The Great New Zealand Road Trip: Small Hall sessions — the epiphany of Hawke’s Bay’s Jamie Macphail

Jamie Macphail has a fascination with small country halls and their place in the hearts and lives of the communities they serve. Photo / Paul Taylor

NZ Herald editor-at-large Shayne Currie is on a two-week road trip to gauge the mood of the nation and meet everyday and notable Kiwis making a difference in their communities and wider world. Today, he finds out about the revival of small-town Matiere and an astounding hidden story featuring a global superstar. Meanwhile, we have Nine Questions With... businessman, production executive and rugby leader Bailey Mackey and learn more about Jamie Macphail, who spoke to Mitchell Hageman about his quest to reignite NZ’s old rural halls.

Picture this.

A headstrong Kiwi bloke in a flannel shirt, arms crossed and standing at the back of his local community hall in a small rural New Zealand town.

He’s been dragged along by his wife for some kind of show, a little bit hesitant and not expecting to enjoy himself.

But as the lights go up, he’s transfixed. He’s listening to a full-blown concert (a rarity in these parts) with music he’s probably never heard before, in a building mainly used for a community board meeting or a local knitters club.

Maybe it’s the first and last concert he’ll attend that year, but for one night, he’s a music lover.

That is the vision of a Small Hall session, the brainchild of Jamie Macphail.

For the past few years Macphail has been taking big-ticket names in music from Aotearoa and globally, and bringing them to tour rural communities across the Hawke’s Bay region.

For eight years, Macphail ran the sitting room sessions, a series of living room concerts where he brought artists to Hawke’s Bay to perform one-off concerts in his sitting room.

Inspired by other countries, he wanted to explore ways to offer a different musical experience to his community.

“I’d just gone past 50 years old and was really tired of going to venues where people talked during the performance,” Macphail says.

“I was aware in the USA that the house concert movement was gaining momentum, as well as the concept of listening rooms where they shut the bar up and people were encouraged to sit and listen.”

Macphail said after success at that, he then wanted to expand to locations he felt encapsulated the intimate nature of the gigs, while still providing a sense of manaakitanga (hospitality) for artists and patrons.

So began the Small Hall sessions, which, over their now-159-gig run, have hosted well-known names such as country superstar Tami Neilson, acclaimed vocalist Nadia Reid, and the soulful sounds of Reb Fountain.

“It’s an appealing concept for artists. It wasn’t a great financial return for people, but they loved the experience and the heart of manaakitanga.”

Jamie Macphail sets up the Meeanee Hall in Hawke's Bay for a Small Hall session. Photo / Paul Taylor

His old local community hall also served as a sense of inspiration when thinking of the concept.

“I was born and bred in Central Hawke’s Bay. The Pukehou Hall (now Paper Mulberry Cafe) was absolutely the heart of the community.

“That got me thinking; there must be lots of halls around.”

There definitely were. Sixty-eight in fact, between Wairoa and Pōrangahou, at Macphail’s count.

“I thought instead of bringing artists for one night, let’s try bringing them down for five nights and doing a tour of the halls.”

Macphail said his own musical journey had been interesting.

“As a young teenager, I was ridiculously attracted to the whole pop culture thing. I didn’t really develop a really strong interest in music until I was in my late 20s when I got employed by RCA Records.

“That was a blessing and a curse because it was absolutely the corporate and mass-marketing side of music, but it broadened my horizons and made me look at music differently.”

His primary career at that point had been in sales and management. In the 90s, he became a landscape designer and stonemason for a time.

But in between he wiggled his way into working backstage on some of the biggest international tours to hit Aotearoa, servicing the likes of the Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac, and Justin Timberlake.

“My area of expertise was manaakitanga related. It was in setting up the dressing room and wardrobe area at places like Mt Smart and Mission Estate.”

Millie and Jamie Macphail at Kereru Hall in rural Hawke's Bay behind the bar at Small Hall Sessions with Ebony Lamb. Photo / Paul Taylor

Today, the Small Hall sessions are Macphail’s fulltime gig. Daughter Millie had worked with him on the big shows, and now she’s also a key member of the Small Halls team.

“Millie co-owns the business with me and helps with the bar, food, and artists hospitality aspects of the sessions.”

It’s a family affair, but also a breeding ground for emerging technical talent in Hawke’s Bay.

“I reached out to EIT, who were really enthusiastic about offering employment to their music students on the technical aspects. Since then, I’ve employed students to do light and sound.

“For them to get real-world experience while they are studying and be working alongside artists like Reb Fountain, Tami Neilson and Holly Smith has been an amazing opportunity for them. Likewise, out of that, I’ve got some incredibly talented and dedicated crew members.”

Jamie Macphail introduces Jenny Don't & The Spurs, of Portland, Oregon, as they perform at the Meeanee Hall, Photo / Paul Taylor

Macphail also bolstered community spirit after Cyclone Gabrielle ripped through the region.

“We cancelled three or four tours, but brought one artist in March.”

He said the show’s marketing was a no-pressure plug to come together during an incredibly tough time.

“It sold really fast. There wasn’t a lot going on, and people were really hungry to get out and gather together with people.”

A few months later, a partnership with NZ Music Month had local artists travel to places worst hit by the cyclone.

“We did sessions from Pōrangahau to Te Pōhue in different halls, getting some generous funding from the Rural Support Trust to help put it on.”

Amidst the frantic pack-ins and tight deadlines, Macphail said the most gratifying things for him were seeing his audience and whānau thrive.

“For me, seeing the connection between the artist and the audience ... those moments are breathtaking for me and worth every bit of effort we put into it.”

Shayne Currie is travelling the country on the Herald’s Great New Zealand Road Trip. Read the full series here.

The Great NZ Road Trip heads from Taupō to Rotorua today.

Mitchell Hageman joined Hawke’s Bay Today in late January. From his Napier base, he writes regularly on social issues, arts and culture, and the community. He has a particular love for stories about ordinary people doing extraordinary things.