About the Duo
Lynne Wilkins and Michael Mackinnon are based in Raglan, New Zealand, a small west-coast town with a big reputation as a creative community. Inspired by songs that deliver on both melody and lyrics, WilkieMac will take you on a journey around the globe and spanning the centuries. Their repertoire will have you singing along, laughing out loud, tapping your feet; it will tug at the heartstrings, draw you along the path of whimsy, cast light into a corner, reframe a well-loved old favourite.
Wilkins and Mackinnon are seasoned performers who cover a range of musical genres, using a variety of instruments to create the right soundscape for a particular song or event. Their voices blend, whether in harmony or unison, their arrangements are well crafted. Together they are a perfect example of music being another form of conversation.
Lynne Wilkins…
…has been involved with music since she started piano lessons at eight years old. Emigrating from Canada with her parents (they returned to New Zealand, the land of their birth, in the 1970s), Wilkins became an active participant in the acoustic music scene, performing solo shows, doing guest appearances with artists, and touring New Zealand several times, both as a performer, and as a support act for visiting artists. She appeared on various albums from the 1980s and 90s under both her maiden name (Bradstock) and later as Lynne Thompson. Several of these recordings were nominated for awards, including one containing some of her songs (Together). After a contribution to a Spiralyrics compilation Acoustic Magic, releasing a collection of songs on Limited Edition, and working as a guitarist for another songwriter, Wilkins recorded and released Bead of Glass in 2007. Working on this album with Waikato-based musicians, daughter Lora Thompson (guitar), and partner Michael Mackinnon, this folk-rock version of some of Wilkins’ songs was a family affair. As part of the duo WilkieMac, and ceili band West of the Divvy, Wilkins keeps herself busy with other band line-ups, and writing.
Music is a universal language. Each note is a step on a journey that we take together.
Michael Mackinnon…
…was born in Auckland into a family where singing was a big part of the interaction between siblings and parents, and this is one of his earliest and fondest memories. Opportunities to learn an instrument resulted in a short period of studying the violin at school, but the instrument that called to him was the guitar, which he first picked up in his early twenties. This was the beginning of life-long obsession with singing and playing music with others, that eventually brought the WilkieMac duo together in the early 2000s. At that time, Mackinnon had for many years only played in standard tuning, but attending a guitar workshop at Ceol Aneas in Nelson in 2004, started a passion for playing in the tuning of DADGAD. A regular Friday jam session with musical colleague and songwriter, Rene Andre, led to the formation of the band Twisted Timber, with Andre, Wilkins, and Redgie Valente on double bass. The band was a regular in Raglan venues for many years. Mackinnon’s wry sense of humour is reflected in some of the songs that have found their way into WilkieMac’s repertoire, providing the duo with not just a journey through space and time, but also a gamut of emotions. Mackinnon is also part of the Ceili band West of the Divvy, and plays in other line-ups when the opportunity presents itself.
To play well, you have to dance with the music.
Doors open 7.30PM for an 8.00PM start.
Floorsingers First half.
Admission
Members $10.00,
Non-Members $15.00,
Under 18s Free.
