Harbouring both the revered Wunderbar and the Harbour Union, a collective of local musicians who banded together to support their community after the Christchurch earthquake, the small town's output of predominantly grassroots country has been gaining worldwide attention.
This spring sees some of Lyttelton's collective talent swaggering around New Zealand on a 14-date national tour, circumnavigating the coast and playing in big and small towns alike.
The three-hour show will feature full sets from each of the acts plus an extended all-in sing-along.
Led by maverick Adam McGrath, Rough House headliners The Eastern are one of this country's hardest-working bands.
Three albums into their career, they've performed an average of three hundred shows a year, while supporting and touring with the likes of Fleetwood Mac, Steve Earl and Old Crow Medicine Show.
They've also been keeping the anti-authoritarian renegade spirit of country music alive with their protest anthem State Houses by the River making the Apra Silver Scroll New Zealand Song of the Year finals.
The proud Lyttelton residents also performed on American television during Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign and at union rallies in Sydney.
Closing the show each night, their take on punk-inflected folk is music for the heart and soul, which still manages to occupy the feet.
Touring has also come naturally to country crooner Delaney Davidson, who spends most months on the international touring circuit.
Davidson describes himself as "Part-wheel part-man", as he rolls on a seemingly never-ending tour.
Permanently dapper, dressed in a sharp black suit and accompanying tie, Davidson's preacher-like persona as he accompanies himself via loop-pedal has a distinctly forgotten feel.
A relic from a bygone age, there's probably a deal at the crossroads somewhere in his past.
• Eight years after its humble conception, Onslaught 8 will slam into the Dunedin Musicians Club this evening.
Headlined by old school hardcore Melbournites Vicious Circle, with support from Boltcutter, Gripper, Mince on Toast, Cockney Urine and a number of other local acts, Onslaught 8 is this city's biggest and nastiest annual punk festival.
An early show (6pm) is followed by an after party at the Crown Hotel. Expect debauchery, ferocity, and probably leather.
See it, hear it
• Lyttelton Rough House Revival Tour, Dunedin, Plato, August 31; Port Chalmers, Chick's Hotel, September 1; Oamaru, The Grain Store, September 2.
• Onslaught 8, Dunedin's biggest annual punk event featuring Vicious Circle (Melbourne), Gripper (Nelson), Boltcutter (Chch), Mince On Toast (Queenstown), Cockney Urine (Invercargill), Infinite Justice, Conniption, Bazooka, Bolshy McBard, & Scum Hammer, Dunedin Muso's Club (12A Manse St). Doors open 5.30, first band 6pm sharp. Entry: $10.
