Kiwigrass

05/04/2024

POP UP FOLK AT THE NIX

Saturday 6th April, 5-7:30pm
Ockham Collective's The Nix
6 Nixon St, Grey Lynn.

ARI LEASON: Ari is an emergent singer-songwriter based Te Whanganui a Tara ki Ōtaki! Born into a background of activism, Ari discovered her own form of protest through her songwriting, weaving intricate tales of humanity and social justice. Ari as a solo artist has recently been seen busking on the streets of Paris and Edinburgh, and had a headline performance at the Auckland Folk Festival in January

Jenine Abarbanel & Nat Torkington: You'll have seen Jenine & Nat all over the bluegrass and folk fest scene, playing in bands such as P**i Pickers and You, Me, Everybody. For their couple goals they're now also playing music as a duo, with the premise that all music is folk music if you play it with a banjo.

Dave Alley: Dave’s music is fulsome, dynamic, and a balm for the soul.His original songs draw on everything from spirituality, travel, life & loves, music itself and.. his van. With well-worn Maton guitars, one converted to lap-steel, a Bigfoot stomp box, harmonicas and percussion Dave has toured NZ and Europe extensively and performed with a multitude of musicians from genres such as Folk, Celtic Trad, Blues, R&B, Funk, Rock & Reggae

The deal:
Tea, coffee and biscuits are provided in the two breaks.

This is not a licensed venue, so BYO alcohol, and extra snacks if you need it!

Tickets are on the door - either cash or bank transfer

$15 adults

$10 students (13-18 or with student ID)

$5 kids 7-12

6 and under free!

A huge thanks to Creative Communities for providing funding for the Pop Ups, and of course we are also supported by the wonderful Ockham Collective.

23/01/2022

Kiwigrass 2022 cancelled - https://mailchi.mp/a954de604b4a/kiwigrass-artist-announcements-4982834

28/09/2021

The livestream of the first half of the IBMA World of Bluegrass Livestream is available for viewing any time now! (Now on Youtube, no need for registration of login). https://youtu.be/ZnQb_PVeja4

Filmed August 1, 2021 at Whangateau Hall, Aotearoa New ZealandFilmed and edited by David Shanhun (www.davidshanhun.com)Audio recorded and mixed by Robert Nut...

28/09/2021

It is hard to believe that after managing a successful Kiwigrass 2021 and the roll outs of vaccine programs in New Zealand and overseas, that we would once again be faced with uncertainty about our ability to put on a festival in 2022. However, things are, if anything, even more uncertain now, emphasized by the cancellation of spring and early summer festivals that we are seeing now.

Here at Kiwigrass we've taken a hard look at what we feel we can and can't do, and what we feel is most important to preserve during this time. Our conclusion is that it is too risky to attempt to put on a full festival this coming year. At the same time, it is important to us to maintain a "home" for bluegrass music and the people who love it in New Zealand. So Kiwigrass will be on in 2022, just scaled back. This year Kiwigrass will have more emphasis on participation and immersive music experiences, rather than concerts. We will still have a stage for performances by all your favourite New Zealand bluegrass, old time, and bluegrass-adjacent Americana bands. With our smaller size, we also have a new venue, the Paeroa Racetrack. This is where Hamsterfest was held last Easter, so we know it is perfect for what we have in mind. And we've had to shift the date to February 11-13, a week later.

We will put out more information about this year's festival in the coming months.

18/07/2021

Kiwigrass stalwart Peter Madill is featured in Stuff, wearing a Kiwigrass t-shirt! Mark your calendars for February 5-7 for Kiwigrass 2022!

While his peers were learning to play the guitar, Peter Madill was busy teaching himself to make the musical instruments.

01/07/2021

Kiwigrass is so proud of these ambassadors of New Zealand Bluegrass, bringing their music to the world as Official Virtual Showcase Artists at the 2021 IBMA World of Bluegrass!

Hot Diggity is over the moon having been selected by the International Bluegrass Music Association as an Official Virtual Showcase Artist! We're so excited, we can barely even type this message.


https://mailchi.mp/ibma.org/second-round-of-official-showcase-artists-announced-856974

20/05/2021

Jenine stopped in at the Waikato Museum today to see the Hamilton County Bluegrass Band exhibition. And there's a display about Kiwigrass !

29/04/2021

Thanks to everyone who sent in feedback on Kiwigrass. We're working now to make 2022 even better! Mark your calendars for the first weekend in February back at the beautiful Lake Kārapiro and Don Rowlands Event Centre!

23/03/2021

Paul Trenwith QSM, dedicates an entire show to the 2021 Kiwigrass Festival. It's almost like being back there again! We're listening again and again!

Kiwigrass 2021 has just finished – this show is a sampler of the music you might have heard if you’d been there.

15/02/2021

Kiwigrass 2021 - A big thank you! - https://mailchi.mp/d7d55547eabc/kiwigrass-artist-announcements-4701858

12/02/2021

BB & Alex and company getting ready to play the Camp Kiwigrass 2021 song: Honey, You Don't Know My Mind. Put Camp Kiwigrass on your calendar for next year! Two days of learning, sharing, and creating with your fellow bluegrass and acoustic music lovers!

07/02/2021

Congratulations to Kerry Challinor and the Jam Tarts! Winners of the Covid19 Prevention Song Writing Contest, and thank you to all of entrants for your creative compositions!

06/02/2021

Paul Trenwith's birthday breakfast concert, a tradition at Kiwigrass, even if there's no breakfast and it isn't his birthday!

06/02/2021

Hot Diggity doing a pop up concert in the Food Court. Who will you find there next?

06/02/2021

What's for dinner? Sweet and Sassy Smokehouse BBQ, that's what! $20 gets you a half rack of ribs, corn bread and your choice of chips, cole slaw or potato salad. Jenine is eating early (1st dinner) so she can have another serve later!

05/02/2021

Wires & Wood

05/02/2021

Thanks for your patience as we try to get the Live Stream shiny! With any luck we'll have it working properly before the final band on Sunday! 😃

05/02/2021

Part 2

05/02/2021

Day 1 of the Kiwigrass 2021 Bluegrass Festival! Up tonight: The P**i PIckers; Rhode Works; Wires & Wood; and You, Me, Everybody.

04/02/2021

Peter Madill has donated this superb 5-string fiddle for the 2022 raffle. That's thinking ahead! The back and sides on this striking instrument are flamed European maple, the soundboard is spruce, and the fittings are ebony. You can play and hear the fiddle in the Kiwigrass Luthier room this year. (and spend the next 12 months pining for it!)

You can learn more about Peter and his gorgeous hand-crafted instruments on his website: http://madillguitars.co.nz

04/02/2021

The revolution may be televised, but Kiwigrass will be live-streamed. Straight to you from the Don Rowlands center on the banks of the beautiful Lake Karapiro in New Zealand. Check the website for concert times: www.kiwigrass.nz

Kiwigrass – New Zealand’s Own Bluegrass Festival Kiwigrass 2021: February 5-7 Lake Karāpiro, Cambridge. AJ Lee and Blue Summit look mighty sharp in their Kiwigrass T-shirts. photo – Ian Fisk Kiwigrass is the home of New Zealand’s Bluegrass, where all purveyors and lovers of bluegrass assemb...

03/02/2021

Day 1 of Camp Kiwigrass, what a cracker! Interesting and fun sessions, band scramble rehearsals, and jamming. Tomorrow is going to be even better!

01/02/2021

Great eats and drinks at Kiwigrass! Day tickets ARE available! https://mailchi.mp/da350e68b685/kiwigrass-artist-announcements-4698698

01/02/2021

The full program is online! Find out when your favourite bands are playing, and keep an eye on the walk-up stage and the pop-up concert and jam session tent for more musical options! https://kiwigrass.nz/the-festival/festival-program/

Festival Program ** Program is subject to change. We apologise for any inconvenience. ** Subscribe to updates Friday Friday 3:00 pm gates open Registration, wristband pick-up and festival gate sales opens at Sir Don Rowlands Centre. Friday, 5 Feb 2021 – Welcome Concert 6:30 pm Festival Welcome Cer...

31/01/2021

Auckland bluegrass club concert showcasing a lot of the great bands that will be at Kiwigrass! Full program online now: https://kiwigrass.nz/the-festival/festival-program/

31/01/2021

Enjoy a Diggity Dog while listening to the gals of Hot Diggity bluegrass band this weekend at Kiwigrass!

Ball parks have been selling dogs since 1893 and we feel like they've got it down. So we use their recipes because there's no doubt they're the best.

31/01/2021

Great American music should be accompanied by great American food! Sweet N Sassy Smokehouse will be there with authentic American BBQ for your bluegrass eating pleasure! Om nom nom! Come hungry!

Sweet-N-Sassy does Kansas City style barbeque and American comfort foods. Nothing fancy just family recipes past down by good ol' country folk.

26/01/2021

New Zealand's musical world lost an inspiring pioneer who was friend or family to many of us. A founding member of Hamilton County Bluegrass Band, Colleen Trenwith's fiddling was world-class and she repeatedly proved it on stages and albums. Our hearts go out to her family and fellow band mates. "No sad farewells / No tear dimmed eyes / Where all is love / And the soul never dies."

17/01/2021

Kiwigrass is dedicated to everyone having a healthy and safe festival! We have a fun way to keep health safety at the forefront of everyone's minds:

The Kiwigrass Covid Prevention Songwriting Contest!

All songwriters are invited to compete. Message Kiwigrass to enter your name! Fabulous prizes to be won! Get those creative juices flowing and help your fellow festival folk stay safe and healthy!

13/01/2021

We are very pleased that Kereru Brewing of Upper Hutt have chosen to support and sponsor Kiwigrass! Each beer purchase will go to helping support the festival so we can bring you even more music!
Kereru have an astonishingly diverse and delicious range of beers, with varieties for all tastes and occasions. Gluten free, alcohol free, light session ales, hop heavy IPAs all the way to heavy dark sipping ales, and everything in between! Kereru beers will be available for purchase at the Don Rowlands Centre. And we'd love for you to go over to their website, and sign up for their mailing list. They are the coolest, nicest people you could ever hope to meet, and trust me, their beers are AMAZING. (I know, because I tasted them all. For you. You're welcome. You see the lengths I go to?) And they make lovely gift boxes for all occasions! All shippable overseas as well.

Let's all give Kereru Brewing Co. a warm Kiwigrass welcome and a hearty thank you for sponsoring our little festival and Bluegrass music in New Zealand!