Music Community Rallies Behind Earthquake Victims

Chicago band Damaged, which was touring at the time, donated proceeds from its Nov. 18 show at Auckland’s Vector Arena to NZ Red Cross, and urged fans to also donate. A NZ tribute concert to Bob Marley, already set to be staged Dec. 9 in Tauranga, will also donate proceeds to the Red Cross.

The concert includes a bill of major acts including Tiki Taane, Boh Runga, Logan Bell, Ria Hall, Laughton Kora, Jason Kerrison, Anna Coddington, Fran Kora and P Digsss.

Those who’ve bought tickets can get another ticket for a donation of either NZ$10 ($7.09) or NZ$25 ($17.72). Most venues withstood the blast, aside from broken windows, and reopened the next day after checks. But the closure of roads briefly affected some music and theatre productions.

Pro-audio website CX Media reported, “Norwest Group crew Paul Obrien and Matt Coplon were inspecting the TSB Arena with building inspectors when a magnitude 6 aftershock struck. Matt and Paul were in the catwalk at the time some 40 m above the ground and both report catwalk-to- exit in world record time.” The New Zealand government announced Nov. 28 that Wellington businesses will get earthquake relief to cover staff wages.

However it is doubtful if many music venues will be affected, as those eligible are those forced to close for an extended period or unable to shift to other sites. Greig Wilson, owner of The Vinyl Bar, was able to deploy some staff to other establishments. But hired contractors are not covered. He told the Stuff site he hoped tax relief would be to offset profit loss.