The last Friday of May is Love Your Local Venue Day. We want to see people all over New Zealand getting out and seeing shows all month and all year – but especially on Friday 31 May.
The theme for NZ Music Month this year is Discover Live. Live music venues are a vital part of the local scene so on the last day of NZ Music Month 2019 we’d love to celebrate their contribution. Venues are where artists develop their craft, road test their songs and connect with others – the audiences they play to, and bands they play with – to build their musical communities.
Throughout NZ Music Month we have been taking the opportunity to highlight these champions of live music by featuring a NZ Music Venue of the Day on our social media channels and website. This has included out of the way spots like the Barrytown Hall, which is a favourite of touring musicians since the local community really get behind any shows that are held there. Also the Wine Cellar in Auckland, which started as a hole-in-the-wall with acoustic acts only, but eventually developed its own dedicated performance space and is now celebrating its fifteen year anniversary! Venues from Invercargill to Whangarei have featured so far, with another ten to come. View the full list on our website.
NZ music history website - AudioCulture - has also been running a great series on the live music champions of yester-year - The Facts of Live. They’ve unearthed some great stories, whether it is the ‘special coffees’ served by 50s coffee lounge Monde Marie (to get around the liquor laws) or Napier venue The Cabana which had a special performance in 1984 by members of Hello Sailor and DD Smash when the woman who ran it, Charlie Morrison, finally retired after decades of service.
There are a huge amount of stories and great photos that go with these venues, so we hope some of these will come out on the day and music lovers across the country take time to appreciate the great work that venues do in keeping our local music scene alive and vibrant.
NZ Music Month’s Rodney Fisher said “This NZ Music Month we want to talk about the places that provide the spaces for artists to perform and audiences to enjoy New Zealand music. Playing live is an incredibly important part of building and sustaining a career as a musician, so we want to shine a spotlight on the venues that support our New Zealand artists all year round, and give us a place to come together and experience music from Aotearoa.”
Remember across NZ Music Month to share your live music experiences on social media with #discoverlivenz and #nzmusicmonth
https://www.nzmusicmonth.co.nz/
Facebook / Twitter / Instagram: @nzmusicmonth