All posts by Luke

About Luke

Luke Hurley guitarist and singer songwriter from New Zealand.

Snowing in Dunedin - cold fingers warming up

The Coast

news, tour,

If you haven’t really checked it out then this is a good time to do so. “Coast” is where it’s at. With a population – I am told-of just under 30 thousand there’s a spread spanning Karamea (where nobody has the time to go coz Coast trips don’t often include her on the itinerary) to glacier districts and beyond.

It’s massive and it’s beautiful and experiencing a new gold rush. At this time it’s less about primary produce and more about working remotely in paradise. Once the telco infrastructure is in place we will be able to live anywhere including in this greenies paradise. The last frontier is opening up.

The place where you can create your masterpiece in a space that is teeming with natural spaces and friendly solitude. Unlike the austere beauty of over-consumed Queens town and Wanaka you can enjoy the more friendly accessible wonders of towns like Hokitika Greymouth Westport and the long reach to Karamea.

Why is this all relevant for a musician?  Well.  I guess it’s only relevant if you want to play and create in a place that has the space to appreciate what you have to offer. Coast has not only the inspiration. It also has the gift of appreciation. Coasters welcome artistic sojourners from the big smoke.  You can experience the friendliness and go back to the big smoke refreshed and replenished deep down in your soul.

Unfortunately the “DEVELOPERS” know that this remote artspace is opening up but they haven’t quite worked out how to exploit it in their usual utilitarian way. So there is a great potential for a genuinely creative way…. A non land stripping disneyfying hellywoodising way. A way that speaks to the heart and the soul and informs that part of society that has been wham-bammed for the longest time. It’s the artists turn to colonise this wondrous coast and heal it and nurture it and bring TLC to its’ people.

Visit it often. It rewards the visitor hugely and now that the big OE is no longer an option why not support this part of our fair islands?

If you feel like lunch and coffee whilst listening to my toons why not hang out with me in Westport this weekend. Txt me if you get this message 021 0259 2919 and I will invite you for a coffee. This is a great place for a convivial chat

Justin Summerton - painter

Paintings and a concert

gigs, news, tour

Hello friends check out these images taken at Justin Summertons studio. You might recognise the surreal Wanaka picture we have used for Happy Isles. It’s stunning to see the textured original. It’s wild. Justin has the work that would justify big recognition and he doesn’t push it. Someone needs to support this work…

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Voila! the original

A post shared by luke hamilton hurley (@lukehamiltonhurley) on

It’s truly great… it brings joy to the soul. He should be a household name but you know how the art world goes. Dire Straits sums it up In the Gallery

Valley Baptist Sat 19th SeptDid two gigs in the weekend Blueskin Gallery Waitati and Best Cafe Dunedin. As before we got capacity audiences and this Saturday there is the concert at a hall next to a church. Am told its a great room but have yet to check it out.

Here are the details. Click the event link below. Ticket link is on the event page with the map etc.

Happy Isles at Valley Baptist Sat 19th Sept

Discovered in the last two shows an amazing sound from using an Aer Alpha linked to a QSC speaker. Such a full sound by this little boost.

Continue reading Paintings and a concert →

Rosebud of Riverton

Dunedin – Best Cafe 2

news, tour,

Well, friends if you have heard enough of “the new normal” (ghastly term) how about hyper normal? That seems to be what you get touring these days. A small number of people at any event and you can boast of full houses and feel like a winner.

With that in mind I had the idea to do shows that include dinner. That way the atmosphere is more convivial and people need to be serious about being there. With small gatherings it’s possible but it wouldn’t work in the “big time” (another ghastly concept). The dinner-show little-big-show idea was embraced with enthusiasm by Jessica at Best Cafe and the rest is a minor triumph. it was hyper normal. Ha ha

And that’s why we are doing another one Sunday week. Same deal as before so please book if ya wanna come coz a lot of people didn’t get in last time.

Also at Blueskin Gallery on Saturday night if you are near Waitati

Met a great chap who told me-in relation to this blog – I should  quit apologising and speculating about  vast imponderables and just talk about the music.

Good idea-at least for this post-so here goes
I have two overflow shows to accommodate for the people who couldn’t get into the last ones – namely Blueskin Gallery Saturday night from 7pm And The Best Cafe Sunday from 5pm
So these shows are already near full so please phone in to book ASAP if ya wanna be there.
Just discovered an amazing pa speaker. Ya aha. I will let you know more after its first trial at above shows.
Getting two SB 12s tweaked by my buddy Steve Barkman today so they gonna be ready to play soon.
Also discovering great things in the tone of the Taylor 6 2020    awesome tone and the pickup system is second to none
Then there’s the les Paul Gibson and Fender strat plus and the two Takomas
Whew!
I d gonna play em all but one at a time
Be there or be square
Will write again soon
Blessings
Luke

Continue reading Dunedin – Best Cafe 2 →

Rotunda plaque - Westport

Rotundas Rock

news, tour, ,

GREETINGS from Westport where I found the dream Rotunda. A friend of mine Gillian Henderwood (you might remember an album called Jam Sandwich she released back in c. the late 80s.

Rotunda WestportBrilliant album produced by the guy who created the world’s first robot band THE TRONS) recently did a tour of our nations finest rotundas and ; made it a policy not to advertise but simply play to anyone who happens to stop and listen.

No mean feat.

As you can imagine it isn’t gonna make world news. However I think she’s onto something. We can get these Rotundas back to being places of music performance. Why not? Let’s do what. She does. Let’s tour them and make a point of playing in every Rotunda we see even if it’s just one song to a passing pigeon.

Give it time and everyone will be celebrating these historic structures and using them again for the purpose they were built. A lot of work and gold went into building them. Let’s not waste the resource

On another subject I am playing in my home turf this Friday so please make the effort

Also please write in. And give me some pointers blog wise. What do ya want covered now that I am an agent at large in the south 😎