Over the Easter holiday weekend, Friday 24th – Sunday 27th March, Greg Poppleton and the Bakelite Broadcasters played for thousands of happy jazz fans at the 2016 Waiheke International Jazz Festival.
Greg Poppleton and the Bakelite Broadcasters were personally invited to perform over three days at this prestigious international event by Waiheke Festival director, John Quigley.
John saw Greg Poppleton and the Bakelite Broadcasters play at the 2015 Thredbo Jazz Festival where he was also performing with his Nairobi Trio..
We left Sydney Thursday afternoon bound for Auckland in New Zealand.
We flew over the cloudy Tasman Sea. Auckland had had a massive storm on Wednesday and it was still bucketing down in patches on the Thursday.
The band’s first glimpse of The land of the Long White Cloud.
When we arrived at the ferry terminal in Auckland to take us to Waiheke Island, a rainbow told us that all will be fine for the festival weekend.
I may be wrong, but there’s not much of Auckland’s 19th century and early 20th century grand buildings left in the CBD. This stately pile by the ferry terminal was an impressive exception.
On the ferry we met a few Waihekeans who were excited that a 1920s – 30s trio was playing (namely Greg Poppleton and the Bakelite Broadcasters). It was a wonderful surprise to then meet our ferry friends again at the band’s Friday night Artworks Theatre show and Saturday night Morra Hall Show.
We stayed in a ‘bach’, the NZ word for holiday house, at Hakenua Bay.
Seaweed washed up on the rocky beach at Hakenua Bay I’ve never seen before. Can you identify it?
Only a 20 minute walk away was the town of Oneroa. Among the craggy rocks at the foot of the headland between Oneroa and Little Oneroa Beaches I found a secluded place to do my vocal warm-ups and sing a few arie to get the voice box working.
At the house on Friday afternoon, Greg Poppleton and the Bakelite Broadcasters got together on the deck overlooking Hekerua Bay to run through the weekend shows. It was a stripped back Bakelite Broadcasters band with Greg Chilcott doubling trombone and sousaphone and Arthur Washington playing guitar.
Halfway through the run-through I pulled out the camera to take a snap of a distant cloud-shrouded island across the Hauraki Gulf.
The first Greg Poppleton and the Bakelite Broadcasters‘ show for the Waiheke Festival was at Oneroa’s Artworks Theatre.
George Washingmachine opened the bill. We were followed by Liam Burrows and his quartet.
Steve Bone took some photos at the band’s Waiheke Artworks and Morra Hall shows, and the big Rangihoua Estate festival finale.
When Steve sends them over, I will write you the next nail-biting instalment of Greg Poppleton and the Bakelite Broadcasters at the 2016 Waiheke International Jazz Festival in full 1920s-1930s flight.
Greg Poppleton and the Bakelite Broadcasters will be at the Illawarra Jazz Festival, 3:30pm, Saturday 30 April. TICKETS
The night before we’ll be part of a big feature double with the 1957 Frank Sinatra film, Pal Joey, at the Avoca Beach Picture Theatre for International Jazz Day 2016. TICKETS SELLING FAST
To book Greg Poppleton and the Bakelite Broadcasters for your wedding, corporate event, party or festival, contact the ever helpful Tony Jex
61 2 9567 7171 | 61 412 686 814 | tony@ozmanagement.com
Actor - Singer - Voiceover 
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