North West Wine, Beer And Food Festival: The Hunting Lodge: Feb. 11, 2023

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The North West Wine, Beer and Food Festival managed to entertain a few thousand music and food fans despite threatening clouds and gusting winds.

With cyclone Gabrielle bearing down on the Auckland area things could have gone horribly wrong. Already headliner Tami Neilson was to be replaced due to ill health, but Bic Runga stepped up to save the day.

When we arrived, Hollie Smith was performing…sadly we missed Georgia Lines…although 13th Floor photographer Leonie Moreland was there to catch all the action.

There were rumours swirling around of traffic backups throughout west Auckland, but the drive out was smooth, access to parking at the Hunting Lodge was quick and easy and the vibe was one of chilled bliss…no rowdy drunks but plenty of well-behaved children (and adults) as Hollie Smith’s voice floated out and over the crowd.

If one wanted be up close and personal to the stage and maybe have a bit of a boogie…no problem….plenty of room, or if one wanted to set up shop on the grassy hill with blankets and food, that was equally easy (we did both a various times throughout the day.

And let’s just say the sun screen was not needed at all.

Hollie’s set included a cover of Tina Turner’s We Don’t Need Another Hero (Theme From Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome) and, of course, Bathe In The River.

Then, during the break, wine was poured and pizzas were devoured and the lines were not an issue.

Troy Kingi and His Promises were up next with Troy sporting a very fetching green outfit and his band laying down a solid groove as they got their set underway with Elephant In The Room from Year Of The Ratbags. Of course the elephant in this room was named Gabrielle. Fortunately she was kept at bay for the duration of the festival…although the wind did play havoc with the sound.

Troy and his band played for just under an hour closing their set with a cover of the Human League’s Don’t You Want Me and despite my dislike of a lot of the pop music of the 80s, I was singing along with everyone else and loving it.

Things were running smoothly and on time and so there was still plenty of daylight (in spite of the dark clouds) when Bic Runga and her band took the stage. They began their hit-filled set with Get Some Sleep from 2002’s Beautiful Collision.

From what I can determine, this was Bic’s first show since her May 8, 2022 appearance at Lilyworld. For this show, Kody Nielson is behind the drum kit and Cass Basil is on bass…not sure who the fourth person is…but they sounded well rehearsed and in good form.

Raindrops started falling as Bic brought the day to an end with crowd favourites Listening For The Weather (Bic on keys and harmonica), Something Good and Sway.

Then it was time to ‘head for the hills’, actually  a quick and orderly dash to the parking lot and before long we’re back in the city, raindrops and wind chasing us home…safe, warm and dry.

Marty Duda

Click on any image to view a photo gallery by Leonie Moreland:

Bic Runga:

Troy Kingi:

Hollie Smith:

Georgia Lines:

Marty Duda
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