The Hamilton County Bluegrass Band – NZ Bluegrass Icons

It may surprise you to know that one of the longest-running internationally renowned bands in Aotearoa New Zealand today is not from the genres of pop, disco, punk, metal, hip-hop, house or trance: it is bluegrass. The Hamilton County Bluegrass Band has been making bluegrass music together since 1966!

This exhibition honours the longevity of a band that began here on the green grass of the Waikato but has its musical roots in the bluegrass of Kentucky and the Appalachian Mountains in the United States.

From their beginnings, the prolific discography and musical triumphs and losses, this is an exhibition about music excellence, friendship and family as a way of life.

Image: Detail, courtesy of the Hamilton County Bluegrass Band Archive and Vahry Photography. Alan Rhodes, Lyndsay Bedogni, Paul Trenwith, David Calder. Seated: Colleen Trenwith.