Having once played a gig somewhere between Fertility, Pennsylvania and Bird in the Hand, Pennsylvania, The Eastern recognize that a sign a concert is gonna be a humdinger is how good the names of the places are on either side of the Town, so with Knobby Range to the southwest and Rock & Pillar to the Southeast it bodes well for a Hooley and a Half in Ophir at the Peace Memorial Hall come August 19th In their 15 year quest to play every place on the damn map one of NZ’s most well regarded and mythic roots bands are pretty damn excited to make another deep notch in the touring belt! Described as a “National Treasure” by both RNZ and the NZ Herald and well known and loved for their spirit raising and barn burning live shows, The Eastern are thrilled to be rousing a (almost, hopefully, fingers crossed, thanks medical workers!) post covid touring circuit and guaranteed to play like they always do like it matters and like it counts. Joy, connection, community are all words to reach for in describing the environment they create for the duration of their floor cracking live sets. It’s been a minute since they were south of home town chch but their shows in Alex, Cromwell, Kurow, and even Ettrick over their years make their landing one to mark in the calender! Joined by Arrowtown locals Tom Maxwell and Killergrams this should be a night of raised spirts and grand sing-alongs and dance-alongs true to the spirit of all that can move you when a live band devoid of airs and graces, simply here for the craic puts it down with great heart, soul and excitement.