Being something of a political sceptic, it always impresses me when MPs do something useful.

So it was a couple of week’s back, when Bay of Plenty MP Tom Rutherford spotted a local road with two different speed signs – 70km/hr on one side and 80km/hr on the other.

Well done! Excellent work! And in the spirit of his observational acumen may I remind everyone of Whakamarama’s Barrett Rd.

Or should that be ‘Barretts Rd’? It’s only a small piece of interconnecting highway, a couple of hundred metres tops, but this legendary stretch of road does boast Tauranga’s oldest recording studio, The Boatshed.

Turn off State Highway 2 at the fish and chip shop and the sign boldly declares ‘Barretts Rd’; stop at the other end, at the T-junction a few seconds later and it says ‘Barrett Rd’. I believe I mentioned it in this very paper some 10 years ago. Clearly no one from Waka Kotahi reads music columns... A little help perhaps, Tom?

Sophie-Maude

Moving along to actual music and a little update from last week: young electro-pop singer Sophie-Maude, whom I mentioned, has a new single out, ‘Vertigo’, which is already garnering national attention. Nice video too if you want to check YouTube.Photo: Sophie-Maude. Supplied.

Now allow me to guide you through the veritable thicket of upcoming shows by mentioning a couple that caught my eye...

There’s a hardcore gig coming up at The Jam Factory on February 10 – but, in case you get to reading this early, let me mention another hardcore outing before that, because this Sunday, February 4, there’s a bash under the harbour bridge.

These have become semi-regular events for Tauranga’s indie scene, this one happening at 2pm and featuring established veterans of the scene Threat.Meet.Protocol, the first band to play under the harbour bridge way back in 2012. With them are Ōtūmoetai College prodigies Bloody Overalls and Skonk, who debuted at last year’s Loserpalooza Festival at Totara Street. Bring koha.

Skonk are back on February 10 at the Jam Factory with three other acts, at a night called ‘Salty & Sweet’, showing that ripples from that extraordinary Loserpalooza, featuring as it did 24 bands, all from the Bay, are still being felt: these four bands met there.

Along with Skonk there’re veteran punks Stunt Clown, solo punk StellaVision, and the soon-to-relocate-to-Wellington Park Flyers, all interspersed with poems from Meshell Hardman. The event is also a cash koha fundraiser for services supporting survivors of relationship abuse. So $10 unwaged, $20 waged.

Photo: Stunt Clown Supplied.

A couple more…

Let’s get a couple more in: the night before at the Jam Factory, highly-regarded Dunedin singer-songwriter Dave Alley brings his trio to town after playing the Auckland Folk Festival. Expect what he describes as acoustic guitar-based music stemming from roots, world, blues, rock, reggae, funk, folk and south pacific styles.

Photo: Dave Alley. Supplied.

That same night, February 9, Wellington pop band Skram, who had an “almost hit” with their song ‘Love Don’t Keep Me Waiting’, bring their bright and breezy sounds to Totara Street. It must be summer!

Photo: Skram. Supplied.

Hear Winston's latest Playlist:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5YqLnJnGLBXRswUCSUZ5jG?si=3bd6d6ae441449ec