“I’ll play more of the gentler songs that we probably won’t play in the full set.”
She said her love for Whanganui had only grown since she moved here five years ago.
“It’s such a great place with so much opportunity, and we’ve been blown away by the places we’ve been to.”
Iconic venues around Whanganui didn’t attract the attention they deserved, Hope said.
“I know people who still say they haven’t been to Porridge Watson, which surprises me because it’s quite an iconic bar in its own right.”
The indie folk-rock band has four members and performs original songs written by Hope.
“I’ve always written songs most of my life, and then my parents died quite close together and I started writing copiously again in 2018.”
Hope said her song From Nobody referenced the struggle against climate change.
“That song is saying that we aren’t helping the earth and she is crying.
“The sun might be shining but, if we don’t change the way we live, it will have an impact.
“I’m very much for the health of the planet, and I feel it’s quite useless arguing between governments about what’s the best for this world when we won’t have a world if we carry on the way we’re going.”
It took a lot of work to produce music, Hope said.
“Even though I’m 60 now, I feel really grateful to be able to do this.
“I feel this is where I fit, and it’s taken me a long time in my life to find that really comfortable place.”
She said why the words “swords down” were in the title for the spring tour would remain a mystery until the Space Gallery gig.
“People who come to that can hear about where it came from.”
The Whanganui locations in the Swords Down Spring Tour are Little Curious Bagels Cafe, Lads Brewery, Vinyl Room, The Citadel, Victoria Court, Space Studio & Gallery and Porridge Watson.
The tour is from September 29 to October 20. Details are online at hetihope.com.
Eva de Jong is a reporter for the Whanganui Chronicle covering health stories and general news. She began as a reporter in 2023.
