Jazz and blues fill the streets during festival

Merc 6 performs at the Grainstore during Harbour Street Jazz and Blues Festivals in Oamaru. PHOTO...
Merc 6 performs at the Grainstore during Harbour Street Jazz and Blues Festivals in Oamaru. PHOTO: SUPPLIED
Funk was in the air in Oamaru over the weekend.

The Harbour Street Jazz and Blues Festival was held over the last three days.

The annual event saw more than 30 acts perform at various venues.

There was also a selection of workshops for people looking to improve their jazz knowledge or their playing ability for instruments.

Harbour Street Jazz and Blues Festival chairperson Jane Campbell loved hearing the music being played "all through the streets".

"Wandering around, just hearing music come out of the different doorways is just lovely.

"We’ve had a lovely, lovely weekend."

While she did not have exact figures on attendance, Mrs Campbell was really happy with how busy the festival was.

All the venues have ben packed out with Craftworks Brewery even having people lined up outside the door at one point.

"The venues have been full to capacity. The Grainstore has been full, the stage has had good audiences in front of it. The likes of craftworks and the Criterion have been bulging at the seams, basically."

"For a lot the venues, it’s often the biggest weekend of the year."

She was really happy to see plenty of people from out of town attending.

Having a vast range of musical styles playing throughout the weekend was a big drawcard, Mrs Campbell said.

"It’s jazz and blues, but there’s a variety of music for everybody.

"You’ve got the people who love to dance, you’ve got the musos, it’s such a huge selection of musicians."

Harbour St in the Victorian precinct was "such a beautiful backdrop"as well, she said.

The festival concluded with the grand finale when Stevie Rice and Otepoti All Stars performed at Loan & Merc last night.

nic.duff@odt.co.nz