Christchurch Folk Music Club

1 October 2023

• $20 Members
• $25 Non-members
• $5 Students with ID

Reserve your seats here:  https://www.trybooking.co.nz/PNX

Too Many Chiefs are four of New Zealand’s busiest singer/songwriters: Rob Joass, Andrew London, Wayne Mason and Lorina Harding  all tour their own respective shows, sometimes internationally, and once or twice a year come together in Too Many Chiefs to share songs and stories from the road. Their individual influences and performing styles range from blues and jazz to country and folk, often with an element of social commentary, personal reflection and occasional satire.

A founder member of Hot Club Sandwich and The Cattlestops, and now playing and recording mostly under his own name, Andrew London’s reputation stands mostly on his satirical and comedic songs which lampoon many of New Zealand society’s obsessions, foibles and taboos. Songs like Middle-Aged Man in Lycra, Country’s Buggered and I Hugged My Mate have elicited chuckles from audiences all over New Zealand, Australia and Norfolk Island, and have contributed to a Correspondence School English Syllabus, several feature films, and 20 recorded albums. His trio is the only Kiwi act, as far as we are aware, who have performed in Saudi Arabia where such activity is officially illegal.

Rob Joass is well known throughout New Zealand through his solo work and with his band Hobnail,  He writes compulsively, tours incessantly, teaches guitar and produces albums for other artists. His songs have been covered by artists both in NZ and abroad, and he is a three-time finalist at the NZ Music Awards. Hobnail are zeroing in on 30 years as a touring and recording entity. Rob is currently working on his 4th solo album with Auckland producer Wayne Bell (Greg Johnson, Gin Wigmore, The Bads and many more).

Patriarch of the group Wayne Mason has been instrumental (ha) in the formation and success of some of the most revered names in Kiwi music history. Rocking Horse, the Fourmyula and the Warratahs all owe their inception to Mason, who shows no signs of slowing the pace, or lowering the standard he set back in 1969 when he penned the song ‘Nature’, named by APRA in 2004 as ‘Best Kiwi Song of the Century’. That same year the Fourmyula were recording at Abbey Road studios in London, at which time he became, as far as we know, the only Kiwi musician to have had morning tea with John Lennon and Paul McCartney while they were recording ‘Oh Darling!’. Wayne is currently working on a ‘best of’ which will pull together his favourite tunes from the last 50 years. He is a member of the NZ Order of Merit. 

Special guest forthis show is Lorina Harding. Her first album, Lucky Damn Woman, received exceptional reviews, winning Best Folk Album at the 1992 New Zealand Music awards and Lorina was nominated Most Promising Female Vocalist in the same year. In 2005, Lorina’s long awaited second album, Clean Break, also captured a Tui and attracted great reviews while Lorina was Metro Magazine’s pick for Best NZ Female Solo Artist for 2005 writing: “…(She) proves that life experiences are intrinsic to coming up with the song-writing goods.” Lorina’s extensive theatrical background, storytelling abilities and infectious sense of humour blend to create mesmerising stage performances reviewers have called “…utterly captivating.” Lorina has played support for many overseas acts including Lucinda Williams (USA) Suzanne Vega (USA), Katy Moffat (USA), Guy Clark (USA), Rory McLeod (UK), Jane Siberry (Canada), and Blue Rodeo (Canada). Lorina is a truly gifted performer, an accomplished singer songwriter and musician (New Zealand Musician calls her “an evolved craftsperson”), with a distinctive and original sound of her own. Her songs have been called “…masterpieces in miniature…” sung with a voice “…resonant and soulful as a gospel choir…” 

More recently, Lorina was a contributor to the Mansfield Project, putting her music to a Catherine Mansfield poem called The New Husband.

The quartet’s collective repertoire represents a broad spectrum of songwriting styles, and the songs are delivered with skill, enthusiasm and respect, despite a healthy dose of spontaneous mickey-taking banter and self-deprecating humour. 

‘Mates on the road rolling out top quality songwriting and musicianship with lashings of irony and humour’ – East Auckland Times May 2014.