INAUGURAL GRASSROOTS FESTIVAL CONFIRMED FOR EASTER 2011
Chugg Entertainment has announced that, in alignment with the wealth of talent visiting Australia for the Easter blues season, New Zealand’s Puhinui Peninsula will also become a melodious playground as the first ever GrassRoots event kicks off for two days on Saturday 23rd & Sunday 24th April, 2011 at the stunning Puhinui Reserve.
This two-day festival will bring together some of the world’s most renowned artists as well as a raft of local acts across a multitude of genres whilst still having its core ethos firmly grounded in blues and roots based music. Thirty artists on two stages over the two days will launch GrassRoots – The New Zealand Blues and Roots All Music Festival 2011.
Chugg Entertainment are thrilled to announce that joining the already incredible line-up are the phenomenal Grace Jones (USA), Tony Joe White (USA), Imogen Heap (UK), Lulo Reinhardt (GER), Felice Brothers (USA), Eugene Hideaway Bridges (USA), Flip Grater (NZ), Hammond Gamble (NZ), Shona Laing (NZ), Doug Jerebine & Billy T.K. SR (NZ), Heart Attack Alley (NZ), Julia Deans (NZ), Darcy Perry (NZ), Caitlin Smith (NZ), Riverhead Slide (NZ), The Warratahs (NZ), The Bads (NZ) and The Thomas Oliver Band (NZ).
Artists announced earlier include the fabulous BB King (USA), Elvis Costello & The Imposters (USA), Ben Harper and Relentless7 (USA), Rodrigo Y Gabriela (Mexico), Eric Bibb (USA), Paul Ubana Jones (NZ), Ruthie Foster (USA), Cairo Knife Fight (NZ), Ticket (NZ), Don McGlashan (NZ) and SolaRosa (NZ).
Not only will festival patrons be afforded the opportunity to experience some of the world’s most dynamic and diverse performers, but there will also be camping and parking available for the full weekend and when respite is required one can enjoy a wide range of culinary delights from the plethora of food and beverage stalls, the NZ food and wines hall as well as a selection of fully licensed bars on site. The festival will also host a wide variety of arts & crafts in the market village.
For those who like the finer things in life there will be VIP ticket packages available for purchase which not only include exclusive parking and camping, but also full access to the VIP facilities which offer a full panoramic view of the main-stage as well as upmarket amenities and a fully licensed bar and dining area.
Set across 200 hectares of lush rural landscape, Puhinui Reserve occupies the southern portion of the Puhinui Peninsula, forming a major component of the
GrassRoots upholds a firm belief in sustainability and commitment to the beautiful environment in which it will take place and therefore will undertake a comprehensive waste management and recycling plan as well as various green initiatives to ensure a long and fruitful tenure in Puhinui Reserve.
GrassRoots is bringing the music to New Zealand for Easter. Do not miss your chance to say that you were there first.
Ticket options include Single day, 2-Day, VIP & camping with limited Early Buy offer.
For more info go to www.grassrootsfestival.co.nz
TICKETS ON SALE TUESDAY 14 DECEMBER, 9AM
GRASSROOTS : PUHINUI RESERVE
Saturday 23rd & Sunday 24th April
Tickets available from:
www.grassrootsfestival.co.nz and www.ticketek.co.nz or phone 09 377 8899
FULL LINE UP
GrassRoots, The New Zealand Blues & Roots All Music Festival proudly announces the full line-up and play days for each artist. Please note that the playing times will be advised closer to the show.
SATURDAY 23rd APRIL
BEN HARPER AND RELENTLESS7 (USA)
Ben Harper is a musician, an artist, and an individualist. Whether it’s through the soul dances of southern Gospel, 70s funk, acoustic, blues, reggae, or straightforward rock and roll, Harper and his trademark Weissenborn guitar have been stunning audiences for over a decade with explosive, energetic live performances. Rolling Stone sums it up well in a recent live review of Ben Harper and Relentless7, saying “the band’s combined force was almost too big for the room.” This sentiment has been the overwhelming consensus for the thousands who witnessed the energy and power of Relentless7 as they dominated the musical landscape over the past year.
ELVIS COSTELLO & THE IMPOSTERS (USA)
When Elvis Costello's first record was released in 1977, his bristling cynicism and anger linked him with the punk and new wave explosion. A cursory listen to My Aim Is True proves that the main connection that Costello had with the punks was his unbridled passion; he tore through rock's back pages taking whatever he wanted, as well as borrowing from country, Tin Pan Alley pop, reggae, and many other musical genres. Over his career, that musical eclecticism distinguished Costello’s records as much as his fiercely literate lyrics. Because he supported his lyrics with his richly diverse music, Costello emerged as one of the most innovative, influential, and best songwriters since Bob Dylan.
TICKET (NZ)
Ticket, the most seminal acid blues rock band from the 70’s, and featuring legendary musicians from that era and of their time Ricky Ball, Paul Woolright, Eddie Hansen and Trevor Tombleson. Sharing a common interest in the styles of music like Crazy Horse, Traffic and Jimi Hendrix, Ticket spawned hits such as ‘Country High’, ‘Mr Music’ and the 1972 NZBC banned ‘Stoned Coundition’. Not to be missed.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoAzyI-Fp8k
SHONA LAING (NZ)
There are a small number of New Zealand singers whose every album is an occasion, in that it promises a fresh collection of songs from someone who is indelibly part of the countrys musical psyche: Dave Dobbyn and Neil Finn; perhaps Don McGlashan and Barry Saunders; and without a doubt, Shona Laing.
Shona's songs through the years, from 1905 to Neutral and Nuclear Free to (Glad Im not a) Kennedy and Soviet Snow and many others, have captured the popular imagination of the times while stubbornly refusing to compromise their intelligence and lyrical integrity. Many of her songs have become part of the fabric of our lives.
SOLA ROSA (NZ)
Since Andrew Spraggon’s first formative releases as Sola Rosa at the turn of the 21st century, he’s steadily built a reputation for his deft synthesis of styles and quiet disregard for the niceties of genre boundaries. With a catch-all sound encompassing the best of hip hop, reggae, jazz, latin, soul and funk, all six of Sola Rosa’s critically acclaimed albums are a potent distillation of the music that’s influenced Spraggon over the course of his decade long career as a musician and producer. From a humble, self-released one man project to a decidedly deadly live collective, Sola Rosa has grown from a national treasure into an act of truly international repute.
JULIA DEANS (NZ)
Known primarily as the front-woman of Fur Patrol, Julia Deans is the possessor of one of modern rock's most interesting voices - able to shift elegantly between soaring falsetto and assured growl. Over the last few years Deans has been branching out from her comfort zone collaborating with different artists, such as Tiki Taane on his multi-award winning album Past, Present, Future, all the while working away quietly at her debut solo album “Modern Fables” which is out now.
PAUL UBANA JONES (NZ)
Born in London to a Yorkshire mother and a Nigerian father, Paul Ubana Jones was playing guitar by the age of 11, beginning a three decade career that would see him crossing continents and recording seven albums of mostly original songs. He has continued to perform internationally, to growing acclaim. Concert performances include opening for the likes of Bob Dylan, Patti Smith, Taj Mahal, Keb Mo’, Tuck and Patti, and Crowded House.
TONY JOE WHITE (USA)
Tony Joe White has accomplished much in the years since he emerged from his home in Louisiana’s swamp country and the hardscrabble circuit of Texas honky-tonks. His music is part of America’s soundtrack – sparse and elegant, filled with shadows, sadness and beauty. Nobody else writes songs like these – songs that evoke both the mysteries of the place were he was raised and the spirits that haunt us all in our most private, lonely moments. Nobody sings them like White either. That dark baritone, scarred and sweet, brings these songs to life like none other. Even so, others have memorably interpreted his songs, from Brook Benton’s unforgettable take on “Rainy Night in Georgia” in 1970 to Tina Turner’s intensely soulful rendition of “Steamy Windows.” Elvis Presley, Ray Charles, Roy Orbison, Dusty Springfield, Etta James – iconic artists in their own right have honoured “the Swamp Fox” by cutting his tunes. His 1969 hit “Polk Salad Annie” is what he’s best known for.
EUGENE HIDEAWAY BRIDGES (USA)
Eugene is a nomadic musician living his life on the road. His home is wherever the next performance takes him, and every year this is from America through Europe, to Australia with many other stops in between such as China and Singapore. Born in 1963, the son of the blues guitarist Hideaway Slim, Eugene is the fourth child of five. His mother was from the Bullock family (the same as Anna Mae Bullock better known as Tina Turner) and Eugene claims he got his guitar skills from the Bridges side and his voice from the Bullocks. Since 1998 Eugene has recorded four studio CDs with a full band. His last release Eugene ‘Hideaway’ Bridges featured solos and duos with friends and fellow musicians met on the road. This CD was nominated for two of the prestigious US Blues Foundation, Blues Music Awards 2008.
THE THOMAS OLIVER BAND (NZ)
Wellington 5-piece The Thomas Oliver Band’s combination of blues/rock/roots and Oliver’s compelling writing style creates a refreshing New Zealand sound. They have spent the past few years touring and playing live throughout New Zealand with the likes of Fat Freddy’s Drop, Gin Wigmore and Britain’s Oli Brown. Within this time the band have also written and recorded their debut full-length album ‘Baby, I’ll Play’ to be released in March 2011 and features singles ‘Goin’ Home’ and ‘Baby I’ll Play’.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ImIXNyNaCw
HAMMOND GAMBLE (NZ)
This charismatic singer and electrifying guitarist came to considerable fame in the late ‘70s fronting one of the biggest bands on the New Zealand rock circuit at the time, Street Talk and later the Hammond Gamble Band. He has recorded two albums with Street Talk and five under his own name adding to the list of local rock classics with songs like Midnight, Leaving the Country and Should I be Good or Should I be Evil.
Through the years Gamble has written and performed in many different guises winning a number of awards including Rock Performer of the Year, Album of the Year, Apra SilverScroll and Film Soundtrack of the Year. In 1993 he had a number one hit with You Make the WholeWorld Smile. Hammond Gamble has been chosen support for almost every major act, from Tina Turner to Talking Heads, Fleetwood Mac to John Fogerty and Bonnie Raitt.
THE BADS (NZ)
Dianne Swann and Brett Adams have worked together since 1992. Swann you will remember from When The Cat’s Away and Adams has recently been playing guitar for Tim Finn and back when he was 19 he played with The Mockers. From The Julie Dolphin, as the pair first called themselves in London, to Boom Boom Mancini and now to The Bads.
The new album ‘Earth from Space’ is filled with gorgeous melodies and pop songs that shimmer with a country vibe, with indie intentions, with straight-ahead rock; clean guitar lines mixing with quirky ideas. Pitch-perfect harmonies sitting inside precise rhythms – each song feels like a mini-masterpiece that has been worked at, honed, cradled, loved, learned and forgotten then learned again.
CAITLIN SMITH (NZ)
"Caitlin Smith has a voice that imagination created". This well respected and loved singer with Jazz Trio The Fondue Set, came out as a songwriter in her own right with the critically acclaimed Caitlin Smith Group CD: Aurere in 2004. Mesmerising live, and well known for her vocal and songwriting coaching with some of NZ's finest performers, she is promoting her brand new revolutionary album You have Reached your Destination.
www.facebook.com/caitlinsmithmusic
RIVERHEAD SLIDE (NZ)
Songwriter/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 Paul Dunningham on drums. Riverhead Slide are one of New Zealand's most original and authentic blues bands, favourites at Jazz and Blues festivals around the country.
SUNDAY 24th APRIL
GRACE JONES (USA)
Need we say more?
BB KING (USA)
His reign as King of the Blues has been as long as that of any monarch on earth. Yet B.B. King continues to wear his crown well. At age 76, he is still light on his feet, singing and playing the blues with relentless passion. Time has no apparent effect on B.B., other than to make him more popular, more cherished, more relevant than ever. Don't look for him in some kind of semi-retirement; look for him out on the road, playing for people, popping up in a myriad of T.V. commercials, or laying down tracks for his next album. B.B. King is as alive as the music he plays, and a grateful world can't get enough of him.
ERIC BIBB (USA)
This leading acoustic bluesman is about to thrill audiences with his performances where blues meets gospel and soul. A performance by Eric Bibb is an enriching experience – both musically and spiritually. Purveying a beautifully realised and deftly accomplished, soulful and gospel infused, folk- blues, Eric has no problem melding a traditional rootsy American style with a subtle contemporary sensibility. As one critic wrote “Eric’s singing and versatile guitar playing fuses a variety of genres to become a New World Blues”.
FELICE BROTHERS (USA)
The Felice Brothers and their long time friends and band mates Greg Farley and Christmas Clapton, come to us from the Catskill Mountains, where a home-grown sound has been working its way through the bloodlines for generations. Their rambling journey so far has brought them from busking in New York City subway stations, to tours across the world that have included enthusiastically received performances at major music festivals including Bonnaroo, All Points West, Outside Lands, and Langerado. This is music that hasn’t lost sight of the history of the land from which it came, and that quality alone makes The Felice Brothers the next great American band.
DOUG JEREBINE & BILLY T.K. SR (NZ)
Billy T.K. Sr. rose to fame in the late 60s as guitarist with local rock pioneers the Human Instinct, where his fretboard feats earned him the epithet ‘the Maori Hendrix’. In the 70s he formed Billy T.K. and the Powerhouse, a sprawling fusion outfit in which his playing took on an even more jazzy and experimental edge.
If any local musician deserves the word ‘legend’ it is Doug Jerebine. Acknowledged in the 60s as the country’s most versatile and adventurous guitarist, he played in leading Auckland club band The Embers and seminal psychedelic group The Brew, and as a session musician on countless recordings, before leaving for England in 1968. There he worked with the likes of Jeff Beck and Jr. Walker, and recorded a groundbreaking album of his own songs. Currently based in Britain, Jerebine has paid several recent visits to New Zealand, during which he and Billy T.K. have rekindled their musical camaraderie.
Two local guitar legends will combine forces in a rare double-header for the Grassroots Festival. Doug Jerebine and Billy T.K. Sr. are known as two of the finest and fieriest guitar players New Zealand has ever produced. Their Grassroots appearance will be a chance to see and hear these two skilled veterans as they inspire each other in fresh musical and sonic adventures.
DON MCGLASHAN (NZ)
Don McGlashan is recognised as one of New Zealand’s foremost songwriters, artists and performers with five entries in APRA New Zealand’s Top 100 Songs Of All Time. His career spans from the seminal post-pop-punk band Blam Blam Blam, to art experimentalists The Front Lawn, to platinum selling and internationally recognised popular band The Mutton Birds and now his band The Seven Sisters.
Ultimately the best thing about Don McGlashan is that his music is always so timeless no matter what new form he may take, and most importantly throughout he stays relevant. A true Living Legend in NZ.
HEART ATTACK ALLEY (NZ)
Heart Attack Alley are a blues trio comprised of Caoimhe Macfehin (The Drab Doo-Riffs) on vocals , Kristal G on guitar, and Karl Steven (Supergroove, The Drab Doo-Riffs) on blues harp. The three have already supported Wanda Jackson, played everywhere from Grey Lynn porch-fronts to Mexican wrestling themed bars, and ruined hearts with rusty knives all over town.
www.myspace.com/heartattackalley
THE WARRATAHS (NZ)
The Warratahs are a New Zealand music institution. The distinctive vocals of Barry Saunders and individual violin style of Nik Brown reach all the way back to the band's beginning in 1985 and, along with Saunders' elemental songs, form the core of 'The Warratahs Sound'. Still touring and playing shows and festivals, they continue to pull the crowds and deliver strong and exciting performances.
RODRIGO Y GABRIELA (MEXICO)
The duo has already won the hearts of many music fans in Australasia and are back and ready to impress us all again. To be hailed as “the most exciting and intoxicating live acoustic performers on the planet” might cramp the style of many artists. But since winning that praise in the UK, Rodrigo y Gabriela have swept all before them. That includes wowing the President of the United States, Barack Obama and his wife Michelle in autumn 2010 when they played at the Whitehouse! At the heart of the sound is still the stunning interplay between Rodrigo’s dazzling lead work and Gabriela’s unique rhythm play. Come hear their musical ‘gracias’ to a diverse assortment of talent delivered in the unique, the delicious and the diverse style of Rodrigo and Gabriela.
RUTHIE FOSTER (USA)
With a naturally expressive voice that has drawn comparisons to greats like Aretha Franklin and Ella Fitzgerald, Texas-based singer and songwriter Ruthie Foster mixes a wide palette of American song forms, from gospel and blues to jazz, folk, and soul into her music, and her live performances are powerfully transfiguring. An engaging live performer, Foster continued to tour regularly, wowing audiences with her powerful voice and stylistic range.
IMOGEN HEAP (UK)
Imogen's distinct electronic-style is a brilliant kaleidoscopic symphony of voices, beats, sounds and emotions mixing beautiful lyrics with breathtaking melodies. Her combined traditional instrumentation with computers has created a sound that's folk-hued and digital and sparks the imagination - winning her over 350,000 friends on MySpace and more than 250,000 followers on Twitter. Fans include Brian Eno, Jeff Beck and Scrubs star Zach Braff, while US chat show hosts David Letterman, Jey Leno, Carson Daly and Hollywood mega blogger Perez Hilton have all championed her ability musically and physically to transfix. Imogen is, in all senses, an EXPERIENCE.
LULO REINHARDT (GER)
Lulo Reinhardt is the foremost authentic and distinctive musical voice in Gypsy music today. Critics and fans agree that it is not solely because Lulo is the great-nephew of world-famous musician extraordinaire Django Reinhardt: It's about Lulo's unique musical genius, and his ability to make it appear so utterly effortless. The fact is that Lulo has devoted his life to music and continues to explore and perform a fusion of styles, including flamenco, Latin, and Brazilian jazz. He combines these with his own artistic stamp, and always with a nod to his Gypsy influences. His name has achieved international acclaim.
CAIRO KNIFE FIGHT (NZ)
The slightly unhinged duo of Nick Gaffaney and Aaron Tokona are Cairo Knife Fight and together they form a musical force like no other. Powerful, hectic and passionate performances with songs that twist and turn, taking the listener through many moods and sensations. Two musicians, one loop station, a synth and a couple of guitar amps can generate massive noise in the right hands. And in these hands they do, just like a rumble in a souk they wield their instruments with hectic passion and in a dangerously free manner. Cairo Knife Fight. Two of New Zealand’s finest musicians.
www.myspace.com/cairoknifefight
DARCY PERRY (NZ)
One of New Zealand's most loved and respected blues artists, Darcy Perry is renowned for his live shows, performing with passion, intensity and a ferocious band. An entertainer with a deep understanding of the blues, he’s shared the stage with some of the world’s best and it shows, both in his rich guitar tone and electrifying stage presence. With two decades on the road and five albums as a band leader, Darcy Perry is one of New Zealand’s premier bluesmen. He’s so good, fans in Australia have started to claim him as one of their own!
FLIP GRATER (NZ)
Gliding vocals dance over the top of guitars picked and strummed, and harmonies weave amongst the beauty of it all. Banjos, a bass, and a minimal drum kit complete the picture and the songs soar and fall, sometimes evoking sad feelings, sometimes stirring the heart with a gravelly punch. Where do you put Flip Grater? Somewhere along the lines of an alt-country songstress experimenting with indie music, and the grittier side of pop. She has written songs that could prick the ears up of any that hear them, and with traces of PJ Harvey, a sprinkling of Cat Power and a touch of Suzanne Vega, Flip Grater's music has established her as one of our country's beloved indie-folk artists.
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