Dirt Floor Alliance | Music and poems wrapped in a generous humanity

Knocking on the door of summer

The Dirt Floor Alliance follow the sun on southern highways

The door of summer will open wide when the bluegrass & blues-based Dirt Floor Alliance embark ontheir third South Island tour on 23 November 2011. Across the top of the South, down the West Coast, through Central and back up the East Coast toChristchurch, the tour will cover a few kilometers of highway and turn out a pile of songs and poems along the way. Knocking on the door of summer tour will introduce vocalist and whistle player Anisley Apirana for the first time to the South Island. She joined the line up on last year’s North Island jaunt and adds a new dimension to the Dirt Floor sound with a distinctive lilt and a tipping of the hat to the vocal harmonies of the Carter Family and music of the dirt-floor era. “It’s an even more honest and authentic roots experience now with Ainsley on board,” says flat pickin’ guitarist Jim Doak. “Ainsley has done plenty of vocal work on husband Steve’s recordings and solo gigs and has recorded her own CD. She is contributing harmony and lead vocals as the songs demand and compliments the singing of Steve and myself with a little bit of magic; just a touch of angel!” Dirt floor music and poems ambles intimately across the roots landscape, from folk to blues to bluegrass, in a rare and captivating treat from four seasoned performers. Steve Apirana (gospel blues/vocals), Jim Doak (bluegrass/vocals), Ainsley Apirana (vocals) and Mark Raffills (poems and fresh from his appearance in the finals of the inaugural NZ Slam Poetry Championship) come together to present an easy-flowing, uncluttered and unpretentious evening of vocal harmonies, finger-dancing guitars and a few good words. August this year saw the group complete a jaunt around Brisbane and its northern and southern coasts, playing eight gigs from halls, to folk clubs to malls. Knocking on the Door of Summer tour opens at The Mussel Inn in Golden Bay and moves to Nelson, Picton, Greymouth, Wanaka, Te Anau, Dunedin and Christchurch. Get some summer if you can!

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Knocking on the Door of Summer Tour

Here's the itinerary for the Dirt Floor Alliance latest tour kicking off on 23 November 2011. All gigs except Wanaka and Te Anau (free) and Mussel Inn and Christchurch Folk Club ($5) are $10 at the door.