Indie musician Finn Andrews says it's "weirdly liberating" playing in front of small Kiwi audiences who may not know a thing about him or his music.
Andrews recently played five gigs around the Hawke's Bay region as part of Jamie Macphail's Small Hall Sessions.
Finn Andrews on the Matapiro Hall stage Photo: Andrew Caldwell of Ankh Photography
On a Wednesday night last month, Andrews found himself in front of a slim-line audience at the Matapiro Hall, a no-frills, practical weatherboard building in the midst of Hawke's Bay wine and beef country.
Used for the odd wedding, school shows and fundraisers, dog trial club meetings and "a good lash" at the occasional hoe-down, the hall is not used enough, according to hall committee member and local farmer Mike Connor.
His father and grandfather before him have helped keep up the hall which has seen reduced demand as land use changes and lifestylers move in.
"Generally these country halls aren't being used like they used to."
Jamie Macphail, creator, curator and roadie of The Small Hall Sessions Photo: Andrew Caldwell of Ankh Photography
Connor said the Small Halls series had huge potential.
"I think for a rural community it's really important that people get away from the farm and the stress of running a small business and have a couple of drinks, and relax and let their worries go on the back seat and just let their hair down for sure.
"I really want to see this take off. I think it's got a big future for all the rural halls around NZ to get more use and bring the communities together."
For Small Halls impresario Jamie Macphail, country halls have special meaning.
Macphail describes himself as creator, curator and roadie of the musical programme which last month received just over $250,000 from the Ministry of Culture and Heritage.
After the concert, seated on a tree stump, with only the stars and the hall lights to see by, Macphail tells Country Life how his father - who worked on an isolated Hawke's Bay sheep farm - would don a tuxedo with overalls on top every weekend, then ride two hours on his old motorcycle "to go to balls" at community halls.
"As a young child, country halls took on kind of a magical 'wow, country halls'," Macphail says.
His own boyhood home at Pukehou also had a hall which was an integral part of his childhood.
Bringing in artists, some better known internationally, to such out-of-the-way spots has raised some local eyebrows, Macphail said.
"They often kind of think there's some bloody Auckland outfit bringing this fancy show down here.
"You quite often get, especially the men, sitting in there or standing in the hall with their arms folded and their heads tilted backwards looking at you, going, 'so what's going on here?'"
But he said he was beginning to get advocates in each community urging friends to come along.
Artists enjoyed the space too, Macphail said.
"They feel the intimacy. They feel the attentiveness of the audience and they tend to respond incredibly generously, give of themselves more than just the songs."
Entry to the Matapiro Hall, one of several dozen community halls in Hawke's Bay staging Small Hall Sessions. Photo: Andrew Caldwell of Ankh Photography
Living in England but raised in New Zealand, The Veils' frontman Finn Andrews has welcomed the chance to play in rural Hawke's Bay.
"I always dreamed of coming back here and getting to play smaller towns. We only ever did tours in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin then back again so it's really fun to be able to do this and play in front of people who don't have a clue who I am or what my music is like which is weirdly liberating.
"I don't know why it is. I think I just like having to sort of prove it again or something. It's quite fun."
Performing on different small hall stages over the tour period wasn't easy though.
"I guess these rooms aren't always built for this kind of thing but it's fun as well.
"I'm not very particular ... I kind of like it when stuff's a little bit rugged."
For more information on The Small Hall Sessions, head here
Watch Finn Andrews performing for RNZ here
