Hayley in Concert: UK Appearances and Schedule

As Hayley has just ended her New Zealand tour, she flew back to the UK yesterday to attend these new events for the new year. Here are her concert schedule, as well as information on the venues and events from hayleywestenra.com:

March

Mar - 29: Croydon Fairfields Hall (Concert) Click Here

April

Apr - 05: Buxton Opera House (Concert) Click Here
Apr - 26: Millenium Forum, Derry (Concert)
Apr - 27: Belfast Waterfront Hall (Concert) Click Here

May

May - 02: Jersey Opera House, Charity concert (Concert) Click Here
May - 03: Jersey Opera House, charity concert (Concert) Click Here

June

June - 27: Abberglasney Gardens, Wales (Concert) Click Here

July

July - 12: Henley Festival (Concert) Click Here
July - 13: Orwell Park (Concert) Click Here
July - 26: Broadlands (Concert) Click Here

From hayleywestenra.com

In Tune with Nature: Aucland Report and Photos!

I had the absolute previlage of being able to attend the Villa Maria concert in Auckland as the last In Tune with Nature concert for the tour. I also had the honor of meeting Dave and Hayley (for the second time). Here is my report and photos:

"There were THOUSANDS!!! Probably five times more than the people who attended all the other concerts. Even Dave was surprised by the number who turned up. It was unbelievable. The whole time, I was thinking 'how on earth are they going to do signings with this many people??

We had a very distant view, and I can tell you now that despite the beautiful atmosphere, I really, really prefer indoor concerts. I think audiences have a fair distant between them and the performer, because a theater can only be so big. This place was massive, so I couldn't see Hayley's facial expressions or anything. Which was a real shame. But I look forward to more of her concerts later!

Then we had the interval, and then it was Fiona's turn. She was bear-foot! Boy is she FAN-TAS-TIC!!! Her pieces were beautiful, and she was so sweet as well. One of the most talented people I have seen on stage performing.

Then music (violin) started playing, and they announced to welcome Hayley. The music kept playing and Hayley walked onto stage not in her purple outfit, but the red dress she has worn to many events, including the NZ Music Awards. She sang Let Me Lie, which was one of my favorites for the eveing.

Then she sang Shanendoah, then Summerfly, which was fantastic. She had a great time perfoming that! Then May It Be which gave me goosebumps. I think she performed that so much nicer that the on on her album!! Then she sang Sonny on the keyboard (my mom's favorite song) and then she sang Who Painted the Moon Black, and thanked her NZ fans especially, saying she would not have gotten this far if it wasn't for us, which was followed by a huge applause. It got darker, and so did my photos, which was a shame. It was just too far away to get good shots, but I took them anyway. Then it was followed by Both Sides Now, and then Scarborough Fair, which she duetted with Dave. Then she did In Trutina, Sancta Lucia, Prayer, and then Hine e Hine with Dave. Then they sang Welcome Home, and she sang Down to the River to Pray as the encore songs.

By the thought, I had walked closer to the stage, and it was great to see her in a better view. But I kept listening to her, and walked over to the tent and was the first in line with my sister. HUNDREDS followed afterwards, and you wouldn't believe the long lone. She might still be there now!!

So, I waited in line, and then Fiona came along, so I had her sign Hayley's book, and I took a photo with her. Such a lovely woman, she was. And I adored her to bits. I can't wait to see more of here later, I really can't!

Hayley and Dave took very long to come, and we were getting a little impatient, because it had started to drizzle a little, but it was good timing. Hayley and Dave walked through, and Hayley looked over at me - and recognized me at once! Not that me and my headscarf are that hard to remember, mind you , but not only that, she knew my name, and thanked me for the bracelet, loved the gifts to bits.

That was by far the best part of the night. And then my sister got her autograph, and we got photos, and I also said hi to Dave and thanked him for a wonderful night."

Fiona Pears on violin

Hayley and Dave singing Hine e Hine

Hayley performs on stage

Hayley and Dave sing Welcome Home

Agent backs Hayley

By Carolyne Meng-Yee

24 February 2008 - New Zealand Herald

Hayley Westenra has been criticised by opera icon Dame Kiri Te Kanawa.

The man who discovered popera princess Hayley Westenra has hit back at Dame Kiri Te Kanawa's "holier than thou'' swipe at his star. The opera singer yesterday refused to share the stage with Westenra at last night's postponed Starlight Symphony concert in the Auckland Domain and then described her a "fake singer''.

But Gray Bartlett, who put Westenra on the musical map rubbished the criticism, pointing to the millions of CDs Westenra had sold.

"I can tell you now... Kiri and Pavarotti and those international singers, if it wasn't for their compilation CDs they'd be lucky to sell in the hundreds. Now that's the truth,'' he said.

Westenra's father didn't want to be drawn into the spat, but said the two singers' styles were "like apples and oranges'' and it was wrong to compare them.

Bartlett, however, was more to the point. Asked if Dame Kiri was suffering from "a bit of the old green-eyed monster'', he said: "I think it's a bit of that, plus I think it's this whole opera thing... and that holier than thou attitude. It [opera] still retains a snob factor.''

Bartlett believed Dame Kiri's comments were the result of professional jealousy and she felt threatened.

His advice to her was: "She looks great, she's done well, just get a life.''

Kiwi Stars Sing from the Same Song Sheet

By Kelly ANDREW

22 February 2008 - Dominion Post

Dave Dobbyn and Hayley Westenra seem an unlikely double act. But it works.

Dave Dobbyn and Hayley Westenra are a perfect but surprising match. The two singers are both clean- living, successful solo performers with a strong following from middle New Zealand.

One is a balding middle-aged veteran who has written some of the best-loved ballads in Kiwi music history -- think Loyal, Be Mine Tonight, Whaling, Slice of Heaven and Devil You Know -- and the other is a fresh-faced 20-year- old who became an international star at 16 and has sold millions of her classical, Celtic and pop albums worldwide.

Westenra and Dobbyn have teamed up and they are touring New Zealand together for their In Tune with Nature winery concerts. They perform at Wairarapa vineyard Alana Estate tomorrow.

Chatting by phone from Auckland they finish each other's sentences and gush excitedly about how much they enjoy singing and performing together. There is, as Westenra points out, laughing, "Too much love."

Westenra and Dobbyn first shared a stage at London's Shepherd's Bush Empire last August. The concert -- Hayley's Kiwi Ceilidh -- was held when anticipation was building for the Rugby World Cup and London was awash with optimistic New Zealanders. Westenra invited Dobbyn, whom she describes as a Kiwi icon, to come over and perform at the gig.

"We just clicked from the first rehearsal. To many people it was a strange pairing but it worked," says Westenra. Their voices and personalities harmonised well.

"We're from completely opposite ends of the spectrum. That's why it works so well -- we don't interfere with each other's vocals," she says. "I had a ball," Dobbyn chips in. "We had a real rapport and when we sang together there was something that happened that made us both feel really good about it. There was some magic there. We thought, better do that again some time."

For In Tune with Nature they are touring with their own backing bands. Dobbyn plays first for about an hour before Westenra joins him on stage at the end of his set, then she sings for an hour and Dobbyn returns for some duets.

They are likely to include Dobbyn's Welcome Home and Oughta Be in Love, and some tunes by the Finn brothers. The programme also features New Zealand violinist Fiona Pears.

Westenra says she doesn't think she's ever been so excited about a tour. "I've never done a vineyard tour before. In fact, I've done one concert in my career that's been held in a vineyard, so I can't wait.

"I've also been away from New Zealand too long. I can't wait to see the whole country and meet all the people and just get back into that Kiwi swing of things. We know how to relax."

She has been in New Zealand since before Christmas and has been throwing herself into adventurous pursuits, including windsurfing for the first time, mountainbiking and jet skiing.

"I spent New Year's (Eve) with some friends up north and the rest of the time I've just spent in Christchurch, and Christchurch has had the best summer. I was quite keen to become a Kiwi chick again. I thought, 'Right, I've been in London for too long and I want to take advantage of what New Zealand has to offer.' "

She has avoided being mobbed by fans in her home town. "My science teacher from my high school recognised me when I was out windsurfing, but I avoid the malls if I'm feeling a bit shy, but getting outdoors is quite nice. When I was out mountainbiking we didn't really come across anyone else. It was just me and my family."

Both Westenra and Dobbyn are bound for Britain after the tour. Westenra has a gig there next Thursday and Dobbyn is working on his new album in London from March. "I dare say Hayley and I will meet up at some point over there, hopefully in a restaurant with a jolly good heating system."

They say they're learning from each other as performers. "I'm the one that's learning more. I don't think he's learning from me," says Westenra politely.

But Dobbyn has become an ardent admirer. "I've just learnt that you can sing one note and make it sound like five. There's something of purity in Hayley's voice that I think is fantastic.

"She's got such an incredible gift of an instrument. The fact that she's into writing some songs herself as well, it bodes well for the future for Hayley.

"There's always something new to learn when you're performing. I love it when performers know the connection between the performers and the audience is bigger than all of us. If you recognise that, you can come up with things that are quite amazing."

* Hayley Westenra and Dave Dobbyn, In Tune with Nature, Alana Estate Vineyard, Wairarapa, tomorrow. Dave Dobbyn has a sold-out show next Wednesday at the Pacific Blue Festival Club in Wellington and performs as a guest with Lucid 3 at the same venue on Tuesday.

In Tune with Nature: Waipara Photos and Vidoes!

Thanks again to Ross and Belinda, who are on this magnificent tour. They send us more photos and reports from the second concert of the Hayley Westenra and Dave Dobbyn In Tune with Nature tour. Here is Ross's report:

"Dave started again and he mostly did the same songs as last night although he did do some different ones as well. Hayley joined him for the last 2 songs which were the same ones last night. While they were singing a World War 2 Mustang fighter came over the concert and waggled it's wings at us which was cool. The rest of the concert (Fiona and Hayley) was a repeat of last night. I better correct one song I mentioned last night. Hayley sung Mummers Dance and not Lovers Heart (silly me for getting this one wrong). While Hayley was playing Sonny the crowd was so silent you could hear a pin drop. In fact throughout the concert everyone was quiet during the songs. Later when we talked to an English guy he thought us Kiwis were too reserved and we should have been dancing so you cannot please everyone. They got a standing ovation at the end and when they did the Welcome Home encore everyone got on their feet and moved closer to the stage and sang along with them which was great. The concert had sold out on the day so there was a big crowd there (about 3000) and a lot of people stayed for the signings. Well only one more concert to go. I will keep uploading photos as I find time and I also managed to video Hayleys part of the concert so I can always treasure the Let Me Lie and Sonny songs. There were also a lot of cameras at the concert so maybe there could be a DVD of the concert coming ( I hope so)."

Here are the photos:

Hayley and Dave sing together

Hayley sings at the second night of the tour

Hayley and Fiona, the violinist

Here are some videos from this night's performance:

May it be

Welcome Home

Hayley & Dave: Down to the river

Thanks Ross, for letting me using his wonderful photos. We await the third night's concert in Blenheim!

For more information on this concert, visit HWI: http://hwi.proboards20.com/index.cgi?board=Concert&action=display&thread=1193765974

In Tune with Nature: Arrowtown Photos!

Thanks to Ross and Belinda from HWI, they bring us the reports and photos from the first concert of the Dave Dobbyn and Hayley Westenra In Tune with Nature tour. Here is what Ross said:

"Dave did the first set with his well known songs like When I Needed You Most, Otherwise Fine, Loyal, Lay Down. Then Hayley came onto the stage to join Dave and they sung Beside You and Shouldn't You Ought To Be In Love and Welcome Home. Hayley wore a long black dress with floral designs on it. After the interval Fiona Pears and her band did a few songs. She wore a purple knee length dress with black shin length boots. She did Firefly, Martin and Mary which she congratulated those who clapped in the song (including me), Tangoissimo, and Sabre Dance. Then the big moment arrived when Hayley came onto the stage in a purple top over a black top with black leggings.THEN HAYLEY BLEW ME AWAY when she started singing Let Me Lie which I never thought I would hear live and is my favourite song.Then she did Shenandoah, Summerfly. She mentioned that she had been up the gondola and went on the luge. She then sung May It Be, Both Sides Now. Then you know when there is a keyboard around Hayley is bound to sing Sonny which she did and we loved it.Then it was Who Painted The Moon Black, Scarborough Fair which Dave joined in. Then Hayley sang Lovers Heart (Marvin Gaye) and the Hansel and Gretel song Prayer. After that it was Santa Lucia and Intrutina and then Dave joined in with Hine e Hine for the last song.
For the encore they did Down To the River (off the DVD) which everyone clapped to and the last song was Welcome Home with everyone on their feet clapping away. So it was a great concert which you could tell the most people were there to see Hayley and everyone listened to the songs with no one talking during the songs."

Furthermore, Ross and Belinda postes these wonderful photos from the concert:

Hayley and Dave duet

Hayley and Dave (on left guitar)

Fiona Pears on violin

Hayley and Fiona

Hayley performs Sonny on keyboard

For more information, visit HWI: http://hwi.proboards20.com/index.cgi?board=Concert&action=display&thread=1193766051&page=9

Matakana Lakeside Charity Concert: Photos!

Hayley, Elizabeth Marvelly and Shaun Dixon held a charity concert in Matakana's Lakeside theater. This event was an outdoor concert, which held hundreds of eager fans to see New Zealand's greatest talent. Elizabeth Marvelly was kind enough to send in some photos of the event, where Will Martin also appeared to watch this well anticipated show.

Here are the photos! Click to enlarge:

Hayley and Elizabeth Marvelly

Hayley, Will Martin, and Elizabeth Marvelly

Hayley, Shaun Dixon, and Elizabeth Marvelly

Thanks to Elizabeth Marvelly for the photos.

NZ Herald: True Harmony Across the Ages

They are two of our best-known voices but one's been rocking pubs since he was a boy and the other is only just allowed into them. So why are Hayley and Dave touring together? They talk to Rebecca Barry.

Dave Dobbyn pulls up outside the studio in a big black Holden with tinted windows, wanders in with his electric guitar and immediately rolls a ciggy. Hayley Westenra isn't far behind, in sky-high heels, toting a big bag of clothes and with no mum in sight. They walk straight into a room of people - photographer, designer, hair-stylist, makeup artist, managers - and the room erupts with chatter and laughter as the unlikely tour companions do the rounds.

Dave and Hayley's In Tune With Nature national winery tour is the second time the pair will have shared a stage since a show in London last year.

Before they head off though, TimeOut wants to take them out of their comfort zones, give them a taste of life on the other side of the musical spectrum by doing a Freaky Friday number for the cover shoot.

For Hayley, that means rocking it up with her tour-mate's guitar.

For Dave it means channelling his inner opera star. While Hayley discusses hair tongs and eyeshadow and selects the best top (she's brought four, including a tight leopard-print singlet and a T-shirt that reads, "I'm with the band"), Dave mucks around on harmonica and plays a little ragtime on the studio piano, nips out for countless ciggies and chats about his favourite folk musicians. Then he pulls on the tux and turns into quite the so-and-so.

Feeling a little apprehensive about letting her hair down - and whipping it sideways, a la Juliette Lewis - Hayley puts on a CD to get in the mood. Not Led Zep or Gunners but a mellow pop band in the Coldplay vein. Dave doesn't look convinced. But what the soundtrack lacks in bluster, she makes up for with some fierce moves. Even with a hairdryer blowing in her face and a haughty man in a penguin suit looking on, she is quite the trooper.

Whose idea was this tour?

Dave Dobbyn: Hers [pointing]. Hayley did this gig in London called 'Hayley's Kiwi Ceilie', which is an Irish word not unlike 'hootenanny'. I'd never come across it before and I'm Irish. I couldn't resist, it sounded like great fun.

Hayley Westenra: I thought I'd ask you because you're a New Zealand legend. And it's just worked so well musically, which was surprising to a lot of people. They wouldn't usually put us together. We've adjusted it with a few more of my own songs rather than the national anthems.

Dave: Plus that gig was people swanning around the Shepherd's Bush Empire. This lends itself to having wine and picnics and lounging about a bit more and consequently, I think our performances will be more relaxed ... I was really nervous in the rehearsal over there.

Hayley: [Looks surprised.] Were you?

Dave: Yeah, I felt like I was going to an audition.

Hayley: Well when I started singing one of your songs I was like, "I wonder what he thinks of my vocals".

So you didn't boss each other around?

Dave: No, there was no diva behaviour on my part or Hayley's. That was refreshing.

But Hayley's a Christchurch girl and you're from Auckland.

Dave: I've got a great deal of affection for Christchurch. I've played with a lot of people who came out of Christchurch. I've played there 30 years on and off and built up quite a relationship with the people ... I'm really giving Christchurch a great big kiss on the lips.

Hayley: I guess I'd better return the favour. Auckland - love it. Love the Jafas.

Dave: I'm a great believer that the most exciting thing in music tends to happen provincially. People let their hair down a little, there's great local food, great wine, all those things. There's something wonderfully civilised about that these days. We've come a long way from your Velluto Rosso and your Cold Duck. It's almost like a holiday eh?

Hayley: Yeah, I can't wait. I've never done a vineyard tour before.Dave: Oh, you'll enjoy it. Except from 5.30 on, that's when Uncle Joe's had a bit too much wine and he starts to get rude.

Hayley: Okay, I'll get out by then.

Dave: No, I'm kidding.

That's when you'll get away with stealing food from people's hampers.

Dave: Or we could do an Oprah and grab a few punters, bring them up on stage and humiliate them with magic tricks.

How do you plan to travel?

Dave: We'll find the best food we can. The best restaurants and the best cafes, the best places for breakfast, coffee.

Hayley: A bit of sight-seeing as well? I was hoping to go white-water rafting in Queenstown but that might be a bit unprofessional.

Dave: Sky-diving in Christchurch? I'd be up for para-ponting.

Hayley: How do you do that?

Dave: It's just jumping off a mountain with a parachute. I've done it twice in Queenstown.

Hayley: You're full of surprises, Dave.

Dave: Or we could just sample olive oil.

How well do you know each other now?

Dave: Well, I know that Hayley is blessed with a wonderful instrument and she's at the height of her powers. The first time I heard her sing I discovered that purity, I got what everyone gets. She's on a roll and I enjoy that so much. There's something about being middle-aged and appreciating people having that success. It's great fun to mix it up a little. I'm usually on my own or with a rock 'n' roll band. This doesn't have the nervous tension that playing with an orchestra does but there's a middle road to interact with harmonies and stuff.

Hayley: When I first had the opportunity it was such an honour. Then I just started working with you as a fellow musician rather than an admirer of "Dave the big star". I've been singing classical since I was little so it's really nice to have the chance to introduce another element.

Surely you have some dirt on each other.

Dave: Not yet.

Hayley: I'll be out with the camera after a few glasses of wine.

Dave: The old truth serum starts spilling out. I don't think we're in any danger of any of that, there's too much music to be had.

You both seem pretty relaxed about the set list.

Hayley: We're trying to keep it under wraps because we haven't done any rehearsals yet. We don't know if the songs are going to work out.

Dave: We will be singing a really old song, Oughta Be in Love from the Footrot Flats soundtrack. It was the song we first rehearsed in London. Hayley hit this note and then started surfing on it and I thought, this is great, it's like bluegrass. She knows exactly what to sing.

Hayley, were you even alive when Dave wrote that song?

Hayley: Well, I was born in 1987 ...

Dave: I think I wrote it in '85, 86.

When did you first hear it?

Dave: In the womb, darling!

Hayley: Yeah, some of your music I'm still kind of digging up if you know what I mean.

Dave: I am too!

Hayley: I grabbed some of your albums when I went to the UK for the first time. I wanted to stock up on New Zealand music. When I'm in London I'm such a Kiwi girl.

Dave: Yeah, you carry that homesickness around with you in a sack, it's always on your back.

Where were you career-wise when you were Hayley's age?

Dave: Are you 20?

[Seems shocked]Hayley: My 21st is in April but unfortunately I'll be in London so I won't have my family with me.

Dave: Will they send you the key to the door?

Hayley: Sorry?

Dave: Do they do that anymore? You get the key to the door when you're 21.

Hayley: I never understood what the key meant. My dad doesn't trust me with keys. He's like, you keep losing the house-keys every time you go out. What do you do with them? I'm like, I don't know.

Dave: I got a banana cake with one candle on it for my 21st. That was a very long time ago, of course. Anyway, when I was 20 I was in Th'Dudes and we were touring relentlessly around New Zealand. Back then it was hard to get a song on the radio.

Hayley: It's the same for me. My songs are not particularly radio-friendly.

Dave: I know what we could do. I could write a song for you and you could have a huge hit and attach it to a movie like Titanic and we'll both retire. Three minutes, no problem. I'll have it by this afternoon.

Hayley: Sweet, okay, sorted.

LOWDOWN

What: In Tune With Nature national winery tour
Who: Dave Dobbyn and Hayley Westenra

Tour dates:

Millbrook Resort, Queenstown, February 16
Mudhouse Winery and Cafe, Waipara, February 17
Montana Brancott Estate, Blenheim, February 19
Black Barn Vineyards, Havelock North, February 21
Alana Estate, Martinborough, February 23
Villa Maria Estate, Auckland, February 24

Also: Hayley Westenra sings at the Lakeside Charity Concert at the National Saddle Centre, Matakana on Saturday February 9 with tenor Shaun Dixon and Elizabeth Marvelly accompanied by the Manukau City Symphony Orchestra. Tickets and info: http://www.matakanacoast.com/

Source: New Zealand Herald

First NZ Inspired: Hayley Named Young Achiever Winner!

Hayley Westenra, 20, has been named the winner of the Global Kiwis Young Achiever Award.
The award was established to recognise a young Kiwi under the age of 35, at the start of their career, who has made remarkable achievements in their field of endeavour in the UK achieving recognition on at least a national scale if not on a European or global scale.
NZ Society incoming president Helen Campbell said Westenra's name was synonymous with New Zealand and she is recognised as one of the most exciting young voices globally.
"Hayley has participated in significant New Zealand sporting and cultural events here in the UK and on the international stage and we are delighted to have such a worthy young achiever of this new award."
Both awards will be presented at the annual New Zealand Society's Waitangi Day Dinner at the Drapers' Hall in London on February 8.

!!!CONGRATULATIONS HAYLEY!!!

From hayleywestenra.com