Gold for country music passion
Before taking the stage at the New Zealand Gold Guitar Awards finals, Kelvin Cummings was overcome with an unusual feeling – pre-show jitters.
The high school music teacher from Palmerston, north of Dunedin, had graced the stage at the finals twice before, but this time was different.
After tucking into a pre-show meal of fish and chips, he delved into his routine.
A quick coating of the throat with hot sugar water, a series of vocal warm-ups and mouth stretches, and finally the guitar tuning. ‘‘I would have tuned up my guitar almost 100 times this weekend.’’
He had never been so nervous to perform. ‘‘I’ve got a pretty big passion for performing that it kind of cancels out the nerves.’’
His Sunday night win has been a long time in the making, after first performing at the Gold Guitars at the tender age of 12.
But his musical beginnings did not start there.
Cummings, 34, was raised listening to his mother’s country music, and before long he started to tap away at an old church organ, before taking on piano lessons. As a teenager, he decided to pick up a guitar and taught himself a range of other instruments.
After a long break he only returned to the Gold Guitars stage in Gore about four years ago, after being encouraged by a family friend. ‘‘I entered and kind of got the bug back seeing how passionate everyone is about performing.’’
After a trip to America with his wife, Maree, Cummings began to see a new wave of the genre.
Artists like Brad Paisley, Luke Bryan, the Zac Brown Band, Blake Shelton and Rascal Flats had been able to make country music cool, Cumming said. ‘‘It’s a young, vibrant and very, very strong genre of music.’’
Teacher during the week and musician at weekends, Cummings spends his weekends playing with friend and bandmate Mike Rangihika in The Idol Frets.
As head of music at East Otago High School Cummings tries to instil a passion for music in his students, but not just for country.
‘‘As long as they’re passionate about music I’m more than willing to support them.’’
As part of his Gold Guitar prize, Cummings will travel to Australia to take part in the Tamworth Country Music Festival in January.