Fingerpicking Delights V

Tony Hale invites you to his fifth guitar showcase. Last year’s full house of 100 saw several keen fans turned away so this is a concert to be diarised and the car parked early.

Tony is thrilled to announce the first appearance of Vintage Blue, a husband and wife duo who met at the CPIT Jazz School (now ARA) 18 years ago. Jenny and Rob Payne (vocals and guitar/vocals) used the Covid-19 Lockdown to record their first CD ‘Daydream’ and caught the nation’s attention on the TV 1 News with their self-penned parody of Dolly Parton’s ‘Jolene’. Released initially on social media, its international Facebook viewership has reached over 5 million, staggering for a Kiwi act! Beyond this touch of country, they regularly take their brand of crowd-pleasing mellow jazz grooves, pop music and originals onto the stage. Theirs is a class act.

Top instrumentalist and a founding member of the collective Manuka Hunnies, Susan Leigh Grant returns from an earlier Fingerpicking Delights concert with a new Kiwi-made brass resonator guitar. She composes and enthusiastically performs her own creations on social media as well as keeping up her backing chops with singer-friend Izzy Miller Bell, who will tonight join her. Izzy, known by the persona Madame Tragedie in her well-known pop-up concerts, brings personality and a warm stage
presence to her songs.

Tony Hale will accompany long-time singing partner Kristina Godfrey and also Jenny Vette, who he accompanied in last year’s concert, as he continues his exploration of fingerpicked guitar within popular music. Kristina released her debut CD ‘Good Enough for Love’ in 2018 and last year joined Mary Ruston’s Jazzamatazz Jazz Choir for a fresh challenge. Jenny’s creative interests combine writing/directing/acting and singing, performing in local showbands Bayley and Johnson Live and
Almost Famous, as well as a local amateur players group.

Onboard for a second consecutive year is acoustic fingerstyle maestro Jon Hooker, who will be joined by Laura Tomlin on vocals. Laura’s fit with Jon’s intricate backing is to be savoured, for they are totally at ease with one another, their arrangements crafted so carefully they play as one. Jon’s newly released CD, ‘Flatlands’ has been receiving some very favourable reviews and will be
available on the night.

Completing this exciting roster is Clube Do Choro, which functions weekly as a jam session group at A Rolling Stone, plays a mixture of Bossa Nova and other Brazilian music. Tonight, leaders Julien and Marianne Pringot from France will be joined by Brazilian vocalist Renata Rubini singing in Portuguese and English. Julien is the backbone of the group on seven-string guitar while Marianne and Renata combine flute and voice to a truly mesmerising effect. Julien writes, “Brazilian music is
our passion and we enjoy any opportunity to share it!”

The entertaining Izzy Miller Bell will host the evening.

Reviewer Russell Dann wrote in 2019: “When the lights went up at the conclusion of the concert, the buzz of delight from the audience was palpable. Fingerpicking Delights IV was a marvellous concert. It ran smoothly and featured superb artists who were happy to let their music speak for itself.”

door sales cash only: Tea, coffee, biscuits & cake available during the break, also bar facilities for cold refreshments throughout the night, Eftpos available for purchases only, no cash-out facility.