What a night! Whirlwind celebrated its one year anniversary recently with a sell out concert at Southwards Theatre in Kāpiti.
Ryan Edwards and his band produced a sublime performance which underlined his growing status as one of New Zealand’s top performers. The story of Whirlwind and its role in supporting men’s mental health was epitomised by some powerful multimedia presentations and speeches from Mike Chunn (formerly of Split Enz) and Whirlwind’s co-founder and local counsellor Martin Sloman.
The story of Whirlwind, and it’s role in helping men feel it’s OK not to be OK was given an emotional start by local dancer Tamihana Paurini, a man who’s life had been savaged by deep depression and who’s interaction with Whirlwind had led him to this moment of taking to the stage for the first time in over three years. Tamihana choreographed and performed live to Ryan Edward’s live rendition of the track “Mother’s Arms” – the song that touched Tamihana so deeply in his journey from depression to recovery.
The evening turned from sombre to celebratory as Ryan and his band churned out the tracks from his two albums “Whirlwind” and “Toasted”. Overall, the evening was a stunning success and a fitting climax to a incredible year in the Whirlwind.
Whirlwind’s web site is www.whirlwindstories.com
