Eddie Low and Kevin Greaves at Kaikohe Memorial Hall
‘The Voice in a Million’, Eddie Low (Te Arawa waka, Ngāti Whakaue) and his great mate Kevin Greaves, son of the late Rusty Greaves, gave a private performance to the Kaumātua Kuia rōpū of Ngāpuhi and some of the staff from Te Rūnanga-Ā-Iwi-O-Ngāpuhi at the start of May.
Eddie and Kevin were in the Bay of Islands for the annual country music festival, but gladly made time in their schedule for the one-off performance at the Kaikohe Memorial Hall.
Organised by Lee Mason, coordinator for Te Rōpū Kaumātua Kuia o Te Whare Tapu Ō Ngāpuhi with support from some of the TRAION team, the performance brought back memories for many.
“One of my aunties had some tears as she wished her brother was still alive to see Eddie Low in the flesh, and especially in our town of Kaikohe,” said Lee.
Eddie’s daughter Maria contracts to TRAION and helped Lee with the planning. Maria said her highlight was seeing her dad perform with an all-Ngāpuhi lineup of impromptu line dancers during the 90 minute set.
Eddie passed on his thanks to Lee, CEO Sam Napia, GM Babe Kapa and the team for making him and Kevin feel so welcome. Gifted with some Ngāpuhi kākahu including t-shirts, which he wears proudly in Christchurch wear he lives, Eddie described it as a privilege to perform for kaumātua kuia o Ngāpuhi, many of whom had been listening to his music for years.
“They’re all such beautiful people. And the sausage rolls afterwards were awesome,” he said.
Eddie turned 78 years old the week after visiting Kaikohe, and also celebrated almost 60 years in New Zealand’s music industry.
From left, Kevin Greaves, Sam Napia, Eddie Low, Babe Kapa, Lee Mason, Harmony Johnson, Maraea Tahere, Medina Davis and Taryn Taurima.
Facts you may not know about Eddie Low:
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