Harcourt Park in Upper Hutt was rocking on Saturday Night

Upper Hutt City of Song organisers made a brave call on Friday to proceed with the Upper Hutt City of Song Festival on Saturday despite forecasts of rain .

The outcome was a very enjoyable session of live music on the Harcourt Park Soundstage , says Paul Lambert from the organising team . This is the very city where Wayne Mason from Fourmyula wrote the award winning song “Nature “

Highlights of the concert included a farewell from award winning singer Renee Maurice before moving to live in Auckland . Former Upper Hutt resident and guitarist Peter Hall flew in from Australia to perform with former band colleagues and the Southon family . Hitchcock Railway ended the night with a wide selection of Joe Cocker songs .

Among the new crop of performers wass Upper Hutt singer Gareth Barker who also was m/c for the event . He commented to the audience that he would like to see the Soundstage used much more . The stage has hosted Summer Shakespeare plays and New Zealand International Arts Festival events in the past .

The Liverpool group “ The Searchers “ who are contemporaries of The Beatles are well known for have played four concerts in the past to very large audiences at this venue which is regarded by many as one of the best outdoor venues in the Wellington region

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