This week was for October gigs – there are a lot.

But Kris Kristofferson died, so let’s take a minute. I’ve been listening to Kris since I was a teenager, since before punk, before Bob Dylan, before Freddie King and Lightnin’ Hopkins. As well as revering him as a songwriter, I hugely admired him as a human being, which is something rarer.

There are many reasons, but one I’d like to mention was his sheer determination.

Kris was extraordinary: a college football player, a Rhodes scholar to Oxford where he studied William Blake and got a blue for boxing, an army ranger and helicopter pilot who was assigned to teach literature at West Point.

Then he threw it in to move to Nashville and write songs. He was a studio janitor, flying choppers to oil rigs in the Gulf Of Mexico for extra money. A breakthrough didn’t come overnight. It came when he landed a National Guard helicopter at Johnny Cash’s home and handed him a tape of demos, later describing the incident as “kind of an invasion of privacy that I wouldn’t recommend”.

But that self-belief, it still impresses me. When he moved to Nashville his parents sent a letter disowning him. That’s pretty tough stuff. But it’s the words of his college football coach that stick with me. “Well, Kris really isn’t very tall,” he said. “And he isn’t really very strong. And really, he’s not very fast.” Then he added, “Kris is a football player by the will of Kris Kristofferson, not by the will of God.”

R.I.P.

Now, good grief, there’s a lot to get through, with so much heading to Tauranga: The Nairobi Trio are coming to The Holy Trinity, Richard O’Brien’s Kingdom Of Bling is hitting Baycourt, Jan Hellriegel and Jan Preston are playing different venues on the same night; so much music so little time...

Let’s look at just next weekend.

Starting at Totara Street on Friday October 11, you’ll find Christchurch indie rockers The Butlers, currently on a nationwide tour with recent single Painting My Roof Again. The band pride themselves in making gigs affordable again and with the help of sponsors are offering tickets at one flat rate: $25. Damn fine.

The same night, Millie Moon is at The Jam Factory with a show that earned Melbourne Fringe Festival’s Best Music Award 2023. It’s a mixture of story and song, inspired by a solo journey on Te Araroa, five months walking the “world’s toughest through-hike”. Unique.

There next night is alt-rock with Papamoa 5-piece Extreme Ironing, who lean towards the likes of Sonic Youth and Radiohead. Supporting are local metallers Asylum and Auckland shoe-gaze band Sirens.

Turkey The Bird.

Back to October 11 and Katikati Folk Club presents extremely entertaining New Plymouth folk trio Turkey The Bird at The Arts Junction. They comprise Swiss Andre Manella on guitar, bass and percussion, Irish Adrian Whelan on guitar, mandolin, bass and spoons, and token Kiwi Sol Bear Coulton on banjo and slide guitar. Highly recommended.

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