When the world gets you down, keep moving
Opening night of the second independent tour of Walking Songs is in Te Aro, Wellington. It’s a typical evening of misty rain and we’re in an underground bookstore, lamp-lit, warm, eclectic, and so packed we had to turn punters down. The gracious host baked and decorated a cake for the night, and our hearts burst at the first of many standing ovations.
As Lucy-Belle and I moved up the motu (island), across the Tasman, then into the magical grasp of Northland before completing the tour on home ground in Bay of Plenty, we were overwhelmed by the hospitality and generosity of venues and audiences alike.
Creating this show had been a labour of love, tears, deep insecurity and unbound joy.
After solo hiking Te Araroa trail (3000 km, Cape Reinga to Motupohue/Bluff) full of blind hope and sickening sorrow, I transferred my walking melodies into a story of resilience and reverence, threaded together with unadorned music, and on the first tour was overjoyed to take home Best Music 2023 at Melbourne Fringe Festival.
This iteration of the piece feels deeper still and having my sister at my side is an experience I’ll treasure for a lifetime.
Touring independently is chaos. Lucy and I spent each night in Victoria on a different friend’s couch, hauling our gear and luggage via bus, train, tram and once on foot – a mad dash from the station to our Melbourne city venue, where we had 90 minutes to set, soundcheck and change to go on stage.
The closest call however was the voyage from Melbourne to Whangārei. We flew to Tāmaki Makaurau, dragged our gear to long-term parking and drove straight up north, arriving at The Octagon Theatre with just half an hour before show start.
An attendant popped her head through the door as we were soundchecking and said “Okay, we’re letting everyone in now”. Lucy and I froze. We were in trackies, unshowered, and had been awake for 18 hours. Coming to our senses, we ran backstage, changed, hugged, swigged from a flask in lieu of vocal warm up and within minutes, Lucy was on stage giving acknowledgement to open the show.
Every night, however, was worth the chaos.
There was an undeniable magic to this 2024 tour. It’s always cathartic and connective to share this work but, this time, something theurgical took hold as I dropped in and sang those first lines, “Baby keep on moving, when the world gets you down”. The symbiosis of energy from my audiences led the music and stories in a unique and authentic direction each performance.
In Waikino, under a full moon, the community gathered, and the sold-out room radiated with fire’s glow and hearts opening. I was told there was a light-woven woman standing at my side throughout the performance.
In Mirboo North, surrounded by explosions of wildflowers picked and arranged in the barn venue by beloved friends, and performing to our most intimate audience, I was told there were ‘beings’ in the space.
In Hikurangi, our most energetically charged and from my artist’s perspective, our most perfected performance, I was graced with the presence of a sacred tokotoko (traditional carved stick) on stage and was held in such love and gratitude, one wahine (woman) exclaiming to me through sobs, clutching my shoulders, “They are with you, spirit, they are all around you!”
The drive back to our homestay, we had to pull over for neither Lucy nor I could see for our tears, guttural release in knowing this meant something.
It is a colossal amount of time and work to produce and tour an original show and I’m so glad to feel it was worth every drop of sweat. The community support was overwhelming and while I knew this tour would be the last time I perform Walking Songs, new stories are brewing, and I may just be ready to tackle that admin again.
Walking Songs full NZ performance can be purchased ($15) via Patreon.
Teaser clip on YT
Words by Milly Moon
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