Rosie "the Rockabilly Filly" Flores likes to do things on the fly.
The Texan troubadour says Thursday's hastily arranged Dunedin gig will be just another opportunity to make new friends and spread a little joy.
Flores joins Dunedin Tui-winning acoustic roots trio Delgirl at St Martin's Hall in Northumberland St, Northeast Valley for a show that was added to the calendar only a few days ago.
The short-notice gig is one of two the guitar-slinging singer/songwriter has squeezed into her schedule since landing in New Zealand for a month-long writing sabbatical and a New Year's Day appearance at the Honky Tonk Rendezvous festival in Fairlie.
She performed in Lyttelton on January 14.
Speaking from the Gladstone Grand Hotel in Fairlie, where she has been based while penning a forthcoming book of "real-life road stories", Flores is upbeat about the opportunity to promote recently released album Girl Of The Century.
"I think we're going to put some joy in people's lives," she says of Thursday's gig.
"That's what sharing your stories and lyrics is all about - you want to give your side of the story and hopefully it helps people live their life too, through music."
And Flores has plenty of stories to tell.
She has paid her dues on the road, starting out in the late '70s with rockabilly punk band the Screamin' Sirens and going on to establish a solo career that has included 20-plus European tours and seen her mix with rockabilly pioneers Janis Martin and Wanda Jackson.
The book is intended to straighten out some misconceptions about the industry, "without naming names".
"Sometimes I get the feeling that people, fans and family, think my life is glamorous," Flores says.
"It's like, `Wow, she's a rock star. She gets to travel the world and has a million friends. She can go shopping here and there'. It's not like that.
"A lot of good things have happened in my life. Funny things. But there have been some tragic things happen too, so I'm really trying to tell the story about some of the things I've had to go through."
While the "Rockabilly Filly" moniker has stuck since the 1995 release of an album of the same name, Flores says she likes to touch on other musical styles in her live set.
"I grew into rockabilly through listening to country and the blues. It's where I came from - the young guys from Memphis like Elvis, the Burnette Brothers Trio and Jerry Lee [Lewis] and all those white kids that were influenced by black music coming through on the radio. It was really that mixture of hillbillies falling into rhythm and blues.
"So you're mixing someone like Jimmie Rodgers with Willie Dixon, that's how I look at it. It's a way to really dig down and get into the soul of things.
"It's [rockabilly] very infectious. It makes kids jump up and down like pogo sticks and it makes young adults swing dance. People go crazy.
"So I'll never stop doing that kind of music in my show, but I also really like singing ballads and story songs that are kind of melodic."
Flores will bring a best friend to Thursday's gig, a 1963-issue red sparkle Fender Telecaster that has recently had a Bigsby vibrato tailpiece fitted to "give it a good twang".
The instrument takes pride of place beside a maple-necked James Trussant custom guitar with pick-ups that "kick really hard".
Sadly for Flores, neither guitar bears her favourite colour.
Having established a reputation for playing Epiphone instruments of a certain shade, she'd be happier if her other guitars matched.
"If I could have my way, I'd have every single one of my guitars painted turquoise."
• Jeff Harford is a freelance writer and music critic.
Catch her
Rosie Flores and Delgirl play St Martin's Hall, Northumberland St, Northeast Valley, Dunedin on Thursday. Doors open 7.30pm. Show starts at 8pm sharp. $15 or $10 with Delgirl email newsletter.
