East-side Launch for Christchurch's NZ Music Month 2011

Christchurch’s official NZ Music Month 2011 launch event took place onSunday 1 May at New Brighton Library

Firmly entrenched as part of our cultural landscape, NZ Music Month is a celebration of home-grown talent across the length and breadth of the country. The event began on 1 May, with official launch gigs of all shapes and sizes taking place. The launch in Christchurch featured special performances from Lawrence Arabia - the pseudonym of Christchurch born, UK based James Milne - former multi- instrumentalist in Auckland pop band, The Brunettes.

Carolyn Robertson, Libraries Manager, says,  “This NZ Music Month launch event is a fantastic opportunity to bring people back to the eastside of Christchurch.  New Brighton Library is a wonderful, scenic venue, and we look forward to sharing this space with our community in this way.”

Business owners in the New Brighton community are thrilled to have such a great event taking place in their area.  Mrs Robertson says,  “It has been a difficult time over the past few weeks, with some Christchurch residents thinking that many roads and businesses in our area remain closed after the earthquake. It is a mis-understanding that we would like to rectify as quickly as possible – bring back the eastside, we are still here and going strong!”

Through 2010, Lawrence Arabia and his band The Prime Ministers toured the UK, Europe and the USA in support of the release of their album Chant Darling, which received glowing reviews. The Times declared it to be ‘classy, intelligent pop-rock … lyrically it’s fabulous.’ Apple Pie Bed, a song from the album, went on to win the APRA Silver Scroll and the Taite Music Prize. Lawrence Arabia has begun the recording of a new album and will be previewing songs at the Music Month launch gig.

Silencio Ensemble  opened the event by performing a series of instrumental pieces on their own created set of ‘Tubular Bells’. Musicians from the group will be placed in a spread configuration, while various soloists interact and experiment with the reverberating sounds in the library space.

There are a number of other music events happening throughout Christchurch City Libraries during May. Supporting Christchurch artists is key during this month, and the line-up is jam-packed full of local talent.

Check out the website www.christchurchcitylibraries.com/Events/NZMusicMonth/ for more details on upcoming events