Small Hall Sessions get Innovation Fund boost
Govt grant will back 125 shows in rural community venues
The Small Hall Sessions, bringing live music to community halls across rural Hawke’s Bay, have been given a huge Government-funded boost. Manatū Taonga the Ministry for Culture and Heritage has granted $250,910 through its innovation fund for 25 fivenight tours, or 125 shows.
The Small Hall Sessions has been bringing in New Zealand and international artists to perform at small community hall venues across Hawke’s Bay since May last year.
Organiser Jamie Macphail said the phone call confirming he had got the funding stopped him in his tracks.
“I had thought at the beginning that maybe I could get $20,000 and that would be an amazing help.
“The phone call actually came late on a Friday afternoon to say “Hey, Jamie, just to let you know you have been successful with the funding and you’re getting exactly what you asked for.”
He said after consultation the funding has been earmarked for costs related to advertising and promotional activity and all expenses related to the artist, including artist fees.
He said it had been difficult for him before receiving the funding as he had just recently had to cancel many of the 2021 shows due to the uncertainty of lockdown.
“Consequently I got quite depressed, this is what I love doing. We had begun the small hall session in May last year, so it was a new baby and we’d already had one major interruption with the lockdown.”
He said he had been planning to try and push ahead with 14 tours in 2022 before the funding regardless, but now the event would be completely sustainable.
“This is allowing me to be more adventurous with my selection of artists, knowing at the end of the day I am able to get away with delivering a smaller audience.”
Some of the artists playing the upcoming tours include Australian and
New Zealand duo We Mavericks, Hollie Smith, and Albi & The Wolves.
Previously some of the rural small halls had hosted internationally recognised artists like Tami Neilson, Reb Fountain and lead singer of the Waratahs Barry Saunders for the Small Hall Sessions.
“It’s delivering an audience the artist wouldn’t normally reach. A lot of these artists would normally only tour the main centres, they would never get an audience from Omakere where we were last night.”
He said most of the venues haven’t had live music booked since the 1940s or 1950s. “People don’t quite know what to expect, they’re a wee bit sceptical about the concept. But the artists are incredibly engaging, there’s lots of talk between songs and there has kind of been unanimous enjoyment of the shows.”