Allow the singer-songwriter to introduce Westport.
She might have grown up on the West Coast, but Mel Parsons and her family know better than to call themselves 'coasters'. Her mum, Janet, has been told they can take the title after they've lived there for 40 years (they've got a couple to go), but her dad Derek says "Your Grandaddy has to be born here" - setting everyone back significantly.
Regardless, Westport is where Mel spent the first 18 years of her life - driving down windy coastal roads, making friends, setting underwater swimming records at Buller High School and, of course, setting the foundations for a music career that would see her travel far beyond that first, wild backyard.
For episode one of Stomping Grounds, Mel Parsons takes Melody Thomas and Hannah Herchenbach back to Westport for a closer look at the people and places that inform her life and music.
This is an abridged version. To hear the full audio, click here.
Music details:
Artist: Mel Parsons
Song: Non Communicado, First Sign of Trouble, Don't Wait, Another City, Friend, Driving Man, Far North Coast
Composer:
Album: Drylands
Label: Cape Road
