January 20, 2025 • 10 mins
Some sad news for Wellington was announced on Monday: after eighteen years, the Jim Beam Homegrown festival will be leaving Wellington and is searching for a new home.
How big a loss is this for Wellington, and what other big music events does Wellington play host to?
Wellington Mornings music man James Irwin, sporting a controversial new haircut, joined Nick Mills for the first Music Time of 2025.
LISTEN ABOVE
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're listening to the Wellington Mornings podcast with Nick Mills
from news Talk said b Higgs, new releases and keeping
tabs on local artists. Is music time on Wellington Mornings.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
I've got one of my favorite people in the world
in the studio with me. Now, James Irwin comes in
and talks music once every two weeks. We said, we
can't wait two weeks summertime. There's lots of gigs on,
lots happening. Yeah, so we can't wait two weeks. I said,
come on, James, you come and do the first show.
So he comes on.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
Happy New Year, Yeah, Happy New Year. Great to be
here on the first show. Well rested and relaxed.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
I'm a bit worried about the haircut.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
My haircut, it's a bit weird. I've gone. I've gone
full midlife crisis. Full absolutely no midlife crisis for the
listeners out there. Unfortunately, I've gone due to my sister
being a headdresser and who're dying. Her son's here, I've
gone completely peroxide blog I blonde, but maybe even white. Ah.
The young fella says, it's looking all right.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
Ethan said, it looks good.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
My son's absolutely disgusted, so young, going full mid life crisis.
So next week I'll probably be parking up in the
in the next to your Ferrari and my tour too
Mix five red convertible, and I'll probably get an arm
band tattoo to hat back to the nineties or something.
I've got none.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
That you've got.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
Get some tattoos with all that. Hey, we're completely okay.
Home grind.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
Firstly, a few times.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
I've been, a lot of times I haven't been in
the last few years. I kind of feel I feel
sad that one in since losing another another event. I
feel like the last few years it's there's been a
lot of bands. I mean, if I look at the
bands I'm looking, you know who have played Shape Shift,
The Dobbin Shave, Fu Pee, Money, Dragon, Lady Hawk. The
feelis they're all bands that I was listening to late nineties,
(01:50):
early two thousands, So to me, it's targeted at me.
But every time I'd come down to Courtney plays during
the day, I'd see the young douchebrogs with their boxes
of flame beer rolling down with their Hawaiian shirts, heating
off the home grind, and then I'd hear stories from
my my daughter saying that they weren't very well but
gave some of those young young lads. But then Ethan
the producer says that it's it is older guys who
(02:11):
go there, So that might just be my preconception.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
You can't have preconceptions.
Speaker 3 (02:16):
Yeah, I should go. My neighbors head along every year
and they love it and they're my age. I'm sad
also for the sound, the lighting people, all those kind
of things. We're losing all these the staging skies. It's
important that we keep all that sort of stuff so
we can stay as a capital. We can, we can,
you know, I just so I am, but said I think,
(02:37):
you know, I don't know where it's going. My gut
feeling is somewhere like Totronger.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
I think how rong I would suit it.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
They've scored, they seem to have all the cricket over
the summer, you know, New Year's, they seem to be
getting They're doing events really well. If I if I
was to digger, you know, a hole in the sand,
I would say, I reckon, it's gone to the Bay
of Plenty.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
All right, well let's talk about I mean, we're both
very sad. And yeah, yeah, and let's talk about gigs.
Speaker 3 (03:00):
Because but I'm going to throw a curveball before we
even talk about gigs. Have you heard of the band
Flock of Seagulls? You of course, yeah, I mean that
would have been what was that song that had that happen?
I ran Iran? So they're ripping out after their last
thing they did. There was a guy that you know,
they're probably remembered before Mike's score, who probably had some
of the most dis terrible haircuts imaginable. They peaked in
(03:22):
ninety about nine one eighty two, probably the worst band
name in the history Flock a Seagulls. Terrible, and that's
probably where they should remain. But they've got a new
album coming out shortly, and so let's have listen to
their Iran and then a little bit of the latest
new single. Great song, grape song, eighty synth pop at
its peak. It's the synth pop coming back. What are
(03:46):
the kids thinking? What do you reckon? Eat them?
Speaker 1 (03:48):
I love the song.
Speaker 3 (03:49):
Yeah, it's a beauty. And here comes the new version.
Sounds very much like an old song that's coming up.
House of Dreams.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
How many of the part.
Speaker 3 (04:03):
Of this this is this will be four forty five
years apart. Great sound, terrible band name, and luckily all
those terrible haircuts have finally gone. And Mike Score, the
lead singer, who basically has got rid of most of
the band and they've come back occasionally, but it's basically
(04:24):
him is baled. So you know which, maybe I should
be going as well. Shortly with my new haircat.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
Well, with all that peroxide in your brain, that's going
to do something. Yeah, I'm not sure what it's going
to do to you. Now it's shot, and next do
we take a photo? By the way, can we take
a photo and put them on the website. There's going
to be a few people look at whatever.
Speaker 3 (04:40):
Look ay, big banger of a gig this week you'll
you'll be going obviously, Well you probably won't because you
work so hard, but you should be going because I
know that your mates Fat Freddy's dropped this weekend the
Slow Mo tour at Brewtown.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
They're not my mates, but I kind of. I mean,
I knew he and Gordon many many years ago, and
I love them Dallas. I think they are great people
and I love all the band I would I'm not
being able to go this week, but I'd love to
go to them, and they're one of my favorite all
time New Zealand bands.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
They've just come off a thirty seven to a date
of Europe, so they're going to be absolutely steaming. I reckon. Yeah,
they've got the Testy Brothers and the Testy Brothers filled
out the Michael Fowlers in are about twelve months ago,
maybe eighteen months ago. Terrific, terrific band as well, and
then they've got they've got about three other bands. It
starts at four Ghost Toll midnight. Now fill the proprietor
(05:24):
out there at Brewtown who runs the sort of the
day to day operation.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
Everyone knows first.
Speaker 3 (05:29):
Everyone knows Phil and he is a sharp operator and
he is doing some great stuff by getting in people
and promoters to do gigs. I caught the New Year's
Eve gig out there. It's spectacular, like they were sublime.
There was the Black Seeds on awesome geeks.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
I reckon, that's where you've got your haircut idea.
Speaker 3 (05:45):
Yeah, because Phil's got great He's got one of the
great haircuts. Yeah. I think you took he's a great
New Zealander. You pinched his Yeah, I just need to
grow a bit longer, maybe get a but they call
it a bullet, a mullet or a horsey. That's what
the young kids have, isn't it horsey malalte I get them.
I'll get myself a mullet. So hey, this weekend, Fat
Fridi is just play a little bit in the background
while we're talking. It starts at four. What the best
(06:07):
thing about this and this is again top ups to
Brewtown Public. You know, your your public transport is all
included in the price of your ticket boom, so it
makes it really easy, I know. So you know, get
yourself out to Fat Freddy's. That'll be great. Let's roll on.
That's him in the background, but we're going to roll on.
So coming up also on the eleventh of February, only
a few weeks away. Irish singer songwriter. He does these
(06:29):
aching melodic ballads. He's at the Opera House. He's got
five hundred million streams on Spotify. I reckon this will
be a great gig. It'll be chilled. You probably all
know this song.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
Sure Stove.
Speaker 2 (06:44):
Jesus is probably a sleep Sorry, it's gonna be very milent, melancholic.
Speaker 3 (06:49):
We're not going to be up in the mosh pit,
me neck like we usually.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
Are, sleep from the back door.
Speaker 3 (06:54):
Yeah, hey, let's roll on this. This might be more
your cup of tea than nick. This is going right
back to your your heyday. Let's just crank the next track.
Who were these guys? Don't sex pistols? They're coming to
New Zealand Visius obviously isn't Johnny Rodden. Well he's probably
(07:18):
at the Trump inauguration today, so he's not coming either.
So the sex pistols and Frank Carter, Frank Carter's pretty cool.
The other originals, Paul Cook, Steve Jones, Glenn Mattlocke, who
said did replace back in the day, it's you know,
sex pistols will do never mind the Bollocks first tour
down here in New Zealand since nineteen ninety six. Ticket's
(07:38):
gone sale twenty third of January, which is what two
days time Thursday, ticket Master. Don't buy off via Go go.
That should be fun christ Church or Auckland. If that's
your cup of tea, I don't know if it's my
cup of tea or not. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
Now, someone rang text me earlier today when we were
talking about homegrown, said poor Rocks yes. Now they wanted
me to give it a plug, so here's your opportunity.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
Yeah, well, I reckon this is this is, this is
going to be the big new festival for Warllington. Poti
are of Rocks. They did it last year's the inaugural.
I didn't go, but the people I know who went
said it was spectacular. It's got wrestling so good fun,
local wrestlers doing some crazy stuff who are complete athletes,
craft beer, food, and they've they've got six alternative rock bands.
(08:22):
It's at Tero Para Arena once again. It's gonna be bigger,
it's gonna be bad, it's gonna be better than ever. Saturday,
May the third, Potty Row of Rockstock co DoD In Zeid.
I reckon that's a good plug for them, and I
reckon we should get behind them. I reckon it's going
to be a great There's a whole underground rock bands.
I've looked at them on the website. They're all fantastic
(08:44):
worth checking out. And another one that's coming over in
my old hood Summer Hummer and Marstard In February twenty second,
Queen Elizabeth sports Ground and Martha not being a couple
to these summer hummers back in the day. Now they've
got Casey Cassie Henderson and supposedly New Zealand's answered to
Taylor Swift. She was on one of those seven o'clock,
you know, evening shows the other week. What is it,
(09:04):
seven sharp New Zealand Battle of the Bands. One is
the Dead Zephyrs. Don't know anything about them, but they
must be pretty good if they won the New Zealand
Battle of the Bands.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
Yes, that'll be very good.
Speaker 3 (09:13):
And it's only two bucks two bucks, so good on
your Marson City Council. You must be behind this. I
reckon that's going to be a cracking gig as well,
So check out pottery or rocks, check out Sammahamma, get
along to the last thing down the waterfront home grind.
She had our hometown boys. That's the last year of
a gig.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
So there you go.
Speaker 3 (09:33):
I'm not but I want to go and see she had,
so I might have to go.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
I might have to give Jim B.
Speaker 3 (09:37):
M Ringham. Yeah, yeah, will get me and you in
the front row with my midlife crisis and.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
You, I'm telling you I've taken a photo of be
and you've put it on our Facebook Babe, I going
down the road with you with that haircut.
Speaker 3 (09:50):
We'll be up in the morsh Me and you're throwing
up the horns.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
No, I'll be hiding from you. I'll be hiding for
James Deerwin. Always great to talk to you. Apart from
the haircut. Thank you very much, appreciate you.
Speaker 1 (09:59):
For more from Wellington Mornings with Nick Mills, listen live
to news talks It'd be Wellington from nine am week days.
Follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
You're listening to the Wellington Mornings podcast with Nick Mills
from news Talk said b Higgs, new releases and keeping
tabs on local artists. Is music time on Wellington Mornings.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
I've got one of my favorite people in the world
in the studio with me. Now, James Irwin comes in
and talks music once every two weeks. We said, we
can't wait two weeks summertime. There's lots of gigs on,
lots happening. Yeah, so we can't wait two weeks. I said,
come on, James, you come and do the first show.
So he comes on.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
Happy New Year, Yeah, Happy New Year. Great to be
here on the first show. Well rested and relaxed.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
I'm a bit worried about the haircut.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
My haircut, it's a bit weird. I've gone. I've gone
full midlife crisis. Full absolutely no midlife crisis for the
listeners out there. Unfortunately, I've gone due to my sister
being a headdresser and who're dying. Her son's here, I've
gone completely peroxide blog I blonde, but maybe even white. Ah.
The young fella says, it's looking all right.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
Ethan said, it looks good.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
My son's absolutely disgusted, so young, going full mid life crisis.
So next week I'll probably be parking up in the
in the next to your Ferrari and my tour too
Mix five red convertible, and I'll probably get an arm
band tattoo to hat back to the nineties or something.
I've got none.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
That you've got.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
Get some tattoos with all that. Hey, we're completely okay.
Home grind.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
Firstly, a few times.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
I've been, a lot of times I haven't been in
the last few years. I kind of feel I feel
sad that one in since losing another another event. I
feel like the last few years it's there's been a
lot of bands. I mean, if I look at the
bands I'm looking, you know who have played Shape Shift,
The Dobbin Shave, Fu Pee, Money, Dragon, Lady Hawk. The
feelis they're all bands that I was listening to late nineties,
(01:50):
early two thousands, So to me, it's targeted at me.
But every time I'd come down to Courtney plays during
the day, I'd see the young douchebrogs with their boxes
of flame beer rolling down with their Hawaiian shirts, heating
off the home grind, and then I'd hear stories from
my my daughter saying that they weren't very well but
gave some of those young young lads. But then Ethan
the producer says that it's it is older guys who
(02:11):
go there, So that might just be my preconception.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
You can't have preconceptions.
Speaker 3 (02:16):
Yeah, I should go. My neighbors head along every year
and they love it and they're my age. I'm sad
also for the sound, the lighting people, all those kind
of things. We're losing all these the staging skies. It's
important that we keep all that sort of stuff so
we can stay as a capital. We can, we can,
you know, I just so I am, but said I think,
(02:37):
you know, I don't know where it's going. My gut
feeling is somewhere like Totronger.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
I think how rong I would suit it.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
They've scored, they seem to have all the cricket over
the summer, you know, New Year's, they seem to be
getting They're doing events really well. If I if I
was to digger, you know, a hole in the sand,
I would say, I reckon, it's gone to the Bay
of Plenty.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
All right, well let's talk about I mean, we're both
very sad. And yeah, yeah, and let's talk about gigs.
Speaker 3 (03:00):
Because but I'm going to throw a curveball before we
even talk about gigs. Have you heard of the band
Flock of Seagulls? You of course, yeah, I mean that
would have been what was that song that had that happen?
I ran Iran? So they're ripping out after their last
thing they did. There was a guy that you know,
they're probably remembered before Mike's score, who probably had some
of the most dis terrible haircuts imaginable. They peaked in
(03:22):
ninety about nine one eighty two, probably the worst band
name in the history Flock a Seagulls. Terrible, and that's
probably where they should remain. But they've got a new
album coming out shortly, and so let's have listen to
their Iran and then a little bit of the latest
new single. Great song, grape song, eighty synth pop at
its peak. It's the synth pop coming back. What are
(03:46):
the kids thinking? What do you reckon? Eat them?
Speaker 1 (03:48):
I love the song.
Speaker 3 (03:49):
Yeah, it's a beauty. And here comes the new version.
Sounds very much like an old song that's coming up.
House of Dreams.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
How many of the part.
Speaker 3 (04:03):
Of this this is this will be four forty five
years apart. Great sound, terrible band name, and luckily all
those terrible haircuts have finally gone. And Mike Score, the
lead singer, who basically has got rid of most of
the band and they've come back occasionally, but it's basically
(04:24):
him is baled. So you know which, maybe I should
be going as well. Shortly with my new haircat.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
Well, with all that peroxide in your brain, that's going
to do something. Yeah, I'm not sure what it's going
to do to you. Now it's shot, and next do
we take a photo? By the way, can we take
a photo and put them on the website. There's going
to be a few people look at whatever.
Speaker 3 (04:40):
Look ay, big banger of a gig this week you'll
you'll be going obviously, Well you probably won't because you
work so hard, but you should be going because I
know that your mates Fat Freddy's dropped this weekend the
Slow Mo tour at Brewtown.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
They're not my mates, but I kind of. I mean,
I knew he and Gordon many many years ago, and
I love them Dallas. I think they are great people
and I love all the band I would I'm not
being able to go this week, but I'd love to
go to them, and they're one of my favorite all
time New Zealand bands.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
They've just come off a thirty seven to a date
of Europe, so they're going to be absolutely steaming. I reckon. Yeah,
they've got the Testy Brothers and the Testy Brothers filled
out the Michael Fowlers in are about twelve months ago,
maybe eighteen months ago. Terrific, terrific band as well, and
then they've got they've got about three other bands. It
starts at four Ghost Toll midnight. Now fill the proprietor
(05:24):
out there at Brewtown who runs the sort of the
day to day operation.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
Everyone knows first.
Speaker 3 (05:29):
Everyone knows Phil and he is a sharp operator and
he is doing some great stuff by getting in people
and promoters to do gigs. I caught the New Year's
Eve gig out there. It's spectacular, like they were sublime.
There was the Black Seeds on awesome geeks.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
I reckon, that's where you've got your haircut idea.
Speaker 3 (05:45):
Yeah, because Phil's got great He's got one of the
great haircuts. Yeah. I think you took he's a great
New Zealander. You pinched his Yeah, I just need to
grow a bit longer, maybe get a but they call
it a bullet, a mullet or a horsey. That's what
the young kids have, isn't it horsey malalte I get them.
I'll get myself a mullet. So hey, this weekend, Fat
Fridi is just play a little bit in the background
while we're talking. It starts at four. What the best
(06:07):
thing about this and this is again top ups to
Brewtown Public. You know, your your public transport is all
included in the price of your ticket boom, so it
makes it really easy, I know. So you know, get
yourself out to Fat Freddy's. That'll be great. Let's roll on.
That's him in the background, but we're going to roll on.
So coming up also on the eleventh of February, only
a few weeks away. Irish singer songwriter. He does these
(06:29):
aching melodic ballads. He's at the Opera House. He's got
five hundred million streams on Spotify. I reckon this will
be a great gig. It'll be chilled. You probably all
know this song.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
Sure Stove.
Speaker 2 (06:44):
Jesus is probably a sleep Sorry, it's gonna be very milent, melancholic.
Speaker 3 (06:49):
We're not going to be up in the mosh pit,
me neck like we usually.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
Are, sleep from the back door.
Speaker 3 (06:54):
Yeah, hey, let's roll on this. This might be more
your cup of tea than nick. This is going right
back to your your heyday. Let's just crank the next track.
Who were these guys? Don't sex pistols? They're coming to
New Zealand Visius obviously isn't Johnny Rodden. Well he's probably
(07:18):
at the Trump inauguration today, so he's not coming either.
So the sex pistols and Frank Carter, Frank Carter's pretty cool.
The other originals, Paul Cook, Steve Jones, Glenn Mattlocke, who
said did replace back in the day, it's you know,
sex pistols will do never mind the Bollocks first tour
down here in New Zealand since nineteen ninety six. Ticket's
(07:38):
gone sale twenty third of January, which is what two
days time Thursday, ticket Master. Don't buy off via Go go.
That should be fun christ Church or Auckland. If that's
your cup of tea, I don't know if it's my
cup of tea or not. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
Now, someone rang text me earlier today when we were
talking about homegrown, said poor Rocks yes. Now they wanted
me to give it a plug, so here's your opportunity.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
Yeah, well, I reckon this is this is, this is
going to be the big new festival for Warllington. Poti
are of Rocks. They did it last year's the inaugural.
I didn't go, but the people I know who went
said it was spectacular. It's got wrestling so good fun,
local wrestlers doing some crazy stuff who are complete athletes,
craft beer, food, and they've they've got six alternative rock bands.
(08:22):
It's at Tero Para Arena once again. It's gonna be bigger,
it's gonna be bad, it's gonna be better than ever. Saturday,
May the third, Potty Row of Rockstock co DoD In Zeid.
I reckon that's a good plug for them, and I
reckon we should get behind them. I reckon it's going
to be a great There's a whole underground rock bands.
I've looked at them on the website. They're all fantastic
(08:44):
worth checking out. And another one that's coming over in
my old hood Summer Hummer and Marstard In February twenty second,
Queen Elizabeth sports Ground and Martha not being a couple
to these summer hummers back in the day. Now they've
got Casey Cassie Henderson and supposedly New Zealand's answered to
Taylor Swift. She was on one of those seven o'clock,
you know, evening shows the other week. What is it,
(09:04):
seven sharp New Zealand Battle of the Bands. One is
the Dead Zephyrs. Don't know anything about them, but they
must be pretty good if they won the New Zealand
Battle of the Bands.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
Yes, that'll be very good.
Speaker 3 (09:13):
And it's only two bucks two bucks, so good on
your Marson City Council. You must be behind this. I
reckon that's going to be a cracking gig as well,
So check out pottery or rocks, check out Sammahamma, get
along to the last thing down the waterfront home grind.
She had our hometown boys. That's the last year of
a gig.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
So there you go.
Speaker 3 (09:33):
I'm not but I want to go and see she had,
so I might have to go.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
I might have to give Jim B.
Speaker 3 (09:37):
M Ringham. Yeah, yeah, will get me and you in
the front row with my midlife crisis and.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
You, I'm telling you I've taken a photo of be
and you've put it on our Facebook Babe, I going
down the road with you with that haircut.
Speaker 3 (09:50):
We'll be up in the morsh Me and you're throwing
up the horns.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
No, I'll be hiding from you. I'll be hiding for
James Deerwin. Always great to talk to you. Apart from
the haircut. Thank you very much, appreciate you.
Speaker 1 (09:59):
For more from Wellington Mornings with Nick Mills, listen live
to news talks It'd be Wellington from nine am week days.
Follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!