I sometimes get a case of the guilts over things I neglect to write about.

There is so much music and music-related activity in Tauranga that I know there are bucket-loads of things I forget about, accidentally miss, or am completely unaware of. I have a plethora of items on an ever-changing list of things that I plan to cover.

(And, once again, can I take the opportunity to say that if you are putting on or know about an event – drop me a line. Free publicity is as close as an email.)

A couple of weeks back I wrote about things at The Boatshed Studio in Whakamarama. That was meant to be followed by an article on Welcome Bay's Fragile Colours Studio but then a bunch of gigs popped up that I thought might be of interest. And studio owner Tim Julian disappeared off on a wine-appreciation holiday in Martinborough so it seemed rude to interrupt him.

That column's still coming, along with a bunch of other musings on subjects that haven't really received the attention they deserve.

The Incubator

One of those things is The Jam Factory at The Incubator at The Historic Village. You could probably fill a weekly column with all the stuff happening there. So, let's assuage that guilt and check out what's going on...

The Incubator started as an artist collective but has, over the past year, very firmly embraced the musical side of creativity, hosting regular gigs throughout the summer, many of them commendably quirky, and all worthwhile in one way or another. There has been punk, jazz, and folk music but most frequently the visiting bands have seemed to register somewhere on the Americana scale.

The Incubator has a relaxed and comfy performance space for music and has been particularly effective over summer months when audiences can spill out into the village.

And they're still going for it as the season slowly slips towards the unseasonable.

I suspect it's hard to say no to the many bands wanting to come and play. There have been two concerts in the past week and there's another one scheduled this weekend.

On Sunday, May 13 Looking For Alaska is in town to promote the release of its latest single ‘Calling Out'. The band is in the company of fellow Aucklanders Albi And The Wolves, who have become frequent visitors to Tauranga this year. It's only a few weeks since they were out at the Omokoroa Boat Club and a couple of weeks before that at the Aongatete Folk Festival.

But they're well worth catching – they were last year's winners of the Tui Award for Best Folk Album.

Looking For Alaska started life as a duo and then grew to a five-piece band. At present they are a trio, still delivering strong harmony singing and country guitar licks. This is an afternoon gig, kicking off at 3pm, with tickets $15 from Eventfinda or $20 on the door.

Looking ahead

And things stay busy at The Incubator. Just looking ahead, though I may return to these, the following Saturday, May 19 is a wild rockabilly gig featuring Slickback Rockabilly and The Southern Diplomats, both specialists in 50s rockabilly.

A week later on May 26 it's the album launch tour for Bernie Griffen and The Thin Men, who'll be supported by the low-fi punk-pop of Tauranga's Ed Gains. Bernie has just released his third album, Doors Wide Open, which promises to be a slightly more cheerful take on his regular Gothic country folk sound.

That's a lot of Incubator action for May!

Another person I haven't written enough about is Alice Sea, singer, multi-instrumentalist, and looper extraordinaire. If you can stand to miss the Incubator's rockabilly gig she'll be in town at The Barrel Room on the evening of May 19. Rather like Ed Sheeran but with more instruments and far less irritating, Alice creates sound loops live during her show using effects pedals, vocals and an array of string, wind and percussion instruments.

The music itself shows influences from calypso, Latin, dub, traditional folk and eastern music, and the whole thing is both intoxicating and very accessible. The gig is free and if you've never seen her I recommend you do.