Pauls Road Festival

The 13th annual Pauls Road Live went ahead in Whanganui East after a nervous week, with the country dropping back to Covid-19 alert level 1 at 6am on the morning of the show. Cloud and the odd shower did nothing to put anyone off.

Around 500 people came through the gate — more than 400 tickets sold in advance and another 120 on the day. With an all-local bill this year, we shared the stage with The Replicants, Whisky Mama, Hot Potato, Heavy Water, Richard Littlejohn and Burn the Machines.

Money raised on the day went to Starlit Hope, the Whanganui charity supporting local families with seriously ill children. Organiser Fred Loveridge called it a bloody great turnout, and said every local band had brought their A game. Hard to argue with that.