‘The world needs a party’ – music festival organisers

Tickets are selling fast for a Glastonbury-style music festival to be held at Mt Somers in November.

‘‘It just came about because A, the world needs a party,’’ said organiser Richard Wright.

The second reason was because he and fellow organiser and wife Chrissie had been thinking of holding something to celebrate reaching 25 years on the farm.

So the idea of the Tamar Party in the Paddock Music Festival held on their property, Tamar Farm at Mt Somers, was born.

Their inspiration had been seeing the joy brought to hundreds of thousands by Britain’s annual Glastonbury Festival, the world’s largest greenfield music and performing arts festival in the world.

After advertising on social media, tickets from the 5000 being sold were ‘‘flying out the door’’.

‘‘The tickets are selling fast, that tells you that people are excited by it,’’ Wright said.

The headline act is new band The Treble Makers, featuring Jason Kerrison of Opshop fame, alongside drummer Hamish Gee (The Feelers), bassist Matt Short (Sola Rosa), guitarist Andy Lynch (Zed), and pianist and multi-instrumentalist Andrew Keys Cochrane.

Other acts would include Bryce Wastney of Nelson, the Brad Staley Trio of Tekapo, and The Landgirls, Muzza & Mates, and Morgan & Mates of Canterbury.

The event would be family friendly, with bouncy castle, merry-go-round, food trucks and bonfire. People would be able to bring a picnic, stay the day and camp overnight if they wished. It would be BYO for alcohol.

Methven and Mayfield Lions members would help with security, carparking, gates and barbecues featuring sausages, burgers and Tamar Farm beef.

‘‘It’s a good family event, 100 per cent of the proceeds are towards the community,’’ Wright said.

Funds raised would go towards the Ōpuke Innovation Hub, an agricultural and trades programme being developed by Mount Hutt College.

Meanwhile, Jason Kerrison of The Treble Makers said the band had been named as such just this week.

‘‘This will be the first public outing for the group,’’ he said of the upcoming music festival.

The newly-formed band initially called themselves the Allstars, but decided this sounded ‘‘a tad generic’’, so changed it.

The band’s ‘‘collective pedigree’’ boasted multi-platinum records, sold-out tours and international acclaim.

‘‘This band is a high-octane fusion of musical mastery and camaraderie, ready to take the stage with both heart and humour,’’ he said.

‘‘Prepare for a wild, nostalgic, and thrilling ride with some of New Zealand’s finest.’’

* Tamar Party in the Paddock Music Festival is noon to midnight at Tamar Farm, 544 Lochheads Rd, Mt Somers, on November 30. Tickets $50 adults, $15 child, infants free, available at iticket.co. nz