Local Kuia Marie Ashton has composed a new waiata for our community. We are very grateful to her for this new taonga. Once we have an audio recording we will post it here.

Nā Marie Ashton-Jones i tito i te tau 2026. He waiata tēnei i tākoha atu ki te rōpū tiaki i te whenua
me te moana o Whangateau.
(Nau mai, Haere Mai, a song composed by Marie Ashton-Jones in 2026 for the Kaitiaki group WRRA of the land and sea in Whangateau).

Haere mai,
Haere mai

Nau mai, haere mai (Welcome)

Nau mai, haere mai
E ngā-tangata (welcome people
Nau mai, haere mai
I- tēnei rā (Welcome today

Nau mai, haere mai

Ki tēnei whenua o Whangateau (Welcome on this land)

Whakapiri mai,

Whakatata mai, (Join come close)

Koutou katoa

Ko mātou ngā kaitiaki i tēnei whenua,
i te moana o Whangateau

We are the guardians of this land and Whangateau sea

Monday, 23 March. Doors open at 6:45. Floor singers first half. $20.

Happy Equinox! Time for a new toothbrush! And time for our monthly Folk Club Night, with special guests Canadian folk cabaret duo Zonnis. We are having club night a week early to catch these excellent traveling troubadours at the very end of their successful New Zealand tour.

Hailing from Canada’s rugged west coast, Zonnis fits into any setting where music lovers are set to listen. Drawing upon their years of traveling and touring, their music takes you on a journey through upbeat and inspirational to somber and introspective, all with a healthy dose of humor thrown in for good measure. While never hesitating to poke fun at the world around us, Zonnis rides the line to stay within enough boundaries that it can be enjoyed by folks of all walks of life. Styles range from traditional folk to bluesy rock, with a bit of funk and soul tossed in as well.

This is a club night with first half floor singers. Email me to book your seat or request a floor spot. Tickets are $20 cash or bank transfer. Doors open at 6:45pm for a 7:00pm start. See you there!

Sunday, 15 March. Doors open at 7:00pm. $25.

You, Me, Everybody brings the Bluegrass

In case you are on the fence about coming to see You, Me, Everybody in concert, please have a listen to their recent interview on Radio NZ: https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/nzlive/audio/2019024857/nz-live-you-me-and-everybody

YME’s new album, “Midnight” is simply outstanding, adding to an already excellent repertoire of music. If you like The Lonely Heartstring Band, you will love You, Me, Everybody. All these musicians are well known to us, and we’ve been watching them develop and improve as a band since they formed. in 2019. New Zealand’s Punch Brothers, walking in the footsteps of the legendary Lonely Heartstring Band, this is a show you absolutely must not miss.

This is a full concert with this magnificent band. Email to book your seat. Tickets are $25 cash or bank transfer. Doors open at 7:00pm for a 7:30pm start. See you there!

I don’t know what’s going on, but this year has been one cancellation after another. Don’t look at our calendar for future events. It’s likely to change at any moment. More so than usual. It’s been crazy.

Fortunately, I know a lot of really great musicians. And so far I’ve been able to find replacements of equal or higher quality than the original bookings. This coming Monday is a case in point. We’ve got an incredible new four piece folk band from Whangarei coming made up of my dear friends Dusty Burnell, Val and Leah Lands, and Gary Smyth. Dusty Lands brings it all: luscious harmonies, soulful songwriting, banjos, mandolins and resonators. Any of these artists would be worthy of their own club night spot. Together? Mind blowing.

This is a club night with first half floor singers. Email me to book your seat or request a floor spot. See you there!

Monday, 23 February 2026
Whangateau Folk Club Night with Dusty Lands
$20 cash or bank transfer
Doors 6:45pm, 7:00pm start

The Ceilidh comes to Whangateau!

This Thursday, February 12th, the Auckland Ceilidh band is coming to Whangateau! Join us for an evening of toe-tapping traditional Irish & Scottish tunes, songs, and most important of all, dancing. Long known as a beacon of folk music, this is the first time the Auckland Ceilidh band has come to Whangateau. No experience necessary, all ages welcome. All the dances are explained, talked/ walked through, and called.

The leader of the Auckland Ceilidh band, Paul King, is the current recipient of the Daphne Gretta Mary Stevens Community Music scholarship. He is using the funds to help raise funds for 3 halls in the Auckland Region. Paul has very generously offered to make Whangateau one of those halls so the funds raised can go towards replacing our beautiful heritage floor. Very appropriate for dancing!

Admission is $20, payable by cash or bank transfer, and a light supper is included.

Email (whangateaufolk@gmail.com) to book (essential, as tickets are limited). Doors open at 7:00pm for a 7:30pm start.

Whangateau Folk Club January club night is tonight Tuesday, 27 January.

Our special guest is Hot Diggity! Stick a flower in your hair and get ready for an evening of joyous bluegrass music!This is a club night with first half floor singers. Booking recommended, for this show! Email (whangateaufolk@gmail.com) to book your seat or request a floor spot. Tickets are $20 cash or bank transfer. Doors open at 6:45pm for a 7:00pm start. See you there!

First concert of 2026: MSW, Monday, 12 January, 7:30pm, $20.

Starting the new year with great music!

We are kicking off this year with a great act, unlike anything you are likely to see elsewhere! On Monday, January 12th we have contemporary Nordic roots music trio Marine / Simonson / Wiskari (Or MSW, as I am going to call them from now on, because life is short). Spearheaded by “Friend of Whangateau Folk” Hanna Wiskari, MSW plays a vibrant fusion of traditional Scandinavian folk and bold improvisations featuring violin, flutes, saxophones and bass clarinet.

Tickets are $20 cash or bank transfer. Doors open at 7:00pm for a 7:30pm start. See you there!

January Club Night: TUESDAY, 27 January with HOT DIGGITY!

January club night is delayed by one day to accommodate the Auckland Folk Festival. And as usual, our special guest are one of the Americana feature acts from the Festival. And it just so happens that this year that’s Hot Diggity! Yeah, that’s me and my best girlfriends! I’m super excited to be bringing this great bluegrass band back to Whangateau. Stick a flower in your hair and get ready for an evening of joyous bluegrass music!

This is a club night with first half floor singers. Email me to claim a spot. Tickets are $20 cash or bank transfer. Doors open at 6:45pm for a 7:00pm start. See you there!

Monday, 8 December 2026
Club Night with hoop.
7:00pm. $20

hoop. are a five-piece indie folk band from Tāmaki Makaurau, weaving together lush
harmonies, emotive instrumentation, and genre-blending songwriting to deliver
music that feeds the soul.

hoop. combines the singer/song writing talents of Nick Edgar (vocals, flute, guitar,
harmonica) and Al Baxter (vocals, guitar, banjo, mandolin, harmonica) with the
soaring string arrangements of Emily Allen (violin, viola) and the tight, earthy rhythm
section of Rusty Knox (drums, percussion) and Glenn Coldham (bass).
The result is a rich and varied repertoire influenced by everything from Celtic
traditions to Americana.

hoop. are well-known as the curators behind Auckland’s Ministry of Folk – a
recurring event that transforms a historic 1800s church hall into a cabaret-style
venue for intimate performances by acoustic artists, not dissimilar to our very own Whangateau Hall Folk Club.

First half floor singers! Email to request a first half spot.
$20 cash or bank transfer
Doors open about 6:45 for a 7:00pm start.

On November 27th the lovely and talented David Shanhun is hosting a concert at our hall that should have been part of our official Folk Club lineup, but the timing did not work out.

I had the pleasure of seeing Adam and Marika at Wellyfest, and they are absolutely stunning musicians. And everyone should already know how I feel about David Shanhun. His past shows with Shimna Higgins have been some of my favourite all time Whangateau Hall moments.

You can get all the info here: https://www.davidshanhun.com/adam-marika and purchase tickets here: https://events.humanitix.com/david-shanhun-adam-and-marika-whangateau