Davey's Backyard Skiffle Band and instrument making workshop
Join us for a fun-filled day of learning how to make and play instruments using everyday household items.
Fri 3 Oct 2025, 10.00am to 2.00pm
TBC
Free, with museum entry
Children under 14 must be accompanied by an adult
Te Papa is proud to welcome Davey on his North Island debut!
It's time to take a nostalgic journey back to the 1950s ‘Skiffle boom’ in England, when the kids turned everyday household items into great music and went on to make rock history.
Without Skiffle, John Lennon wouldn’t have met Paul McCartney – imagine a world without The Beatles!
This interactive show features lots of quirky old-time instruments and a hideous amount of crashing, banging, and chaos. Let’s call it a music and history lesson rolled into one… with a touch of mayhem and a big dollop of good humour. The show teaches kids the history of Skiffle music in 1950s England and the impact it had on modern rock music.
Davey’s Skiffle Band. Photo courtesy of Little Yellow Ltd