Seasoned Kiwi blues/folk artist Grant Haua’s stopping off in Arrowtown this coming Tuesday to start the second week of his 25-gig Arts on Tour NZ tour, ‘Awa Blues’.
The 52-year-old, formerly half of acclaimed blues-roots stompers Swamp Thing, with percussionist Michael Barker, has been out on his own since January, 2019.
Focusing on soul music, with a nod to his Māori culture, he sings and also plays acoustic guitar and foot percussion.
He released his first solo album, Knucklehead, in 2010, his second, Awa Blues, in late 2020, a third, Ora Blues, early this year and also, this year, a digital album.
He got picked up by a French label just before Covid, meaning he couldn’t tour there till March this year to promote three albums under its banner.
“I think they find me a little bit exotic coming all the way from the bottom of the world, and being Māori, and they like the rugby, too.”
On this tour, Haua says he’s taking audiences for “a bit of a ride”.
“I start of with some fast sort of blues stuff, try to lull them down a bit, maybe do a couple of ballads, and then slowly work things up again.
“And because it’s a solo acoustic thing, I tend to find they hang on the lyrics a bit more, which I really enjoy.
“It’s kind of the opposite of what I was doing in Swamp Thing, which was just full-on.”
Meanwhile, Creative Queenstown Arts Trust, which hosts Tuesday’s concert, will fun a fundraising bar to support the local arts community.
This concert’s its last of the year, with next year’s programme still up in the air.
Grant Haua’s ‘Awa Blues’, Arrowtown Athenaeum Hall, November 8, 8pm; tickets $25 via eventbrite
