting than the ability to execute the music creation itself.

When we lurched back into the Red Alert setting I was acutely aware of the crisis music venues would face. I believe the importance of physical spaces for music is not only the performances, but also allowing musicians to mix, mingle and interact. Things that are integral to any kind of cultural scene growing sustainably.

In an effort to help keep people continuing through the doors of Whammy Bar I combined my existing love of music and conversations and developed the idea of ‘A Night with . . ‘ as not only an exciting enjoyable event but one that works extremely well in the intimate seated and socially distanced setting we are existing within.

‘A Night with . . ‘ is the kind of show I’ve always wanted to see. A combination of live music, alternate versions, interviews and insights that allows a multi-dimensional view of some of NZ’s best music, and for the artists behind it to speak to their experiences on the other end.

Ultimately, I am a giant music fan and that is the energy I bring to everything I do, from the podcast to the Mt Noise community to these new events. I also understand how valuable it can be to allow musicians the time and space to articulate themselves beyond the tiny boxes they are usually kept in.