Musos team up to raise cash for cyclone victims

Within days of the Christchuch earthquakes, New Zealand musicians banded together to create fundraising gigs – and, sure enough, following the disastrous weather events that have struck the North Island over recent weeks, many of those same musos have teamed up again.

After the toughest of times over recent years in which singers, songwriters and bands have struggled against lockdowns and a lack of live opportunities, New Zealand’s musical community have proven once again that they know how to galvanise fans and put on a cracking fundraising show at extremely short notice or turn songs around quickly in order to find a way to filter money to those struggling after the cyclone disaster.

More than 2000 people flocked to Christchurch Town Hall on Friday night for the O¯ tautahi 4 Aotearoa Cyclone Relief Concert, headlined by artists Lorde, Neil Finn, Marlon Williams and L.A.B., and today Arahi and Te Kaahu (aka Theia) – pictured above – will release a moving version of Prince Tui Teka’s No1 hit song E Ipo with proceeds from downloads going to Hawke’s Bay iwi Ngā ti Kahungunu and Ngā ti Porou.

Arahi is a Hawke’s Bay local and has witnessed first-hand the devastation caused by the cyclone. ‘‘There’s an immense struggle to convey the scale of devastation and the gravity of the recent natural disasters across my homeland to the rest of the country – a struggle that I’d rather not attempt to overcome but instead to tell you of a new tale of heroes, helpers and hard workers.’’

The two artists first performed the track together when they toured Hawke’s Bay late last year on the Small Halls Tour. They hope their version of the much-loved 1982 waiata, which Prince Tui Teka released as a tribute to his wife Missy, will serve as some comfort to those directly impacted in Hawke’s Bay. And for those outside the region wanting to help, it allows them to give a koha. E Ipo can be downloaded on Bandcamp.