JAMES Coyle loves Newtown so much he will perform in the suburb’s annual festival for free, is helping organise it for free, and gave up his day job for six weeks in preparation for it.
The Newtown Rocksteady band member, who fittingly performs a song with the group called Owe Me No Pay Me, is a longtime Newtown local who used to live in the very flat where the Wilson St stage is based – number 10.
“I definitely like getting paid for making music, it’s how I make my living but there is something about playing in your home patch” that makes playing for free worthwhile.
The 12 piece band, which plays regularly at the Southern Cross, will help supplement his income while he takes a break from working as an architect for Red Design.
Luckily Coyle’s boss at Red Design, Martin Hanley, is supportive. Hanley is one of the festival’s founding members. Architects Hanley and his wife, Anna Kemble Welch, have been working flat-out from their headquarters in Daniell St with Coyle and other volunteers, and hope to attract as many revelers to the festival as last year –70,000.
Newtown Festival St Fair: Six musical stages, a busking pitch, fairground rides, 300 stalls, Central Riddiford and Constable Sts, 10am-4pm, March 7, newtownfestival.org.nz.