Paisley Stage Celebrates 8 Years with Move to New Hastings St Home

The first eight years are being celebrated with an “unstructured” night on Friday, gathering “all of our locals to reminisce, share stories, and let our incredible musicians breathe life into the room once again”. “If you’ve stood on this stage, sat in the crowd, or simply felt something here, you are welcome to come along and play a song or two, or just be present,” their social media post said. It will open again on Saturday, and a sold-out tour concert featuring American rock band Wheatus will close the door on the Carlyle St chapter on January 29. Rochester, a musician, guitar-maker and repairs specialist, said he’s been looking for a new venue for the past couple of years, and has looked at “dozens” of options and plans. The former BNZ site option came from property owners and developers Wallace Development, and he said: “They’ve found us a place that’s keeping the whole thing alive”. It will provide a further 100sq m or so in floor space, “better facilities” all-round, and work is underway with the renovations. “It’s better space, and much more modern,” he said, highlighting the past two years by saying: “We’ve been just holding on”. They had hoped to have made the move earlier, but arrangements that needed to be completed included “juggling” an opening date with the dates booked for the acts, which he said have, like the patrons, been “pretty diverse”. There had been so many highlights at Carlyle St that Rochester struggles to single out one or two. There’ve been names like NZ icons Jon Toogood and there’ve been regulars like local stayers Jakob, doing a Paisley Stage gig at least once a year. But, pushed on the subject, Rochester said he’s enjoyed working with the popular Bowie tribute gigs. Once Art Deco weekend is out of the way, Paisley Stage will quickly return to the norm, including its popular “muso nights”.