Kerrison tunes up for Linkwater festival

Opshop frontman Jason Kerrison is returning to Marlborough this summer for a party in Linkwater.

Kerrison will be headlining the Summer Sounds Music Festival at the Queen Charlotte Tavern in Linkwater on January 11, which he said would be all about ‘‘getting loose’’ and having a good time.

‘‘It’s really about having a party. It’s not the Jason Kerrison showcase experience,’’ he said.

Other bands will be playing, along with a DJ and a ‘‘surprise guest’’. There will be food trucks, barbecues, free camping, and courtesy buses from Blenheim, Havelock and Picton.

Kerrison said he was likely to use his loop pedals and might get out a minikeyboard for some ‘‘groovy electro moments’’.

‘‘I’ll just throw it out there and see what people want to hear and try to construct a set that’s going to get us all having a bit of a party. It will definitely be loose.’’

In between holiday gigs this summer, Kerrison will be building a composting toilet and making his first batch of hemp seed milk at his property in Kaitaia in the Far North, which has a population of about 5000.

It was exciting to travel to bigger places such as Marlborough, he said. ‘‘It’s nice to see a lot more people.’’

Kerrison said he had travelled through Marlborough in the past, and had performed in the top of the south quite a bit during the days of Opshop. But his strongest memory of Marlborough was performing at a festival when a very drunk man fell over and ‘‘smashed his face’’.

The stage crew ran over to help the man, providing him with first aid and CPR, and Kerrison also ran over to assist.

‘‘That was pretty intense. You can’t forget the region after that kind of experience.

‘‘I’m not good with blood, but you just have to be technical in that moment and get on with the first aid.’’

Kerrison recently wrapped up a solo tour of New Zealand, where he launched his newest single I Will, If You Will .

One of his focuses in 2020 would be launching singles every three to four months, he said.

‘‘I can’t keep myself away from it,’’ he said about making music. ‘‘It’s a much more for personal sanity reasons, playing music, than anything else. It’s a form of self-expression.’’