Small Hall Sessions in Hawke’s Bay nab folk artists

Charm of Finches are coming to the Bay.

The Small Hall Sessions return in 2025 with tours by two high-profile Australian artists, both visiting New Zealand to headline the prestigious Auckland Folk Festival.

The much-anticipated return of bluesman C.W. Stoneking sees him play the Meeanee Memorial Hall this Thursday evening and the historic Pukehou Church on Friday.

Stoneking is a troubadour and storyteller who manages to blend genres and evoke alternate realities with his storytelling. His very distinctive voice and style merge New Orleans honky tonk, Calypso, jazz and blues together, all with a voice that the great Tom Waits described on the BBC as “sounding like a 600-year-old man”.

On his last visit to Hawke’s Bay in 2019 Stoneking played in a woolshed in Clifton, a concert that is still much talked about by all who attended.

C.W. Stoneking plays the Meeanee Memorial Hall this Thursday evening and the historic Pukehou Church on Friday.

Charm of Finches are a duet made up of sisters Ivy & Mabel Windred Warnes. They deliver an intricate folk-pop that is simultaneously graceful and darkly bewitching. Their seamless blood harmonies traverse melancholy and wonder in equal measure.

Charm of Finches have toured extensively through the UK, Europe and Canada in 2022, 2023 and 2024 and are now excited to add New Zealand to their circuit.

Their fourth studio album Marlinchen In The Snow was recorded in rural Nova Scotia inspired by the frozen beauty of the landscape and their transient life on the road with their music. It was released on Australian Indie label Spunk Records in April 2024, debuting on the national ARIA chart’s Top 30 Australian Albums.

Their third album Wonderful Oblivion released in 2021 through New York-based label Anti Fragile Music saw them win the Australian Folk Music Awards Best Folk Album (2022) and Music Victoria Best Contemporary Folk Act (2021).

They have been nominated twice for the prestigious Australian Music Prize.

Charm of Finches will be playing in Ōtāne on Wednesday, January 29, Te Awanga on Thursday, January 30 and in the Matapiro Community Hall on Friday, January 31. Meals will be available at all sessions along with a pop-up bar.

Further information and tickets are available by visiting smallhallsessions.co.nz