Matariki celebrations at the Town Hall

Che Fu on stage at Auckland's TownHall
Che Fu on stage at Auckland’s TownHall

Great night out at Auckland’s Town Hall to celebrate Matariki. The event, organised by Evitan, was excellent. We were treated to several of New Zealand’s premier Reggae bands and performers. Lomez Brown, 1814, Three Houses Down and, of course, Che Fu and the Krates.

Malcolm Lakatani on stage with Che Fu
Malcolm Lakatani on stage with Che Fu

My good friend Malcolm Lakatani was there with Che Fu as part of the band even though his proteges were performing in the Smokefree Pacifica Beats competition at the same time. Great news for Malcolm is that his band, Revived Rhythm – as it says on the T-shirt, came in first place in the heats!!

The lighting was good, but even so I was using quite high ISOs to keep the shutter speed up at a reasonable speed. Great effects from the lighting crew – almost making Malcolm look somewhat angelic! There’s more photos from the night on my Facebook page. Maybe take a look and perhaps like the page? That way you’ll get to see any new images I add as I shoot the bands etc. Just a reminder that you can always contact me to come and shoot your band if you need promotional images or performance shots.

I’ll finish this post with a few more images from the night. Perhaps leave me a comment and let me know what you think.

1814 on stage at the Town Hall
1814 on stage at the Town Hall
Chris Pierce from NZ Reggae band 1814.
Chris Pierce from NZ Reggae band 1814.
Lomez Brown
Lomez Brown
Josh Iopu Mase from Three Houses Down
Josh Iopu Mase from Three Houses Down
Albert Cook with the band Three Houses Down
Albert Cook with the band Three Houses Down
The very special Thabani Gapara on stage with Three Houses Down
The very special Thabani Gapara on stage with Three Houses Down
Charlie Pome'e, lead singer with Three Houses Down, on drums for a change!
Charlie Pome’e, lead singer with Three Houses Down, on drums for a change!

Matariki at the Corban’s Estate

What a wonderful evening.  Cat Tunks from Black Sand Diva helped organise a great group of musicians out at the Corban’s Estate. Outside somewhat wet and dreary, but inside … wonderfully warm with a great atmosphere.

Huia Hamon
Huia Hamon

The evening started with Huia Hamon singing a lovely Waiata. Really very special to have Huia explain the meaning behind the words so we could better appreciate what was being sung. Very special and quite lovely. Sadly, Huia wasnlt on stage very long, but I did manage a few photos of her. Please take a look here and let me know what you think. Want to know more about Huia? Click here to go to her offcial Blog/Website.

Next to perform were the students from Avondale College. Escorted to the site by the one and only Malcolm Lakatani, these students were superb! A real credit to their tutors and the school itself. Oozing talent … there’s some future music stars in these students that’s for sure!

Following the students we were treated to Black Sand Diva and then Mihirangi Mihi – The Queen of the Loops. I’ve posted a couple of albums of images of Black Sand Diva and Mihirangi Mihi if you’d like to see some more shots. All in all quite a special evening!

Cat Tunks from Black Sand Diva
Cat Tunks from Black Sand Diva
Mihirangi Mihi
Mihirangi Mihi

Bridging the Divides …

Hekia Parata arriving at the Bridging the Divides Conference, Auckland.
Hekia Parata arriving at the Bridging the Divides Conference, Auckland.
Tuesday the 2nd and Wednesday the 3rd July were the days for the Bridging the Divides Conference in Auckland. The conference was organised by the Manukau Institute of Technology Centre for Studies in Multiple Pathways in association with Ako Aotearoa, the University of Auckland, the Ministry of Education, Cognition Education and Cyclone Computers. Judging by the reaction from the 260+ attendees there was a lot to discuss and consider as learners transition from one level of education to another as well as into productive and purposeful employment.

Check out Stuart’s blog for more Talk on Education in NZ. If you’re involved with education then this blog is well worth reading. There’s also a brief synopsis of the event here … in case you missed it 😉