Proudly presenting another great Entertainment line up! |
|
Nathan KingEver since picking up a guitar at the age of 15 in his home town of Christchurch, New Zealand, Nathan King has had a passion and a gift for writing great songs. Not just any old 'get-your-name-on-the-radio one-hit-wonder' kind of songs, but we're talking about crafted anthems, feel good summer soundtracks, down to earth melodies that just ooze a certain something that makes one want to fall in love - or maybe even break up. Quite simply, these are tunes to make rock-n-roll memories to... Only five years after strumming that first chord, Nathan found his songs and exceptional voice at the heart of multi-platinum, award-winning success as his band Zed saw their debut album shoot to number one. Mr King found himself honing his stagecraft in front of thousands of fans in Australasia touring with Robbie Williams and Coldplay and in the US and Europe with the likes of The Calling, Ash and Seal - all thanks to those great songs and teenage years spent devoted to the remarkable music of bands like U2, Simon & Garfunkel and The Beach Boys. Drawing on this wide array of influences and experience, and having recently returned from a two-year stint based in London honing his skills, performing and traveling, Nathan finds himself ready with a brand new album… |
|
Dave McArtney & the Pink FlamingosIn 1980 the band Dave McArtney and the Pink Flamingos formed out of the ashes of two hugely successful Kiwi Bands Dragon and Hello Sailor. The bands debut Album in 1981 took out every major award at the NZ music awards and became a big summer hit later that year. After 2 more albums, an EP and a switch from Polygram to CBS with ‘The Catch’ album in 1984 the band went their separate ways, when Dave decided to pursue a solo career in the UK and Europe. Dave is probably best known for his solo career as one of the country’s most prominent singer-songwriters throughout the eighties with the Pink Flamingos, formed with the late Paul Hewson of Dragon fame – and as guitarist and co-songwriter with Graham Brazier in the legendary Ponsonby band Hello Sailor. Dave has been twice nominated for the APRA Silver Scroll (1981 & 1995) and 5 awards at the 1981 Recording Industry Awards, for the album Dave McArtney and the Pink Flamingos, including Group of the Year, Album of the Year and Best Male vocalist. |
|
Gareth Thomas & BandGareth Thomas penned the the “sure-fire” pop hits of new Zealand Band Goodshirt. The single “Sophie” reached number one on the national singles charts in 2003 while songs “Buck it up” and “Cement” topped the Rock radio network in 2004. Glowing reviews and awards from both mainstream and indie institutions followed, album sales reached gold and platinum and the album was released internationally. “a heady mix of highly listenable pop-rock.” Mel Myres Rolling Stone Australia “a love for a well-turned hook of lateral minded lyric” Russel Baillie New Zealand herald Since Goodshirt Gareth Thomas has worked with a range of artists including Bic Runga, Goldenhorse, Sarah Brown, Steve Abel, Dave Yetton and Annabel Fay. He is currently completing a solo album due for release at the end of this year |
|
Abbey RoadThis is a show that rekindles the memories of the most influential force in modern popular music. Named after the final album the FAB FOUR recorded together, Abbey Road perform for you a fantastic live show, with costume changes, that is nothing but Beatles! Singing classic songs from the first 3 albums including; 'Please Please me', 'With the Beatles', and 'A Hard Days Night'as well as music taken from the next four albums; 'Beatles for Sale', 'Help', 'Rubber Soul' and 'Revolver'. Abbey Road will get you dancing and singing along to the songs we all know and love. www.bandsforhire.co.nz/abbey_road |
|
Sam HuntNew Zealand's best-known poet Sam Hunt was born in 1946 at Castor Bay, Auckland. As a child, he was surrounded by poetry and performance: his mother, father and grandfather regularly read out poems or recited from memory; and his father was a somewhat eccentric barrister who came from a family of actors, troupers and musicians. During part of 1975 he was the Robert Burns Fellow at Otago University. In 1983, after receiving a Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council/Air New Zealand travel award, he visited the United States to perform in New York and Washington DC. In 1985 he was awarded a QSM for his contribution to New Zealand literature and he has been a New Zealand Cultural Ambassador. Sam Hunt has done more than anyone else to popularise poetry in New Zealand. For all his adult life, Sam Hunt has followed a commitment to writing and performing his poems. He has worked extensively throughout New Zealand and Australia, in hotels, rock festivals, theatres, prisons, schools - you name it! - and every few years in London, (Ronnie Scotts), New York and Washington DC. One thing is for certain: Hunt continues to do that he’s always done - bring poetry to the people. What is constant is Hunt living by his own maxim: Tell the story, tell it true, charm it crazy. www.blackoutmusic.co.nz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=39&Itemid=64 |
|
Ewen GilmoreSince hitting the comedy circuit in 1995, Ewen quickly became one of New Zealand’s best stand-up comedy performers with a string of credits in television and the live comedy circuit, both nationally and internationally. 1997 saw Ewen being presented with the inaugural Billy T Award for comedy, the same year Waitakere City titled Ewen as ‘Cultural Ambassador’, an honour presented by the city’s Mayor Bob Harvey, in a special ceremony at a car wreaker’s yard where Ewen was once employed. As well as touring all over New Zealand, Ewen has performed internationally on a regular basis for the last eight years, from the prestigious Montreal Just For Laughs, to Sydney, Ireland, Paris, Holland, Melbourne, Brussels and Entertaining the New Zealand troops in East Timor. More recently Ewen fronted the German episode of TVNZ's Here To Stay. This show traces various groups of immigrants to New Zealand. Ewen also had a small part in Underworld 3 on the council of Vampires. Which wasn't such a big step after having been on Waitakere City Council. As New Zealanders we love to laugh at ourselves, and one New Zealander we love to laugh at is EWEN. The V8 of New Zealand comedy, he is quick off the mark and his performances race from laugh to laugh.
www.blackoutmusic.co.nz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=38&Itemid=63 |
|
The Blues Brothers BandNZ Blues Brothers Tribute show, performed by Top NZ Band The Lazyboyz, along with accomplished backing musicians, this is a full show with all the moves, songs, lines and gimmicks from the movie, you will not be disappointed |
|
Corporate Voice Experience (CVE)“The Corporate Voice Experience” or “CVE” has become an institution on the corporate entertainment circuit in New Zealand over the past 4 years. Formed by 4 friends from various parts of the NZ music industry for a good time on a Thursday night at Music Industry Night-spot “Match” the spirit of good times with good people has been this bands mantra for getting many parties started since. From small bars to large outdoor festival shows - the band’s repertoire features artists as diverse as Jonny Cash, Neil Diamond, The Rolling Stones, Talking Heads to The Killers, Snow Patrol, Muse and Kings of Leon. “We are also unique in the sense that we have a very simple set up… 2 acoustic guitars, bass, drums and 3 vocalists. This means we put our own spin on the material.” Say Dino Lawton drummer and former member of one NZs biggest Rock acts of the early 2000’s Tadpole. Açaí is the fruit of a palm tree that occurs naturally along the lower reaches of the Amazon basin. It is a very perishable purple-black berry about the size of a cherry at maturity. However, as about 90% of the berry is a very hard pit or seed, the fruit is usually only available outside of the Amazon as a frozen fruit puree. |
|
An Emerald CitySince their inception in late 2005, Auckland band An Emerald City have strived for musical experimentation and liberation. Organic instrumentation and sounds of the east meet psychedelia with guitars and violin are at the centre of this original and unique 6 piece. Fresh from recording in the isolated and windswept west coast cave of Whatipu, An Emerald City have emerged with an adventurous and sonically eclectic debut album entitled Circa Scaria. "New Zealand has never produced anything that sounds like this....an exotic Eastern-influenced take on psychedelic and experimental rock. World music doesn't get more rock'n'roll than Circa Scaria." NZ HERALD **** |
|
Chris CopeChris Cope hasn’t been waiting around to start succeeding – he got in early. Outside of musicians’ circles, it’s unlikely you’ve heard of multi- instrumental wunderkind Chris Cope. His most notable connection to the New Zealand Music scene was as guitarist in the much-missed band Eight. However, Chris Copes prodigious musical education started much earlier than that. After picking up the clarinet at age nine, the drums at twelve, and the guitar at fourteen, he took away Best Jazz Drummer at the National Jazz Awards at the imposingly young age of sixteen. Since the demise of Eight and after two years playing around the English music scene Chris Cope has returned home to release his debut EP, The Way it Looks. He’s a one man band with a mature pop sensibility, being described as John Mayer meets John Legend with a little Jeff Buckley for good measure. |
|
The SwingcatsThis twelve piece show band plays everything from the Blues Brothers to the Pointer Sisters, Aretha Franklin to Frank Sinatra, Nora Jones to Tom Jones. It’s Las Vegas meets Motown, where swing meets the blues and everything in between. They’re sharp dressed, with the tightest tunes in town. The SwingCats don’t just play, they entertain! |
|
The DeSotosFollowing the success of their critically-acclaimed debut release Cross Your Heart, Auckland band The DeSotos are hitting the road south in September to celebrate the album’s use in the spectacular Marcus Lush TV series “South”. The DeSotos have built a strong reputation as a tight and dynamic live unit that faithfully interprets their recorded sound, described by one reviewer as “a powerful blend of rock-infused country blues”. Big vocals, the “real deal” Hammond organ & Leslie, and a rock solid rhythm section makes them one of New Zealand’s must-see acts. As well as playing tracks from the album, the band will be presenting a couple of new songs live for the first time, and playing some old favourites from the likes of Petty, the Doors & Neil Young www.thedesotos.com |
|
Tami NeilsonRaised in Canada, by parents with a closet full of sequined stage costumes and platform shoes. Tami grew up in a house where amplifiers and guitar cases were just as much a part of the furniture as chairs and tables, and when most kids are still singing nursery rhymes in the bathtub, she was travelling across North America in a 34 foot motor home, performing professionally in their family band The Neilsons. Sharing the stage with the likes of Johnny Cash, Tami has appeared regularly on television and radio, and at fairs and festivals, promoting The Neilsons independent CD, releasing 2 top 40 singles on the Canadian music charts. Since arriving in New Zealand, Tami has performed at the Parachute Music Festival, showcasing as the support act on numerous NZ and Australian tours, making television appearances on the “Good Morning Show” and as Amy Winehouse on TVNZ “Stars in Their Eyes” and in June she walked away with the 2009 Recording Industry Association of New Zealand Best Country Music Album award. |
|
Carolina MoonUK-born vocalist Carolina Moon / Caroline Lynn began her career on the London jazz scene of the early 90's where she worked extensively on the UK jazz and festival scene. After spending several productive years in Sydney, she now bases herself in Auckland. Carolina's warm, musical vocal delivery and articulate jazz style is in increasing demand together with her facility in a range of jazz styles and languages which she weaves into a varied, and expansive program. The Carolina Moon Jazz Group is the centrepiece of Carolina's jazz work which features her musical and dynamic partnership with husband, and extraordinary saxophonist, Roger Manins. |
|
EasyAFTER more than five years of life, Auckland-based outfit Easy is on course to make a big noise. With a six track EP recorded in early January 09 under their belts and a unified sense of purpose and energy, this genre-bending band is ready to take their tunes to the masses. While the name suggests otherwise, it has taken a lot of hard work to get to where they are now. The “roots” of Easy date back to 2004 and the “Poetry In Motion” jam nights held at Auckland’s Rising Sun nightclub. At this successful monthly residency - which spanned over 15 months - founding members Maia Rata (vocals), Perry Hooper (guitar), Jared Greenwood (guitar/bass), and Daniel Pilkington (bass/guitar) honed their live skills with a host of drummers, MC’s, DJ’s and guest musicians. New blood has prompted a surge of creativity, with the band choosing to ditch the majority of their previous work in favour of composing an array of new, more energetic material. The band has since successfully tested their new sound live, playing gigs at Auckland University’s End of Daze, as well heading out on the road, performing in Raglan, Coromandel and Mt Maunganui. The group are now readying themselves to release their debut EP, and with a number of gigs all ready lined up, 2009 is set to be a big year for Easy. Time to get onboard! |
|
Riverhead SlideSongwriter/vocalists Steve Wigz and Gael Ludlow front Riverhead Slide with their own brand of sexy originals and blues standards. The band features slide and lead guitars (Wigz and Nigel Major), keys (Mike Jensen) and the tight backline - Murray Finer on bass and Pete Ludlow on drums. Riverhead Slide are possibly New Zealand's most original blues band, favourites at Jazz and Blues festivals around the country |
|
Society JazzmenThe Society Jazzmen were formed in 1969 and have been entertaining people of all ages ever since. They have made many TV appearances, radio broadcasts, and have travelled New Zealand and the Pacific playing their own style of music which can probably best be described as "British American Dixieland". The main attribute of the band is that after 30 years, they are still full of enthusiasm for their music, and it is obvious when watching them that they also thoroughly enjoy themselves. The Society Jazzmen are not just musicians, they are also entertainers, and they guarantee to get any audience tapping their feet and involved in the show. |
|
Mike Nisbet TrioStrolling Dixie bands are always popular with young and old alike. It is fun bubbly music. This band is one of the best around with banjo, double bass and leader Mike Nisbet on Clarinet. Using no power and very little space the original Trio, Mike, Cliff and Dick have been playing together since 1993, and they have played at many venues in the North Island, Jazz Festivals at the Bay of Islands, Whangarei and Tauranga. Their primary objective is to play attractive melodies with a swing and that make people happy and remember the good old times. The line up produces a Dixieland sound and plays many of the old standards producing a feel good factor. |
|
The Depot SessionsThe Depot is a multidisciplinary arts community in Devonport, Depot Sound offers a wide range of accessible services, including
On top of all this, we can also offer support and advice for anyone trying to build a home studio of their own. Because we are part of the Depot Artspace, we can point you in the direction of many other creative people and organisations- so whether you need an opening band to go on tour with you, an artist to design your album cover, or a photographer to get a professional looking cover shot, we can help. |
If you are interested in performing at the 2011 Festival contact B3 Events Limited here
registrations of interest are open from 1 June to 31 July.
