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9 May 2025 – Burgin, Kerr and Norman

9 May 2025 – Burgin, Kerr and Norman

 

The Levin Folk Music Club meets again Friday 9 May with special guests Burgin, Kerr and Norman.

Irishman Andrew Kerr (ex. Jacky Tar) and Alan Norman (The Warratahs, The Rag Poets) are now a trio with Paddy Burgin (The Wooden Box Band, The Zimmermans), and his magical guitars.

Paddy, a world-renowned luthier, was a member of The Scarborough Connection, who featured on Andrew and Alan’s critically acclaimed 2023 release ‘For the Record.’

Describing their combination as “a swampy melting pot of country, folk, americana and blues”, they combine a mutual love of story-telling and rhythmic grooves with narratives about the human experience.

They perform predominantly original material, with contributions from each member, calling on a wide range of instrumentation including piano, acoustic and Weissenborn guitars, accordion, bodhran, and percussion.

Come and find out for yourself at: Levin Folk Music Club, Friday May 9th at the Horowhenua Scottish Society Hall, 155 Bartholomew Road, corner Bartholomew Road and Middlesex Street, Levin.

Doors open at 7:00 pm and the evening begins at 7:30 pm with a blackboard of performers, where there is an opportunity for musicians to put their name up for an item. The guests perform after supper and the drawing of the raffle.

Admission, which includes a light supper, is $10 for members, $15 for non-members and $3 for students. Cash only (no eftpos facilities).

Burgin, Kerr and Norman – Paddy Burgin, Andrew Kerr, Alan Norman.
Image source: https://www.eventfinda.co.nz/2025/burgin-kerr-norman2/wellington

 

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11 April 2025 – Haewai Collective

11 April 2025 – Haewai Collective

 

The Levin Folk Music Club meets again Friday 11 April with special guests Haewai Collective.

Janine Mitchell (guitar & vocals) is joined by Kevin Ikin (mandolin and harmonica), Jack Binding (lead guitar) and Pete Lamb (percussion), who all enjoy presenting heart felt, and sometimes upbeat, contemporary folk from the likes of Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Simon and Garfunkel, and more.

The group also play some of Janine’s originals, which are written about environment and social issues that are close to her heart and inspired by 60’s 70’s folk singers.

The concert will also include some of Kevin’s original songs, which often take a light hearted look at current social issues.

Come and find out for yourself at: Levin Folk Music Club, Friday April 11th at the Horowhenua Scottish Society Hall, 155 Bartholomew Road, corner Bartholomew Road and Middlesex Street, Levin.

Doors open at 7:00 pm and the evening begins at 7:30 pm with a blackboard of performers, where there is an opportunity for musicians to put their name up for an item. The guests perform after supper and the drawing of the raffle.

Admission, which includes a light supper, is $10 for members, $15 for non-members and $3 for students. Cash only (no eftpos facilities).

Haewai Collective – Jack, Pete, Janine, and Kevin.
Image source: Haewai Collective

 

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14 March 2025 – Legal Tender

14 March 2025 – Legal Tender

 

The Levin Folk Music Club meets again Friday 14 March with special guests Legal Tender.

The ‘Legal Tender’ duo of Ian Campbell and Moira Campbell have been performing an eclectic mix of rural/folk originals and covers around New Zealand for years.

Frequent collaborators with Wayne Mason, Andrew London trio, various members of the Hamilton County Bluegrass Band and other well-known kiwi musicians they have featured at numerous country/folk festivals and concerts. With their blend of alternative rural/folk down-home original songs and alt/covers they have entertained audiences from the Bay of Islands to the Deep South.

Sensitive guitar/bass arrangements of songs by various artists including Guy Clark, Lori McKenna, Gillian Welsh, and Alison Krauss and their own originals are rendered with earthy integrity and powerful vocal harmonies.

For more info go to www.muddybootsrecords.com.

Come and find out for yourself at: Levin Folk Music Club, Friday March 14th at the Horowhenua Scottish Society Hall, 155 Bartholomew Road, corner Bartholomew Road and Middlesex Street, Levin.

Doors open at 7:00 pm and the evening begins at 7:30 pm with a blackboard of performers, where there is an opportunity for musicians to put their name up for an item. The guests perform after supper and the drawing of the raffle.

Admission, which includes a light supper, is $10 for members, $15 for non-members and $3 for students. Cash only (no eftpos facilities).

Legal Tender – Moira and Ian Campbell.
Image source: Ian Campbell

 

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14 February 2025 – Dean Murray, with guest Steve Poulton

14 February 2025 – Dean Murray, with guest Steve Poulton

The Levin Folk Music Club’s first concert for 2025 will be held on Friday 14 February with special guest Dean Murray, supported by Steve Poulton.

Dean Murray Singer songwriter, builder, environmentalist, gardener, fisherman, beekeeper, lead lighter, luthier, jack of all trades, husband, father and grandfather.

Living in the Horowhenua in a rammed earth house on a small block of land, growing veggies, fruit, eggs, meat and fishing in the summer. Often found in the shed making stuff, innovating, out planting the wetland, writing songs.

With music on his mother’s side and politics on his Dad’s you will hear songs from conversations and observations about places, people, politics and the planet. With a large collection of tunes written over 20 plus years and a bunch of stories to go with them delivered with sincerity. Home-made songs on hand made guitars in various genre from country through folk to reggae occasionally with harmonica on the side.

Come and find out for yourself at: Levin Folk Music Club, Friday February 14th at the Horowhenua Scottish Society Hall, 155 Bartholomew Road, corner Bartholomew Road and Middlesex Street, Levin.

Doors open at 7:00 pm and the evening begins at 7:30 pm with a blackboard of performers, where there is an opportunity for musicians to put their name up for an item. The guests perform after supper and the drawing of the raffle.

Admission, which includes a light supper, is $10 for members, $15 for non-members and $5 for students. Cash only (no eftpos facilities).

Dean Murray.
Image source: Dean Murray

 

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13 December 2024 – The Madillionairs

13 December 2024 – The Madillionairs

The Levin Folk Music Club meets on Friday 13 December for our last concert of the year – with special guests The Madillionairs.

The Madillionaires are Peter Madill, Jude Madill and Joseph Coleman, three generations of the same family, plus Jenny Kilpatrick, original Madillionaires’ band member and kazoo soloist extraordinaire. Combining dynamic and diverse musical styles with strong vocal harmonies they perform original songs as well as a wide range of music from elsewhere.
As well as having four vocalists, The Madillionaires play the guitars, fiddle, accordion, banjo, octave mandolin, bass and attitude.
The Madillionaires will entertain you with songs of heroism and hardship, murder and survival, loves lost and won. You will be regaled with re-imagined ballads of yesteryear and hear tell of more recent times as well.
Disclosure statement: there may be traces of country; alt-country; folk in this music.

Peter Madill, renowned luthier and musician, has been playing and singing since the late 60s, starting in the Dunedin folk scene, then moving to Auckland in the 1970s. He has performed with a number of successful bands over the years including Gentle Annie and Late Harvest. He has been a member of The Madillionaires since the band began in around 2014, although being resident in the South Island for a time meant he couldn’t make it to every gig. Now living in Levin, Peter has once again joined the lineup on a more permanent basis.
Jude, the next generation Madill, plays and sings with great feel and an equal enthusiasm and love for music. Living in Wellington since 1990, she has played both solo and in groups around the local acoustic, folk and Americana scenes for several years now. Jude also writes her own material, most of which falls somewhere in the folk/alt-country box. A couple of her original songs will be presented in their set at the WBS.
Joseph Coleman, the most recent band member, is the third generation of ‘Madill’ and as such could not avoid joining the band. Still in his early teens, he hasn’t been playing and singing for long enough to be written about in length but already has a few gigs under his belt. As well as being an integral part of The Madillionaires with his intuitive backing on accordion and harmony singing, Joseph has played a few festival blackboard spots, The Interislander, and a gig in a bookshop with Jude (his Mum) as Madillionette.
Jenny Kilpatrick, an original Madillionaire and kazoo soloist, has stuck with the many and various band lineups over the years. She has been part of the folk music scene in New Zealand since going to festivals as a teenager. As a Madillionaire, Jenny adds her fabulous voice to the mix and keeps the band grounded on bass. She is also a member of duos The PJs and Portable Panic, singing and playing around the Wellington folk scene.

Doors open at 7:00 pm and the evening begins at 7:30 pm with a blackboard of performers, where there is an opportunity for musicians to put their name up for an item. The guests perform after supper and the drawing of the raffle.

Admission, which includes a light supper, is $7 for members, $12 for non-members and $3 for students. Cash only (no eftpos facilities).

The venue is the Horowhenua Scottish Society Hall, 155 Bartholomew Road, corner Bartholomew Road and Middlesex Street, Levin.

Come and enjoy a night of fun and music!

The Madillionairs – Jenny Kilpatrick, Joseph Coleman, Peter Madill, and Jude Madill.
Image source: Peter Madill

 

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8 November 2024 – Helen Dorothy and Neil Billington

8 November 2024 – Helen Dorothy and Neil Billington

The Levin Folk Music Club meets again Friday November 8 with special guests Helen Dorothy and Neil Billington.

Helen Dorothy has performed at a variety of acoustic venues and folk/arts festivals. The legendary Paul Ubana Jones invited her to open for him on several occasions after seeing her perform a floor spot at the Levin Folk Music Club in 2016. For her upcoming concert, she teams up with Neil Billington, performing songs that celebrate life in the details of experience, both familiar and unexpected at the same time.

Neil is an acknowledged virtuoso on blues harp and chromatic harmonica. He has performed at jazz, blues, and folk festivals here and overseas. His extraordinary musicianship adds colour tone to Helen’s songs.

Two of Helen’s studio albums were favourably reviewed by UK’s Roots magazine. “Helen Dorothy writes beautifully-crafted, intelligent songs rich in memorable imagery” (Roots Magazine, January 2014).

Doors open at 7:00 pm and the evening begins at 7:30 pm with a blackboard of performers, where there is an opportunity for musicians to put their name up for an item. The guests perform after supper and the drawing of the raffle.

Admission, which includes a light supper, is $7 for members, $12 for non-members and $3 for students. Cash only (no eftpos facilities).

The venue is the Horowhenua Scottish Society Hall, 155 Bartholomew Road, corner Bartholomew Road and Middlesex Street, Levin.

Come and enjoy a night of fun and music!

Neil Billington and Helen Dorothy
Image source: Neil Billington

 

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26 October 2024 – Kāpiti Quorum and The Cattlestops

26 October 2024 – Kāpiti Quorum and The Cattlestops

The Levin Folk Music Club meets for a special concert on Saturday 26 October featuring Kāpiti bands Kāpiti Quorum and The Cattlestops.

The Kāpiti Quorum is returning to the Levin Folk Music Club as the supporting act for The Cattlestops.

Kāpiti Quorum.

Back Row from left: Hans Vanderhelm, Roger King, John Laurenson. Front: Carole Abraham, Becky Abraham.

Image source: Kāpiti Quorum

Kāpiti Quorum have been together for a few years now, originating at a drop-in centre in Waikanae. They have played a few spots at the Levin Folk Music Club as well as entertaining some of the residents at Waikanae’s largest retirement village.

Band members include Hans Vanderhelm (bass and blues harmonica), Roger King (guitar and blues harmonica), John Laurenson (guitar and lead vocals), Carole Abraham (lead vocals) and Becky Abraham (guitar).

  • Hans is a former jazz player with amazing guitar skills. He was in a few bands in his native Holland before coming to New Zealand. He developed a love for bass guitar and harmonica, both of which add rich punctuation to Kāpiti Quorum’s performances. Hans was there at the very first get-together at the pop-in centre, and he has seen all the iterations since then.
  • Roger’s preferred instruments are guitar, mouth organ, box drum and djembe. Having little band experience, he has loved the chance to play music with and enjoy the company of fellow musicians in Kāpiti Quorum.
  • John’s stage experience goes way back, his singing too, and it’s nearly 60 years since he first picked up a guitar as a young lad growing up in Scotland. He has performed at folk clubs in England and New Zealand, medieval banquets, even a musical or two. Having sung in choirs, in duos and solo, he is now thoroughly enjoying his weekly serving of talents that the others in the group have.
  • Carole started entertaining at 15 – and has continued singing for the next 70 years. Everything from Light Opera and musicals to Kāpiti Quorum’s current repertoire – and isn’t planning on stopping singing any time soon! Also known fondly in the ‘auld country’ as the ‘Haslemere Nightingale’.
  • Becky is an old-school folkie from Merseyside who discovered the beauty of jazz and the blues – and everything else outside of folk music, in her ‘more’ senior years – and continues to dig up songs that others have tried to forget!

The Cattlestops, which formed in 2005, focused on country-rock and western music, performing original songs penned by bass player James Cameron and guitarist Andrew London.

During that time, they played with Hamilton County Bluegrass Band fiddle player Colleen Tren, lead guitarist Dave Berry and drummer Evan Williams. In 2009, the band went into recess following Tren moving to Tenessee to study, later lecturing in bluegrass music at East Tennessee State University.

Cameron and London continued performing together and in 2015, they began writing and recording again with a lineup of musicians they had been collaborating loosely with for some time.

This included Wayne Mason (keys), Ross McDermott (steel guitar), Lance Philip (drums) and guitarist Nick Granville.

The new album ‘Dancing in the Rain’ shows both songwriters in pensive and occasionally nostalgic mood, with genres ranging from rural acoustic country and JJ Cale-style ‘swamp’ grooves to driving blues and country rock.

Since 2020 Cameron and London have mostly played with Wayne Mason on piano as a trio. They now have Evan Williams doing percussion with them, with all four musicians to perform as The Cattlestoppers at the Levin Folk Music Club.

Come and enjoy toe-tapping tunes from Kāpiti bands Kāpiti Quorum and The Cattlestops at: Levin Folk Music Club, Saturday 26 October at the Horowhenua Scottish Society Hall, 155 Bartholomew Road, corner Bartholomew Road and Middlesex Street, Levin.

Doors open at 7:00 pm and the evening begins at 7:30 pm with Kāpiti Quorum. At 8:30 pm there will be a 30 minute break for supper. The Cattlestops will perform from 9:00 pm.

Admission, which includes a light supper, is $10 for members, $15 for non-members and $5 for students. Cash only (no eftpos facilities).

Top image: The Cattlestops.
Top image source: Andrew London

 

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11 October 2024 – Wandrella

11 October 2024 – Wandrella

The Levin Folk Music Club meets again Friday 11 October with special guest Wandrella.

Wandrella play a mix of clever “covers with a twist” and original songs which reflect their classical roots and eclectic musical influences.

After a chance meeting in December 2016 at a house concert in Levin, Gill Allen (keyboards & guitar) and Kate Ward (guitar, banjo and mandolin) began to create a blend of their music and vocals, to develop a style and synergy unique to Wandrella. Both being Contralto, allows either voice to cover the musical range with an interchangeable blend of vocal harmonies.

Kate has played solo Celtic and classical guitar and has opened for the Arizona Smoke Review in the UK and Paul Obana Jones in NZ. She was influenced by the finger picking styles of Stefan Grossman and Gordon Giltrap.

Gill recorded her first album “Colour Outside the Lines” in 2004. She has played and recorded several songs with local musician Kevin Watson and in 2016 teamed up with local musician Simon Burgess and formed the duo “Burgess and Allen”. Two main musical influences have been Elton John and Eva Cassidy.

Wandrella, has gone from strength to strength over the years since they began. Their harmonies are so beautiful and make your heart sing and your face smile.

Come and find out for yourself at: Levin Folk Music Club, Friday October 11th at the Horowhenua Scottish Society Hall, 155 Bartholomew Road, corner Bartholomew Road and Middlesex Street, Levin.

Doors open at 7:00 pm and the evening begins at 7:30 pm with a blackboard of performers, where there is an opportunity for musicians to put their name up for an item. The guests perform after supper and the drawing of the raffle.

Admission, which includes a light supper, is $7 for members, $12 for non-members and $3 for students. Cash only (no eftpos facilities).

Kate Ward and Gill Allen are Wandrella.
Image source: John Jenkins

 

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9 August 2024 – Phonic Fever

9 August 2024 – Phonic Fever

 

The Levin Folk Music Club meets again Friday 9 August with special guests local band Phonic Fever.

The band plays a mix of ragtime, blues, swing and bluegrass with. The band has four members – Anne O’Donnel, Charles Greenlees, Geoff Pearce and Jenny Kilpatrick. They all sing, sharing lead vocals and four-part harmonies.

O’Donnell plays harmonica and ukulele and collaborates on most of the songs with co-writer Greenlees, who plays guitar, mandolin and fiddle.

New songwriter Pearce plays acoustic guitar and bass player Jenny Kilpatrick may be recognised for her performances with the Eagles tribute band Eagals and Madillionares.

Their songs are often a mix of social commentary and irony, with I would love to be loved being about dating websites. Other songs they’ve created include The Gut, A Good Night’s Sleep, The Bluegrass Boys and What do you know when you know that you know nothing?

Doors open at 7:00 pm and the evening begins at 7:30 pm with a blackboard of performers, where there is an opportunity for musicians to put their name up for an item. The guests perform after supper and the drawing of the raffle.

Admission, which includes a light supper, is $7 for members, $12 for non-members and $3 for students. Cash only (no eftpos facilities).

The venue is the Horowhenua Scottish Society Hall, 155 Bartholomew Road, corner Bartholomew Road and Middlesex Street, Levin.

Come and enjoy a night of fun and music!

Phonic Fever
Image source: Phonic Fever

 

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12 July 2024 – Westward

12 July 2024 – Westward

The Levin Folk Music Club meets again Friday 12 July with special guests Westward.

A shared love of folk music saw the quartet of Deb Harding, Lisa Dohig, Mike Harding, and Ken Kowalchuk become friends and form a band.

As Westward they sing about people and places, from the western highways of Ireland to Scottish city streets, from Te Awawmutu to the Mississippi swamp, from British trad to modern folk anthems.

Songs of intrigue and inspiration; solace and celebration. Songs to inspire and bring an audience together in unison and harmony.

Mike plays guitar and sings, Deb and Lisa sing, and Ken sings and plays bass.

Doors open at 7:00 pm and the evening begins at 7:30 pm with a blackboard of performers, where there is an opportunity for musicians to put their name up for an item. The guests perform after supper and the drawing of the raffle.

Admission, which includes a light supper, is $7 for members, $12 for non-members and $3 for students. Cash only (no eftpos facilities).

The venue is the Horowhenua Scottish Society Hall, 155 Bartholomew Road, corner Bartholomew Road and Middlesex Street, Levin.

Come and enjoy a night of fun and music!

Westward
Image source: Westward

 

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