PLEASE NOTE THIS CONCERT IS SOLD OUT

“Channeling Roy Orbison at moments with a good sense of humor great songs and one of the best voices at Newport, New Zealand’s Marlon Williams.” – Bob Boilen NPR All Songs Considered

Marlon Williams returns with “Vampire Again,” his first new material since releasing his acclaimed debut album in 2015 and touring relentlessly around the world, including performances on CONAN, Later…with Jools Holland, opening for Bruce Springsteen and picking up both an ARIA Award nomination and two New Zealand Music Awards.

Following Williams’ recent performances at the Newport Folk Festival and Portland’s Pickathon, he’ll hit the road throughout the rest of the month supporting City & Colour throughout before returning home to New Zealand to play three intimate full band shows this November. These will be Marlon William’s first headline shows in New Zealand since March 2016’s sold out Powerstation show!

In creating “Vampire Again,” Williams returned home to Lyttelton to re-engage in the writing process and work again with producer Ben Edwards. Below he discusses the story behind the song. Watch the accompanying video, directed by Williams in collaboration with UK cinematographer Steve Gullick. It’s a tragicomic vignette of a societal outcast – misshapen, uncomfortable, humorous and a little touching.

Marlon says of new single Vampire Again – The germination of this song began in LA last year. It was indeed Halloween again, and I was bored, having spent a week locked away in an Airbnb by the airport trying in vain to write a song. Any song. Nothing came. So Halloween comes around and I figure, “Hey, I’m gonna go out tonight. Alone. Comfortably alone. Comfortably alone to see the LA Opera performing a new score to accompany my fave scary flick Nosferatu at the Ace Hotel. I’m gonna dress as the spindly creep himself. What’s more, I’m gonna get super blazed before I go. And be comfortably alone.”

So, off I go, having spent far too much on a last minute outfit, and step out of the Uber and onto the red carpet with a nauseating air of self-confidence. “This is my night. I am strong. I am human and it is my right to express myself how I see fit.” Turns out I was running late, and when I finally enter the theatre everyone was already seated and the overture had begun. What’s more, no one else was dressed up. Well they were, but in tuxedos and lovely dresses. And there was nowhere for stoned ole spindleboots to sit. So, I hunched and crawled my way down the aisle and sat on the floor like it was the most reasonable thing to do at an opera.

I made it through the whole film and then calmly turned tail, satisfied that I’d had a good time and sure that I’d heard whispers of “bad-ass” as I left the building. I’d like to believe that this was, at least in part, the catalyst for a whole new period in my life and my art. But that’s bullsh*t.

Anyway, here it is, my own demented tale of New Age self-affirmation; “Vampire Again.”

Dunedin alt-pop bands Soaked Oats and Marlin’s Dreaming are having a joint release party at Blue Smoke this November.

Dunedin four-piece Soaked Oats describe their sound as ‘shoulder pop’, and while we’re not exactly sure what that means, their certainly serving up some sonic goodness. They write songs with thoughtful lyricism and guitar-driven indie-pop sounds.

Over the cooler months, the band have hunkered down – writing and recording new material, as well as playing a plethora of shows including opening slots for touring acts Tiny Ruins, Clap Clap Riot, and Ha The Unclear.

Soaked Oats are excited to perform new songs off ‘No Slip Ups’ as well as songs from their first EP ‘Stone Fruit Melodies’

Marlin’s Dreaming have just released their debut single ‘Cheeky Kids’. It has gained some great traction peaking at number 5 on the NZ VIRAL Charts on Spotify as well as appearing on over 20 international magazines/blogs

Have you ever unexpectedly stumbled upon a tune that you just cannot stop playing throughout your day? A tune that you can completely relate with that makes you happy? Here’s a little group from Dunedin, New Zealand with combined sounds of alt-rock and roll and psychedelic funk. Founded and fronted by lead singer Semisi and guitarist Tim, Marlins Dreaming new single ‘Cheeky Kids’ is an independent track indeed, as it makes us feel fresh and brand new. It’s music that you’d want to hear while making some of the best memories in your life. It’s a song full of independence and a motivator for you to get out and explore the beautiful earth on a sunny day.

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Matthew Smith returns to Blue Smoke this November support from Amarina Waters and H’man Kaa. Playing with his full band he will be performing songs from his debut LP as well as singing new material live for the very first time.

He has been writing new material for the last three months and these new songs will be on his next album to be recorded early in the new year.

Come and get a sneak preview. This will be a special show and one not to miss!

Matthew Smith has been writing songs from the age of thirteen and he is no stranger to the New Zealand music scene having performed for many years as front man for rock n roll outfit Von Voin Strum. In 2016 Smith embarked on a solo career and recorded his first self titled LP, released earlier this year.

His influences are wide and varied from Bright Eyes to Father John Misty and his blend of Indie folk and alt country are showcased with his soulful voice and heartfelt songwriting. Smith will perform with his all star band featuring; Tom Harris, Shaun Burke, H Kaa and Emily Browning, they have invited special guests Tom Maxwell to open the show.

Amarina Waters plays indie folk with dreamscape electric guitars, there’s a thread of redemption and gratitude about her songs. They are good humoured, delicate and melodic; romantic yet strikingly candid.

An active and much loved member of the Melbourne music community, sharing a stage with the likes of Kelly Day and Jane Hendry (Broads) Al Parkinson, Emilee South, James Kenyon, Brooke Russell, Ayleen O’Hanlon and Gretta Ray to name a few, she’s now bringing her music out into the limelight.

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GRAEME JAMES – WISH YOU WELL TOUR

Farewell New Zealand tour announced!

Graeme James is back with his raucous, foot-stomping new single Wish You Well; available to stream and download today.

http://www.graemejamesmusic.com/

A timely tune about saying farewell to a friend off to travel the world, Wish You Well has become a very personal and fitting song for Graeme, as he prepares to relocate to Europe for adventures of his own with wife Zoe in mid-2018.

Graeme is proud to announce a huge New Zealand tour before he moves overseas, playing shows in some of his favourite spots around the country to say goodbye to the local fans who have been instrumental in his success so far.

Graeme James started out playing violin as a seven year old with the desire to become a classical concert violinist.

However It was while he was at university in Palmerston North that he put down the violin and started learning other instruments, the most significant of which being the acoustic guitar which enabled him to start writing and playing his own songs.

In desperate need of some cash to repair his car while on a New Year holiday in 2012, Graeme hit the streets of Gisborne for his first ever loop pedal busking session and the response from the public was so positive he was back on the road in two days.

Graeme had always written his own songs, but it wasn’t until 2015 that he began performing them live and his original material was met with immediate interest from fans. His first single ‘Alive’ was released in late 2015 and ended up placing second in a major international songwriting competition and has gone on to accumulate nearly 2 million streams on Spotify.

His debut original album ‘News From Nowhere’ released in September 2016 peaked at number three on New Zealand album chart and number 26 on the Top 40 album chart. It was a finalist in the NZ Music Awards 2017 Folk Album of the Year. A collection of songs written while touring the length and breadth of New Zealand, the album drew inspiration from the beauty and immensity of Aotearoa’s famous landscapes, and is intensely visual in its writing and sound.

The News From Nowhere Album Tour featured a string of sold out shows across the country and was followed by a summer of national and international festival appearances cementing Graeme’s reputation as a captivating live performer and recording artist.

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Following the release of their debut album in June The Ahern Brothers have not slowed down. The talented duo sold out a string of shows across Australia on their album release tour, before heading back out on the road for 24 shows from Sydney to Darwin in support of Australian music icons Tex, Don & Charlie.

This October they are headed to New Zealand to play a run of shows in some beautiful, intimate venues across the country. The tour kicks off on Wednesday 18 October at the Portland Public House in Auckland, wrapping up on Sunday 29 October with a show at the Pigeon Bay Social Club.

The response to The Ahern Brothers debut album has been phenomenal, with four star reviews from Rolling Stone and the Courier Mail. Their live show has been called ‘a soothing sonic whiskey, indeed’ by The Music, speaking of big things to come from these talented singer-songwriters.

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Die! Die! Die! have announced a 5-date New Zealand tour to coincide with the emersion of their explosive new album, Charm. Offensive. due for worldwide release on October 6th on LP, CD and digitally.

Drenched in the storied history and traditions of post-punk, noise pop, shoegaze, lo-fi, and punk rock, Charm. Offensive. is the sound of a thousand different nights played out in dingy bars, ramshackle DIY venues, and decaying concert halls around the globe. It’s also the sixth full-length album from Die! Die! Die! Charm. Offensive. features the single ‘How Soon Is Too Soon (It’s Not Vintage It’s Used),’ currently #1 on the alternative airplay chart, and new single Bottlecaps and Phones (I Cant See You), released today. Both tracks are a telling reminder of why they’re one of the most enduring and unapologetic bands to emerge out of New Zealand in over a decade.

Banished Music and Under The Radar proudly presents

Die! Die! Die! Charm.Offensive. New Zealand tour

Legendary New Zealand band SNEAKY FEELINGS’ New Album PROGRESS JUNCTION LP Tour

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Released on Flying Nun Records August 2017

How do you explain a near thirty-year gap between albums? Perfectionism maybe

….. tardiness certainly…… but it is well worth the wait.

Sneaky Feelings, one of the original Dunedin Sound bands formed in the early 1980s return with a brand-new album of original songs. And they are going on the road to support it!

Sneaky Feelings was drawn to a wider variety of musical styles than most early Flying Nun bands and were one of the first to experiment in the recording studio. Perhaps what drove the band to push the limits of a pop band has been the fact that all four members write songs. And while the band may have not played much over the years, the individual members have continued to hone their songwriting skills.

The twelve songs on Progress Junction were recorded over two years in bass player John Kelcher’s Christchurch studio. There was no plan when the band began recording, the four members just had a bunch of songs that suited the Sneaky Feelings sound and feel. As the band put the album together they experimented by weaving in snippets of audio from New Zealand radio archives. Voices from the past started talking to the present.

True to the lost New Zealand egalitarian dream, each band member contributed three tracks, and although there was no grand design, each song reflects on an aspects of New Zealand life. The album starts with an invitation from the owner of a junk shop to inspect his treasures (Do You Like That Style?) and ends with Ghosts walking out of an abandoned town (Progress Junction). In between there are end of life decisions to be made at a retirement home (Castle of Dreams), celebration of friendship and summer (Summer Song), a warning against unnecessary entanglements (Other People’s Lives), a plea for academics to stay true to their calling (Don’t Come Down), and earthquakes……All the usual rock and roll subjects

…….. but are the band’s new preoccupations signs of maturity or symptoms of middle age decline? Do they amount to progress?

DISCOGRAPHY

1983 Send You Flying

1986 Sentimental Education

1986 Waiting for Touchdown (compilation)

1988 Hard Love Stories

1999 Positively George Street (compilation)

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The fans have asked (repeatedly) for it, and Anika Moa has listened. The beautiful, witty and talented singer/songwriter today announces four concerts for her grown up fans, and South Island dates for her Songs For Bubbas: Chop Chop Hiyaaa! show.

The In Swings The Tide 10th Anniversary Tour concerts will feature Anika and her band performing the album In Swings The Tide in full, along with brand new music and her biggest hits, with dates scheduled for Dunedin, Christchurch, Auckland and Wellington. Anika’s producer and collaborator Jol Mulholland’s band Mulholland will be support act for all dates.

“I loved the idea of Shihad doing The General Electric in full so I am copying them basically.” Moa said. “I can’t wait to pour my heart out all over again and singing these songs that are 10 years old. Yay, I’m old! Speaking of old, I will be playing some of my new songs too – but who cares about that, let’s play In Swings The Tide!”

After a massive North Island tour in July and hundreds of requests from South Island parents, the Songs For Bubbas: Chop Chop Hiyaaa! show will visit Dunedin, Wanaka, Timaru and Christchurch this October School Holidays.

“I have genuinely loved taking this kids show on tour and I got so many death threats from mamas and papas from the deep South that I am touring down there for my personal safety (kidding). I’m just sorry it’s not more cities!”

Anika Moa with support by Mulholland

In Swings The Tide 10th Anniversary Tour

In celebration of Nick Cave’s 60th birthday – ‘The Boy Next Door’
FEATURING REB FOUNTAIN & DELANEY DAVIDSON

Beyond comparison, Beyond genre, Beyond dispute

Cave pens love eulogies that’ll sink you to your knees, performs like a revivalist, croons like a drunk, weeps like a banshee, mocks like the devil.

His undisputed musical genius has been drip-fed to the world over decades. In celebration of his 60th birthday we bring you The Boy Next Door – One night revelling in the majesty and wonder of Nick Cave’s songwriting prowess and performance spectacle.

Reb Fountain, Dave Khan, Ben Woolley, Dylan Storey & Logan Compaign channel the raucous, the brazen, the wisdom and the beauty of Nick Cave’s musical legacy with special guest Delaney Davidson. Collectively they have performed alongside some of New Zealand’s greatest musical talents including Marlon Williams, Tami Neilson, Don McGlashan, Dave Dobbyn and The Eastern.

Hear Nick Bollinger discuss Reb Fountain’s new album ‘Little Arrows’ here
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/thesampler/audio/201855831/little-arrows-by-reb-fountain

Eb & Sparrow ‘To the West’ Single Release

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Supreme sweethearts of New Zealand alt-country, Eb & Sparrow, bring you their new single “To The West” from their forthcoming third album, due out early 2018. To accompany this single release, the band will be taking to the road; performing an exclusive show at Blue Smoke with support from Fraser Ross.

“The country’s coolest, most sultry voices” The Listener

On the back of their previous release Sun/Son (2015, Country Music Award Finalists for album & song 2016) Eb & Sparrow have gained national recognition and have become renowned for their self-carved niche and unique musical style in the ever-widening scope that is New Zealand Americana.

“Grand, cinematic, and rich with anticipation” Lydia Jenkin NZ Herald

To The West, written by front-woman Ebony Lamb and arranged with Gram Antler, was recorded in the historic homestead Ahiaruhe, in the heart of the Wairarapa in January 2017, with Tui award winning producer and sound engineer Brett Stanton (NZ/Melbourne). Utilising vintage recording equipment and instruments in the large wooden building to take advantage of the lush textures and presence, the band has pulled out all the stops. The rhythm section, consisting of new drummer Justin Barr (Golden Awesome) Chris Winter on bass, takes a big step up and Ebony Lamb and Gram Antler on electric guitars and Bryn Heveldt on lapsteel provide the drama throughout. Lyttelton’s Anita Clark (Motte, Devilish Mary & the Holy Rollers) returns as the brainchild of the string section.

One Waka and The Caffeinated Collective mash it up in a display of live roots reggae and hip hop coming out of the heart of Otautahi.

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Having teamed up for a scorcher last summer these two local crews meet once again!

For a night which migrates from the Caffs energy filled, pass the mic style hip hop packed with alternative beats and locally referenced lyrics. To the Waka’s renowned culturally infused style of grass roots reggae

Out of the expanse of the Canterbury Plains comes One Waka. A 7-piece Reggae Roots Cooperative bringing their take on rockers rhythms, up skanked tempos and harmonic vibes.

Inspired by the authentic roots sounds of the 60s & 70s and iconic kiwi reggae & dub greats like The Black Seeds & Katchafire, One Waka have set out to bring those vibes to the live audiences of Christchurch, New Zealand for the past six years.

The Caffeinated Collective are from the depths of the Pacific — Beats brought to life by Caramel Smooth Heaven and flows so smooth by Seb The Vegabond, YourBoyTuha, Jimmy K and Blaz.. for now

Devin Abrams brings the full band to Christchurch for an exclusive headline performance, featuring all of his most recent works, in the intimate setting of Blue Smoke on September 9th.

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Pacific Heights is the solo electronica project of Wellington-based songwriter, music producer Devin Abrams aka DJ Reno. Best known for the fifteen years he spent as one of the founding members of New Zealand heavy soul band Shapeshifter, of late Devin’s focus has returned to his solo work, heralding the arrival of a new album titled The Stillness. For Devin, The Stillness is a statement on the emotional state that led to the album. “It encapsulates some very deep personal trials and served as a vessel for those pains to be broken,” he explains.

Since he began recording as Pacific Heights in 2002, Devin has used his unique command of melody and atmosphere to carve out his own lush takes on jungle/drum & bass, deep house, soul, hip-hop, future beats and beyond. Release by release, and performance by performance, he’s continued to assert his importance to electronic music in New Zealand.

His first album in eight years, The Stillness features guest appearances from a small but perfectly formed collection of New Zealand vocalists including Deanne Krieg, Jen Turner, Louis Baker and Shaan Singh (Drax Project). “Collaborating with these beautiful and talented people on the album kept me human and provided some refreshing musical perspectives,” he says. The result is a work that pays homage to his musical past and gives him the freedom to present his own takes on tasteful art-pop and progressive bass music at the same time. “I’m deeply attached to this album but feel ready for it to take flight and move into its own space.” The Stillness, a moment of pause and peace above troubled waters.

Special thanks to Jacob Yikes for the artwork.

Reb Fountain Announces New Studio Album and Tour – ‘Little Arrows’ with support from friends Hopetoun Brown

Reb Fountain Announces New Studio Album and Tour – ‘Little Arrows’

“Songwriters don’t come much better than this.” Radio NZ, William Dart

“Reb Fountain’s voice demands attention no matter what she sings.” The NZ Listener, James Belfield

It’s here – 6 years in the making – Reb Fountain’s album LITTLE ARROWS is set for release September 1st with an exclusive 4 tour date to follow.

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On the back of the acclaimed release of her EP Hopeful & Hopeless, Reb Fountain releases the second of her stellar projects: Little Arrows.

“It’s as though we’re standing on the edges of some gypsy carnival. The tempos may be lively, still there’s a brooding darkness about songs in which Fountain reflects on trust, betrayal and survival in a hostile world. If there is dancing, it’s a serious dance, the kind performed to exorcise some malign spirit. And in her singing, too, she seems to be drawing – like the Spanish duende – from the deeper and darker parts of the soul.” Nick Bollinger, RNZ

Little Arrows is rich full of songs about grappling with relationships, both personal and institutional, and countering injustice by fighting back with self, song and community.

Little Arrows began in the music den of her Grandmother’s home in Vancouver. Full of musical instruments, trinkets and photographs not to mention two pianos along with a fold out couch for when family or friends stopped through … which was often; Reb found solace and reflection in her familial space.

Reb writes and sings as if she just burst into song telling tales woven together; multiple stories running through, often concurrently, creating a landscape rich, diverse and universal. Her recently released EP Hopeful & Hopeless revealed her mastery of the folk tale. Little Arrows contains both folklore and pop; illuminating all sides of Reb – the dark the light, the rock, the roll; the folk and the lore that awashes between.

‘Little Arrows’ holds the key to a moment in time that can never be recaptured. A beautiful, creative collaboration between three gifted songwriters – Sam Prebble, Dylan Storey and Reb Fountain – bound in deep friendship. Irrespective of the time it took to develop, Little Arrows seems to be fit for purpose right here, right now. Reb manages to transcend folk, punk Americana, and fill the well of the political with heart and soul. Reb is a strong, independent voice, bent on carving her own line, embracing the hopeful and hopeless and creating a reflective sound for our times.

Come and join the Big Band Extravaganza and help them raise funds to support the Rodger Fox Big Band in their effort to get to the Monterey Jazz Festival in September. Rodger and his band members have done a lot to support us here in Christchurch and we wanted to show how grateful we are by making a contribution to their tour fund.

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Entry will be by a minimum of a $10 donation (but more happily accepted for this good cause!) and there will be food and drink available for purchase at the bar.

Doors at midday. Please spread the word among all your friends and family – it will be a wonderful afternoon and your support will be so appreciated.

12.20 Chisnallwood Intermediate Big Band

12.50 All Girl Big Band

1.40 River City Jazzmen

2.30 Garden City Big Band

3.20 Rangi Ruru Big Band

3.50 Ellesmere Big Band

4.40 Sideline Swing

Below is some information about the invitation the Band has received:

The Rodger Fox Big BandBand has been asked to perform at the 60th Monterey Jazz Festival in the US in September.

Festival organisers have recognised the pre-eminent status of the big band and invited them to join the line-up in its milestone anniversary year. Musical Director Rodger Fox is delighted with the unexpected invitation -it reflects the overseas reputation he and his players have achieved over the 40 years the band has been running.

In rolling out the red carpet, CEO of the festival, Tim Jackson, says “It’s a great honour to invite New Zealand’s acclaimed big band” to join the line-up in a milestone year.This festival is renowned as one of the world’s pre-eminent longest consecutively running jazz festivals, which makes the invitation to Rodger Fox particularly special.

Their programmes for the festival will include performances with US blues guitar master Chris Cain and a featured programme of New Zealand music.In addition to the Monterey Jazz Festival invitation, Rodger has arranged performances on the West Coast of America and a recording session at the acclaimed United Studios in Los Angeles. United is where top artists such as Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole, Harry Connick and Diana Krall recorded many of their celebrated albums.

Rodger’s 20-musician big band is comprised of Wellington’s leading young talent, including Lauren Ellis – drums, Ben Hunt – Trumpet, Eilish Wilson – saxophone and Oscar Laven – Saxophone are all seem around Wellington in bands such as the Richter City Rebels and the Mingus Ensemble.

This is an opportunity of a lifetime for Rodger and all of the musicians. However with these opportunities come significant financial challenges.The Rodger Fox big band is a not-for-profit society, and the total tour budget is set at a minimum of $128,000, which the big band has had only four months to raise.

The Christchurch Faerie Circle Presents; The Labyrinth Masquerade Ball

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This event is now SOLD OUT

Featuring; Jareth the Goblin King, Hoggle, Magic Battles, Good Faeries,Goblins
Music; Rhomboid with Rachael Travaille

Prizes; Best Faerie Costume, Best Goblin Costume, Best Jareth Costume, Best Faerie Wings, Best Dancer, Best Mask

Australian metalcore band IN HEARTS WAKE have announced a special headline show at Christchurch’s Blue Smoke Room.

Prior to joining Northlane on their New Zealand tour dates, In Hearts Wake will play one night only in Christchurch on Thursday August 24 in celebration of their fourth and latest album release, Ark.

Tickets are available now for what is a rare Christchurch show by a world-class metal act.

Albion Place with support from Skymachine and Horizone

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Blue Smoke will be open from 5pm and serving up The Brewery’s wood fired pizza and hand crafted Cassels & Sons beer all night long.

In celebration of their brand new single Easier, Albion Place are hitting the road with a four date tour around the country.

With the grit and honesty of a cold, damp flat and the invincible energy of a full day street party, the Albion Place flavour has become the soundtrack to the world renown Otago student lifestyle.

in 2015 (and for reasons still unknown) their single “I Will Not Forget” exploded into the online stratosphere, bringing with it new fans from all over the world.
The band are now at the forefront of a wave of new Dunedin bands that includes GROMz, The Shambles, Soaked Oats and more, who have been making an impact on a scale perhaps not seen since the legendary Dunedin Sound of the early 80s.

Having raked up a total of almost 1 million plays on Spotify, there is an eager anticipation around NZ and beyond as to what the next offering may be. The first single “Easier” came out in May and the band are set to take their fresh, exciting new sound on tour this coming Winter.

SHAYNE P CARTER & BAND

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Blue Smoke will be open from 5pm and serving up The Brewery’s wood fired pizza and hand crafted Cassels & Sons beer all night long.

Shayne P Carter and his band (Gary Sullivan drums, James Duncan bass) make their only New Zealand appearances of the year with a series of shows through the main centres in August.

James will be disappearing for most of the rest of the year to the Northern Hemisphere and this will be the trio’s last chance to get out there and show one person at least how it’s done.

The tour will coincide with the vinyl release of Shayne’s Taite Prize finalist “Offsider” album on Flying Nun, a record given five out of five by Metro and described as a “a giant “fuck you” to shallow music currents, and a triumph of pure expression”, Metro said the record was “like a painting so intriguing, you find yourself moving back through the gallery to that same room each time”

Shayne and band will be performing songs from not only Offsider but also tunes across his entire back catalogue, the hits and also several that never bothered the charts.

Shayne has been battened down this year down in Aramoana at the powerful and elemental top of the Otago Harbour working on a memoir that will either be called “Degrees Of Existence” or “Dead People I Have Known”.

He has ventured out occasionally to reprise his acclaimed two man show with Don McGlashan that toured the Arts Festival circuit and New Zealand’s more far flung centres, and occasionally making a horrible/beautiful noise with his improv band Carter Morley Yeats with two members of the Dead C.

Shayne is also this years musical director of APRA Silver Scrolls , which will be held for the first time in Dunedin in September at the Town Hall, and he has been making like a less repulsive and less conceited Simon Cowell juggling the merits of bands.

He also be touring Korea in August with the Altamira Dance Company where he joins Taonga Puoro master James Webster and plays live guitar on the piece “Pango” that he also toured through Taiwan and China with the company last year.

Soaked Oats with support from Pickle Darling & Brian Tamaki and the Kool Aid Kids

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Blue Smoke will be open from 5pm and serving up The Brewery’s wood fired pizza and hand crafted Cassels & Sons beer all night long.

Dunedin band Soaked Oats are embarking on a nationwide tour this August to perform songs from their new EP ‘No Slip Ups’

The tour – starting in Christchurch – will then take them through Wellington, Auckland, and Dunedin, as the band searches for a less icy, more fruitful climate.

Over the cooler months, the band have hunkered down – writing and recording new material, as well as playing a plethora of shows including opening slots for touring acts Tiny Ruins, Clap Clap Riot, and Ha The Unclear.

Soaked Oats are excited to perform new songs off ‘No Slip Ups’ as well as songs from their first EP ‘Stone Fruit Melodies’ and they’ll be joined by Brian Tamaki & the Kool Aid Kids and Pickle Darling for their show at Blue Smoke.

They’ll be joined by Pickle Darling & Brian Tamaki and the Kool Aid Kids for their show at Blue Smoke.

Presented by Brent Eccles Entertainment, in conjunction with The Rock

Decades at Blue Smoke with support Skinny Hobos, Dead Favours & Bakers Eddy

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Blue Smoke will be open from 5pm and serving up The Brewery’s wood fired pizza and hand crafted Cassels & Sons beer all night long.

Four of New Zealand’s most exciting and emerging rock acts hit the road this July, playing in five centres across the country.

Decades, Skinny Hobos, Dead Favours and Bakers Eddy are the newest generation of NZ rock royalty and kick off the nationwide ALL OUR TRUTHS tour in Hamilton on July 14, before heading to Auckland on July 15, Wellington July 22, Christchurch July 28, then winding up in Dunedin on July 29.

THE BADS – LOSING HEROS ALBUM RELEASE SHOW – with support from Flip Grater & Terrible Sons

Blue Smoke will be open from 5pm and serving up The Brewery’s wood fired pizza and hand crafted Cassels & Sons beer all night long.

Doors are at 8pm show at 8:30pm.

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Auckland alt-country duo The Bads – Brett Adams Dianne Swann have announced a seven-date tour to celebrate the release of their new album Losing Heroes.
Set for independent release on 7th July, the 11-song album was recorded across the summer of 2016 with Ben Edwards at The Sitting Room Studios in Lyttelton and follows their 2013 release Travel Light.

The Bads’ touring band holds a mighty punch of talent and experience featuring core members; Dianne Swann (Tim Finn, Dave McArtney, Flip Grater & more) and Brett Adams (Tim Finn, Tami Neilson, Rodriguez, Mockers, Gin Wigmore, Jan Hellriegel, Exponents). Also on the tour bus will be frequent live collaborators; Wayne Bell on drums, who has played with a huge list of people including Dave Dobbyn, Bic Runga, Greg Johnson, Gin Wigmore, Jan Hellriegel. Accompanying them will be the inimitable Dave Khan, a multi-instrumentalist who has played with Don McGlashan, Marlon WIlliams, and Tami Neilson amongst many others. New to The Bads’ touring troupe is Ben King on bass and golden vocals from bands; Grand Rapids, Narentines and Goldenhorse.

It’s been a four year hiatus since the 2013 album, Travel Light, was released. The album reached #3 on the NZ Music Album Charts and regarded by many as one of the best NZ albums of all time.

“It’s an accomplished, beguiling record, one that should appeal to fans of Wilco and Crowded House, and deserves greater recognition.”
– 5/5 – TimeOut, NZ Herald

“Adams and Swann confirm that when it comes to songcraft and delivery they stand among our finest . . . albeit in that world where they have to struggle for the mainstream attention they so richly deserve….it’s time to pay attention to the Bads. Who are very, very good.”
-Graham Reid, Elsewhere.co.nz
Expect to hear more before the album release, and as their current fans know, The Bads are a great time live!! More music and some tour dates to come!

Steve Gunn at Blue Smoke with support from Grawlixes & Candice Milner

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Blue Smoke will be open from 5pm and serving up The Brewery’s wood fired pizza and hand crafted Cassels & Sons beer all night long.

On his first musical journey to New Zealand, New York-based guitarist and songwriter Steve Gunn will play four solo shows across the country. Former guitarist in Kurt Vile’s The Violators as well as collaborator with Vile, Black Twig Pickers and Mike Cooper, Gunn will be bringing the personal and evocative new album Eyes On The Lines to New Zealand this July, as well as drawing from his significant and prolific catalogue of critically acclaimed solo, duo, and ensemble recordings.

Gunn’s roots in the underground run deep, from his days in GHQ to his collaborations with Black Twig Pickers and Mike Cooper. He’s toured and recorded with Michael Chapman, and released two remarkable duo albums with drummer John Truscinski. His solo ventures, emerging over the past decade and culminating most recently the highly-acclaimed Way Out Weather, have been pastoral, evocative affairs. Here he embraces his urban surroundings through a series of songs that fully showcase his extraordinary ability to match hooks to deftly constructed melodies. Gunn is a consummate guitarist, that rare fingerpicker who can harness the enigma of the American Primitive vernacular without lazily regurgitating it. His playing is inventive and full of personality. His instrumental virtuosity calls upon a vast library of technical skills at will, but he’s never showy — his riffs and runs are always in the service of the song at hand

‘The guitar playing, which is superb throughout, feels inextricably bound to the structure and shape of the melodies.’ ★★★★ – MOJO

‘He’s the hipster-friendly guitar slinger of the moment, in the spirit of John Fahey or Robbie Basho, with a lovely sun-glazed lilt to his fluid fingersmithery.’ ★★★★ – THE GUARDIAN

‘By embracing the expanse, his music has gotten bigger, and more universal”
★★★★ – PITCHFORK

‘So intimate and so mysteriously distant all at once’
– WASHINGTON POST

Theia at Blue Smoke

Kiwi electro-pop princess Theia has announced her first headline tour of New Zealand to celebrate the upcoming release of her highly-anticipated debut EP.

Blue Smoke will be open from 5pm and serving up The Brewery’s wood fired pizza and hand crafted Cassels & Sons beer all night long.

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It will be the first time Theia has played shows for the public in Auckland, Wellington and in her home-town of Christchurch. Special guests will open for Theia in each city.

The tour marks the June 30 release of Theia’s self-titled EP, which contains her hit song ‘Roam’, as well as the soaring anthem ‘Champagne Supernova’ and her current single ‘Treat You’.

The six-track record captures Theia at a career-defining moment in time and establishes the young Kiwi singer as a rare talent with a glittering future ahead of her.

Over summer 2016 / 2017, Theia performed her first-ever lives shows, playing to thousands of holidaymakers in hotspots across New Zealand, on the Electric Coastline Tour with Broods and Kings. She then played her first Australian tour in April, supporting electro act The Kite String Tangle in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. She’s now just returned from Los Angeles, where she was invited to play an industry showcase at the prestigious MUSEXPO.

Don’t miss your chance to see one of New Zealand’s newest and brightest emerging this July.

The Wedding Present with support from The Bats & Motte

Legendary British post-punk/indie band The Wedding Present return to New Zealand on the back of their ninth studio album Going, Going…

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Blue Smoke will be open from 5pm and serving up The Brewery’s wood fired pizza and hand crafted Cassels & Sons beer all night long.

Having formed in Leeds in 1985 around the lovelorn songwriting of David Gedge, the band soon acquired a reputation for bittersweet, breathtakingly honest songs of heartache immersed in whirlwind guitars — a jangly-yet-brawny sound, played at impossibly breakneck speeds, that was introduced to the world on their debut LP George Best.

NME called the album “an unmitigated delight” and subsequently invited The Wedding Present to contribute a track to the magazine’s C86 compilation — a cassette release that has remained hugely influential upon generations of noisy indie rock bands.

Over the course of the next three decades the band would find themselves exploring all kinds of sharp left turns like trying their hand at traditional Eastern European folk music on the album Ukrainski Vistupi V Johna Peela, enlisting the aid of the noise-mongering (and, at that point, relatively unknown) sound engineer Steve Albini for their 1991 album Seamonsters, and the time they released twelve 7” singles, one per month for a whole year — an experiment that paid off when they equaled Elvis Presley’s 35-year-old record for “most hits in one year”!

Today, The Wedding Present can be found at the top of their game — their 2016 album Going, Going… having been described as their masterpiece. AllMusic says “It’s hard to deny the brilliance of a band that can crank out an album as passionate, hook-filled and flat-out fiery as this.”

On this tour, The Wedding Present will be performing songs from throughout their career.

August Fields with support from Smokin’ Voodoo & St Peters Thursday at Blue Smoke.

Blue Smoke will be open from 5pm and serving up The Brewery’s wood fired pizza and hand crafted Cassels & Sons beer all night long.

Doors are at 8pm show at 8:30pm.

Three of the best of what CHCH has to offer with regards to hard hit, sock em in the jaw rock n’ f**kin’ roll.

Anyone who has seen one of August Fields’ high energy shows will know that what they bring to the stage is crowd-engaging power pop tunes with foundations in punk, rock and gospel

Since forming their current lineup in 2014, Smokin’ Voodoo has been going hard in the christchurch music scene, playing show after show of hard hitting energetic rock. As national finalists in the 2015 Demon Energy Battle of the Bands and RDU Roundup Champions 2016, SV are well placed to make themselves known in the New Zealand Music scene.

St Peter’s Thursday is the love child of Grunge and Stoner Rock who hung out with James Brown from time to time.Rock band with aggressive guitars and pounding drums … with Grunty (sometimes smooth) vocals on top

Evan Dando at Blue Smoke

Emerging after The Lemonheads disbanded Evan Dando returned to music first with a solo tour and ‘Live At The Brattle Theatre’ then came his debut solo album ‘Baby I’m Bored’.

Blue Smoke will be open from 5pm and serving up The Brewery’s wood fired pizza and hand crafted Cassels & Sons beer all night long.

Mature and autobiographical, ‘Baby I’m Bored’ is a stellar record that stripped Dando of his grunge label, seeing him lean more towards an achingly melodic alt-country rock sound. Self-deprecating, these are songs of decline and coming back from that.

“Dando has a flair for bruised melancholy that stands comparison with Gram Parsons and Alex Chilton” – Q Magazine
“A beautiful album of tender reflections on life, love and drug-induced folly set in soulful, country-tinged guitar pop.” – The Independent

In support of the upcoming deluxe reissue of ‘Baby I’m Bored’ on Fire Records for Record Store Day 2017, Evan Dando will stop by New Zealand as part of his World Tour playing two shows.

Nomad at Blue Smoke

Christchurch musicians Nomad, who made their mark on the charts with the undeniably catchy ‘Oh My My’, have announced shows in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch

The band’s summer schedule was filled with shows and Festivals up and down the country, winning over unsuspecting audiences with their infectious hooks and heady harmonies.

They’ve just released a new single, the never-give-up-on-love song ‘I Won’t Stop’ and the 19-year-olds are already working on an album release for later in the year.

Aasha Mallard, Will McGillivray and Cullen Kiesanowski formed the band four years ago and their differing musical tastes collide to shape their alt-pop sound.

Hobnail at Blue Smoke

Blue Smoke will be open from 5pm and serving up The Brewery’s wood fired pizza and hand crafted Cassels & Sons beer all night long.

Sensational fresh material from Hobnail as the band embark on a national tour in support of their new album “Blue Sky Songs”

Hobnail are on the road again, performing all over NZ to bring you their stunning new 7th album “Blue Sky Songs”, along with some of their past classic favourites. This is a live show not to be missed!

For the uninitiated, it will be a rare treat as one of the country’s best live acts tours the finest album of its illustrious career.

“When Hobnail takes the stage, they tear into their set with mucho gusto, injecting volume and energy into the evening with their illustrious blend of bluegrass, Celtic folk, pop, and rock’n’roll”. – Nelson Mail.

Tiny Ruins at Blue Smoke

“…One of the best acts to harness the power of dark folk…Expansive, experimental and exciting.” – Hhhhappy

Tiny Ruins embark on an 11- show tour of their home turf this Winter.

Blue Smoke will be open from 5pm and serving up The Brewery’s wood fired pizza and hand crafted Cassels & Sons beer all night long.

Following her ‘Hurtling Through’ collaboration with The Clean’s Hamish Kilgour, and ‘Dream Wave’, a 7″ single recorded with film director David Lynch, Hollie Fullbrook returns with her spellbinding live band to bring a new set of songs to some of the most intimate and celebrated venues in the land.

Laying the groundwork for the release of their third album, now in its final stages of recording, the four-piece will be visiting small towns and big cities alike, showcasing new material alongside favourites from their award winning back catalogue Some Were Meant for Sea, Haunts, Brightly Painted One & Hurtling Through.
Tiny Ruins’ new material enters spaces more expansive and experimental than ever. Traversing early influences of folk and blues, Fullbrook’s songs are known for their unique lyrical flair and a wry humour that’s at times disarmingly confessional. Expect deftly picked guitar in alternate tunings reminiscent of 60s folk and psychedelic pop, matched with some of the best musicians in the country (Freer, Basil & Healy). Don’t miss out – tickets to all shows are limited.

The award-winning singer-songwriter is looking forward to returning to stages at these iconic venues, with the backing of a full band and support from Keith Preene: “Taking my band out on the road is a special treat for me after touring solo for so long. I’m really excited about bringing the full sound back to these songs.”

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Mel Parsons has spent the last few years dividing her time between touring the world and performing her solo show in some of New Zealand’s remotest woolsheds. But this May, the Kiwi singer-songwriter will embark on her first tour with a full band since 2015, taking in the country’s main centres.

Inspired by touring almost every inch of rural New Zealand with comedy duo The Bitches’ Box, Parsons will have special guests from the comedy world at each show, with and good kiwi bloke Keith ‘The Numbers’ Preene of Golden Goose fame joining Parsons for the Christchurch show.

Parsons – who was a Silver Scroll finalist in 2015 and the winner of the 2016 APRA Best Country Song Award – received critical acclaim for her last album Drylands. The album spent 41 weeks in the IMNZ Album Charts, peaking at #2 and established Parsons’ place as one of New Zealand music’s most respected songwriters. She’s also well and truly earned her reputation as one of the hardest working musicians on the live circuit, with a European tour kicking off in May/June 2017.

Don’t miss your chance to see Mel Parsons live with her full band. She will be playing songs from Drylands, as well as favourites from her back catalogue.

MATTHEW SMITH ALBUM RELEASE SHOW with support from The Imposters & Candice Milner

Blue Smoke will be open from 5pm and serving up The Brewery’s wood fired pizza and hand crafted Cassels & Sons beer all night long.

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Matty Smith has been writing songs from the age of thirteen and he is no stranger to the New Zealand music scene having performed for many years as front man for rock n roll outfit Von Voin Strum. In 2016 Smith embarked on a solo career and recorded his first self titled LP, set for release at Blue Smoke this May.

His influences are wide and varied from Bright Eyes to Father John Misty and his blend of Indie folk and alt country are showcased with his soulful voice and heartfelt songwriting. Recorded by Ben Edwards at The Sitting Room, Lyttelton his debut album is a true collaboration with a producer at the top of his game.

Smith will perform with a seven piece band and has invited special guests Candice Milner and The Imposters to open the show.

Gemma Ray(UK) brings her band and reverb drenched atmospheric sound to NZ this May, with shows in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.

Blue Smoke will be open from 5pm and serving up The Brewery’s wood fired pizza and hand crafted Cassels & Sons beer all night long.

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Berlin based/Essex born, Gemma’s sound has been described as Gothic-folk,and pop-noir – a moody mix of psychedelic blues with a hefty nod to her sizzling cinematic side.

She has collaborated with Sparks, the recently departed Alan Vega (from New York legends Suicide), and Thomas Wydler, drummer from The Bad Seeds. She has also opened for the likes of Grinderman and the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and was described by Jimmy Page upon seeing her open for Mott The Hoople in the UK in 2009 as ‘not to be missed’.

Gemma Ray’s latest opus The Exodus Suite (released on Bronze Rat Records in May 2016) is a dramatic 52-minute odyssey, reflects the personal-political themes of the songs within.

Gemma Ray’s lyrical explorations of love for all life, exile and relocation, nature’s sovereignty, technology, class and most of all the need for human empathy are unforgettable.

Don’t miss the opportunity to catch this show on May 7th 2017 at Blue Smoke, with special guest Gris-de-Lin.

Banished Music, Radio Hauraki and Undertheradar.co.nz present
The Chills Vigorous and Far-reaching New Zealand tour
With support from Anthonie Tonnon

Blue Smoke will be open from 5pm and serving up The Brewery’s wood fired pizza and hand crafted Cassels & Sons beer all night long.

Doors at 7:30pm.

Out on the tar sealed and gravelly roads this April and May, legendary Dunedin pop group The Chills have announced their embarkation on a vigorous and far-reaching New Zealand tour. Stopping in major musical centres Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, as well as key outreaches such as Whanganui, Paekakariki, Queenstown, Napier, Raglan, Mount Maunganui, and a performance in Invercargill as part of the Southland Festival Of The Arts.

Fronted by the rare talent of Martin Phillipps, The Chills were originally formed in 1980 and had a revolving cast of band members with Phillipps remaining the only constant. His knack for writing fantastic pop songs led to chart hits back home and a cult following around the world. With early releases via the legendary NZ label Flying Nun, The Chills produced a number of critically acclaimed recordings such as the single “Pink Frost” (their first hit) from the compilation album Kaleidoscope World and “Wet Blanket” from the LP Brave Words.

The energy of their live performances is the central reason why The Chills are remembered fondly in all thirty-nine of the countries that they have thus far visited. It’s the combination of this and the consistent quality of their songs which have established The Chills as one of the most well-known New Zealand groups to date – particularly in the US,UK and Europe.

They are joined by fellow Dunedin alumni and SIlver Scroll/ Taite Prize finalist Anthonie Tonnon, who’s current live show combines a performance art-inspired approach to stagecraft, home-soldered technology, and dance moves.

Two of Christchurch’s favourite globetrotting songwriters Andrew Keoghan and Flip Grater, will present a very special homecoming show April 21, performing songs from their recently released, critically acclaimed albums.

Blue Smoke will be open from 5pm and serving up The Brewery’s wood fired pizza and hand crafted Cassels & Sons beer all night long.

Doors for the show will be at 7:30pm

The show will get underway at 8pm.

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It’s Los Angeles-based Keoghan’s first outing in the garden city since his LP Every Orchid Offering was released last year.

‘If anything, it reminds me of David Bowie’s similarly genreless ★ or the work of Kirin J Callinan, but possessed by an exquisite chamber-pop grace befitting Grizzly Bear or Dirty Projectors’. – Stereogum

Keoghan will be joined by drummer Alistair Deverick (Neil Finn, Lawrence Arabia) and bassist Cass Basil (Tiny Ruins).

For Flip Grater, the evening marks a welcome return to the stage after a year’s maternity leave. She’ll perform a slew of news songs and those from 2014’s Pigalle.

‘The fourth album from the New Zealander is beguilingly peaceful and impresses, with little auditory adventures that reflect her chosen home of Paris and also her artistic integrity’ – Rolling Stone Germany

Catch this rare opportunity to see Josh Pyke live at Blue Smoke.

Blue Smoke will be open from 5pm and serving up The Brewery’s wood fired pizza and hand crafted Cassels & Sons beer all night long.

Doors for the show will be at 8pm

The show will get underway around 8:30pm

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Celebrating his most recent album But For All These Shrinking Hearts which debut at #2 in the ARIA charts, Pyke is heading across the sea to New Zealand for a small run of dates.

Pyke is a big fan of New Zealand and has been itching to get across with his music for a while. “I’ve had two of the best holidays of my life in NZ, but it’s been 10 years since I’ve toured my music here, so I’m super keen to head back! Culturally and aesthetically I think it’s a hard place to beat. “ says Pyke.

Last year was a busy year for Pyke, along with multiple Australian tours, and launching his own beer in partnership with Young Henry’s, the singer songwriter released a live album in conjunction with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra recorded at Sydney’s iconic Opera house, which he later picked up the Best Original Soundtrack/Cast/Show Album ARIA for.

With 5 studio albums and so many singalongs under his belt, be sure to catch one of Australia’s favourite storytellers, Josh Pyke at one of his upcoming New Zealand shows to experience this songsmith captivate his audience with songs from the most recent album along with old favourites.

Join Jon Toogood this April as he takes his solo acoustic show throughout New Zealand.

Blue Smoke will be open from 5pm and serving up The Brewery’s wood fired pizza and hand crafted Cassels & Sons beer all night long.

Doors for the show will be at 7:30pm

The show will get underway around 8pm.

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In between sessions for a new ADULTS album, Jon will take his hit filled sets on a musical road trip around the country.

Featuring solo, acoustic versions of some of Jons favourite songs (both his own and some handpicked cover versions from his vast collection) and with venues around the country being transformed into seated intimate spaces – don’t miss your chance to get up close and personal with one of New Zealand’s most revered singer/songwriters and front men.

With special guests Blair Parks ‘Cardigan Bay’ and Ryan Fisherman.

Blue Smoke will be open from 3pm and serving up The Brewery’s wood fired pizza and hand crafted Cassels & Sons beer all night long.

Doors for the show will be at 7:30pm

The show will get underway around 8pm

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For the first time new Melbournian duo This Way North hit New Zealand’s shores. The guitar/drums two-piece This Way North are Leisha Jungalwalla (Jungal) and Cat Leahy (Sal Kimber & the Rollin’ Wheel).

Punchy and left of centre, but with a universally appealing groove and melody, This Way North’s live shows are powerful. Cat brings solid groove based, dynamic power drumming, while Leisha sways with swampy slide guitar, slimmed down soul vocals and compelling alt-pop melodies.

Sometimes likened to The Black Keys, Tame Impala and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, their unique musical connection creates an explosive sound that’s rarely realised by just two artists on stage. Audiences are drawn in by the powerful performances of these two seasoned musicians. The moment This Way North embrace the stage the audience engage – that’s just how it is.

http://www.thiswaynorth.com/

yan Fisherman is a multi-instrumentalist best known as the drummer for Doprah and bassist for Nakey; however over the last few years he has been steadily building up a back catalogue of independent work and has gained a firm foothold in the Christchurch folk scene.

https://ryanfisherman.bandcamp.com/releases

‘Cardigan Bay’ is the latest release from New Brighton-based Blair Parkes.

Parkes various bands have enjoyed airplay on student radio since the mid-1980s. He is an early Flying Nun alumni (All Fall Down, The Letter 5). Other releases have appeared on Failsafe and Wrong Records.

“You can hear Parkes’ love of lush melodic pop. He layers his gentle, tuneful vocals, then swathes them in reverbs, creating the harmonic landscape of a late-60s soft-rock record.” – Nick Bollinger, Radio New Zealand.
https://blairparkes.bandcamp.com/

Blue Smoke will be open from 5pm and serving up The Brewery’s wood fired pizza and hand crafted Cassels & Sons beer all night long.

Doors for the show will be at 8pm

Music will get underway around 8:30pm

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BLIND BOY PAXTON RETURNS TO NZ FOR TWO SHOWS IN APRIL

See him perform an intimate concert at Blue Smoke on Wednesday 5th April, tickets available from undertheradar. Tickets will be strictly limited to ensure a comfortable listening environment.

Blind Boy Paxton is a modern day songster, minstrel and bluesman. His name is Jerron (say Jer-Ron as in Geronimo) but you call him Blind Boy. Blind Boy Paxton is the living embodiment of the true blues in the twenty-first century, but plays it all in the true songster tradition: ragtime, hokum, old time, French reels, Appalachian mountain music, blues and lots more.

The multi faceted, physically gigantic, three hundred pound, legally blind, orthodox Jew is only in his late twenties but has earned a reputation for transporting audiences back to the 1920s and making them wish they could stay. He sings and plays the banjo, guitar, piano, fiddle, harmonica, Cajun accordion, and the bones. He has the eerie ability to transform traditional jazz, blues, folk, and country into the here and now, and make it real.

Jerron says “Believe me, the blues is not some half-dead thing hooked up to a respirator. It’s as relevant now as it ever was. Hip Hop is just a newer form of my people’s expression, and the blues is an older one. Ain’t nothing new under the sun. The roots of the tree don’t cast no shadow, but they hold up everything above.”

He can mesmerise audiences with his humour and story-telling . Not only wowing local audiences last year he also took time to charm the local media

Kim Hill on Radio NZ … http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/saturday/audio/201791995/jerron-‘blind-boy’-paxton-bringing-back-the-past

Performing for TVNZ under a Brown’s Bay walnut tree http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2016/03/blind-boy-paxton-blues-music-staunchest-champion.html

As well as an interesting chat with Grant Smithies http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/music/77413774/jerron-blind-boy-paxton-talks-about-the-roots-of-the-blues

www.blindboypaxton.net

https://www.facebook.com/JerronBlindBoyPaxton/

Blue Smoke will be open from 5pm and serving up The Brewery’s wood fired pizza and hand crafted Cassels & Sons beer all night long.

Doors for the show will be at 7:30pm

Music will get underway around 8pm with an opening set from bare knuckled balladairs The Broken Heartbreakers.

Nadia Reid will take the night on home performing songs old and new with a full band in celebration of her eagerly anticipated new album ‘Preservation’.

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“Reid is a remarkably talented, assured, clever and confident singer-songwriter….. a devastating youthful wisdom that gives her songs a feeling of lasting profundity.” – The Guardian (UK)

“For a new artist, her confident grace is all the more remarkable” – Pitchfork

“A young New Zealand singer-songwriter you’ll feel you’ve known forever” – MOJO

Self-discovery doesn’t come easy. It’s usually a rite of passage to get burned before the wounds can heal and often takes a new perspective to truly understand yourself. 18 months and 10,000kms travelled since many needles first dropped on her debut LP Listen To Formation Look For The Signs, it’s safe to say with her second album Preservation, Nadia Reid now knows herself extremely well.

“Preservation’ is about the point I started to love myself again. It is about strength, observation and sobriety,” Nadia says. “It’s about when I could see the future again. When the world was good again. When music was realised as my longest standing comfort.”

An ode to self-reflection and self-betterment, Preservation is the sound of Nadia showing her true colours, taking back a bit of power, and learning more about herself. Deeply intellectual but felt by all, it punches harder than before. Nadia’s beautifully warm vocals coolly wrap around feelings of turbulence, and exude a gently improved confidence. “This record is about being OK with who I am in the world, and who I want to be. Learning to live with the fact I’m a person who operates differently to others,” admits Nadia. “I’m richer for the fact I am a musician. Without this way of being, I couldn’t write songs.”

Metropolis Touring and Magic are proud to present THE ANIMALS with support from Brendan Gregg & Band.

Blue Smoke will be open from 6pm and serving up The Brewery’s wood fired pizza and hand crafted Cassels & Sons beer all night long.

Doors at 8pm.

The Animals were “one of the most important bands” in the British Invasion. Whilst The Beatles and Rolling Stones were the headliners, The Animals were the back bone of blues!

With their legacy undeniable, New Zealand is in for a treat when original members John Steel and Micky Gallagher along with Danny Handley and Roberto Ruiz bring The Animals live experience to New Zealand.

“The band has changed, but the songs remain eternal” (The Independent)

For more information, visit the Metropolis Touring website

Blue Smoke will be open from 5pm and serving up The Brewery’s wood fired pizza and hand crafted Cassels & Sons beer all night long.

Doors for the show will be at 8pm

Music will get underway around 8:30pm with an opening set from Stef T.

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Internationally-renowned Christchurch singer-songwriter SACHA VEE, takes her new album LUMINOUS on the road this March, as she performs live across five New Zealand centres.

Hailing from Christchurch, Sacha Vee has spent the last few years making a name for herself in Europe. While in Amsterdam, she teamed up with Dutch producers Killing Skills and Chef Red and released two EPs with BBE Records, RISING ONE (2015) and GING REMIX EP (2016). Her collaboration with Polish hip-hop luminary O.S.T.R. produced 3 hit singles, 2 x double platinum albums and more than 20 million views on YouTube.

Her latest album, LUMINOUS, features the singles ‘Stonecold’, ‘Feels Good’ and latest single, ‘Monday’.

Sacha Vee has played support slots for the likes of Jhene Aiko, G-Eazy and Hollie Smithand in 2011 she was a finalist in the TV talent show, The Voice of Holland.

Blue Smoke will be open from 5pm and serving up The Brewery’s wood fired pizza and hand crafted Cassels & Sons beer all night long.

Doors for the show will be at 8pm

Music will get underway around 8:30pm with an opening set from our very own local county swooner Katie Thompson.

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Jackie Bristow is pleased to announce she will be returning to her native shores in March with Australian musician and long-time collaborator Mark Punch.

From the Northern reaches of Leigh to the southern depths of Invercargill, Jackie’s tour culminates in Wellington and Auckland where she will open for legendary blues singer-songwriter Bonnie Raitt.

At once heartfelt and sophisticated, Jackie’s songs combine subtle but beautiful melodies and hooks that hypnotise the listener, then sticking around like the backbone of a real friend.

Her 2016 album Shot Of Gold was released in New Zealand and the U.S. and garnered high praise with American magazine Vents calling it ‘simply stunning’ and Graham Reid from NZ Herald awarding it 4 stars.

Jackie’s live performances captivate audiences, her soulful voice, well crafted songs and natural command of the room a testament to the commitment to her craft and to the many concert halls, festivals, and listening rooms she has played.

In 2016 Bristow was honoured to tour parts of the USA, opening for Tommy Emmanueland the Steve Miller Band and she has previously played support for such legendary names as Rick Springfield, Phoebe Snow, Bonnie Raitt and Art Garfunkel to name a few.

Don’t miss the opportunity to catch her in a town near you.

Blue Smoke will be open from 5pm and serving up The Brewery’s wood fired pizza and hand crafted Cassels & Sons beer all night long.

Doors for the show will be at 8pm

Music will get underway around 8:30pm with an opening set from Secret Knives.
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Coming with the late last rays of summer, dream pop band French for Rabbits are touring New Zealand this March and April to beckon in the autumn. The tour will coincide with the release of their second album The Weight of Melted Snow. It is an album of weight, seeped in ghosts, memories, a yearning. It is an album of halves. On one side, the heartache of a relationship coming to an end, and on the other, a healing and an understanding that things will be okay.

Having toured extensively through Europe, opening for admired songwriter Agnes Obel, featuring twice on The Vampire Diaries, and garnering millions of listens online, French for Rabbits have been found by kindred music lovers worldwide. The New Zealand tour will take the band from Leigh to Queenstown with a special hometown show in Waikuku Beach at the local hall. They will be performing with an expanded five-piece line-up and their most expansive, cinematic sound to date.

French for Rabbits formed in 2011, when Singer and Fitzgerald began writing and recording

lo-fi demos of ambient dream-folk in the small coastal township of Waikuku Beach. Now Wellington-based, they are joined by drummer Hikurangi Schaverien-Kaa (Glass Vaults), multi-instrumentalists Ben Lemi (Trinity Roots) and Penelope Esplin.

The band’s previous recordings include Spirits (2014) released on Lefse Records, and six song EP Claimed by the Sea (2012).

Secret Knives, whose rare performances are meticulous and dreamy in equal part, will be joining tour. The recording project of Ash Smith – his album ‘Affection’ released back in 2010 is brilliant effects-laden shoegaze.

Hauraki presents Elemeno P live at Blue Smoke!

Blue Smoke will be open from 5pm and serving up The Brewery’s wood fired pizza and hand crafted Cassels & Sons beer all night long.

Doors for the show will be at 8:30pm

Elemeno P will take the stage around 9:30pm

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It’s fifteen years since pop-rock legends Elemeno P appeared on the New Zealand music scene with debut single Fast Times in Tahoe and now the band is reconvening for headline shows in Auckland and Christchurch in March, following their appearance at Wellington’s Homegrown festival.

Fast Times in Tahoe was the first singalong-able hit to work its way into the kiwi consciousness, followed up by many others including Verona, Every Day’s A Saturday and the “I’m gonna be late” earworm 11:57. The band’s triple-platinum first album LOVE and DISRESPECT debuted at #1 in the New Zealand Charts and Elemeno P were awarded Best Group at the 2006 New Zealand Music Awards.

It was the live Elemeno P experience that truly stood out, with skillful playing and showmanship honed by relentless touring, bringing an infectiously fun live show to fans in every corner of the country. Now they’re gathering from New York, LA and… Auckland to bring their unforgettable earworms back for one final show at the Auckland’s Kings Arms Tavern and to Blue Smoke in Christchurch for the first time.

Get in quick for a guaranteed feel good night out.

Blue Smoke will be open from 5pm and serving up The Brewery’s wood fired pizza and hand crafted Cassels & Sons beer all night long.

Doors for the show will be at 8pm

Music will get underway around 8:30pm with an opening performance from local soulstress Sayae.

FACEBOOK EVENT

Sam Manzanza has performed his infectious brand of authentic African music to audiences all over the globe. His knowledge of traditional rhythms has been honed by years spent with the national ballet of Zaire ( DR Congo ) under Ray Lema.

Manzanza is largely responsible for the popularization of traditional and modern Africa music in New Zealand. He has enlivened and enchanted many ceremonial occasions at such places as The Beehive, Government House and the Auckland Commonwealth Drum Festival.

A versatile instrumentalist, composer and singer, Sam Manzanza plays blues harp, guitar and percussion and sings in French, English and Lingala. He will be performing with world renown Djembe percussionist, Koffie Fugah and the magnificent Afro Beat Band.

Starting the evening off will be Sayae. Sade Hutana-Sanders is a well rounded musical force. Her sultry, smokey voice has been featured on tracks by various producers and in contexts ranging from jazz, soul, and funk to D’n’B and beyond.

Blue Smoke will be open from 5pm and serving up The Brewery’s wood fired pizza and hand crafted Cassels & Sons beer all night long.

Doors for the show will be at 8pm.

Music will get underway around 8:30pm with an opening set from Laura Lee Lovely.

FACEBOOK EVENT

March, 2017, South Island NZ: Fraser Ross and 04s are touring in the South Island to promote the release of the single, BBC from their forthcoming album which will grace stores physical and digital later this year.

The single, ‘BBC’ was recorded in Wellington’s, The Surgery with local legend Lee Prebble in the cockpit. It was written in an attempt to garner friendship within the folk scene of Dundee and shamelessly refers to no fewer than 38 members of said scene by name in a display of lingual dexterity that would put many rappers to shame. All this while courting the affection of a BBC weather presenter and played in the style of Chuck Berry on methamphetamine. Sound incongruous? He’s a complex man.

Fraser Ross, builder-poet, wayfaring loiterer, crass of mind and silver of tongue. Ross has a voice that was honed in Scotland’s rowdy pubs during his two year tenure there and a lyrical style that is at once uplifting and at times deeply moving. He has teamed up with highly active members of Wellington’s music scene to create a four-piece comprised of two guitars, two vocals, bass and drums. While not an unusual instrumentation, their songs span a broad territory from the single’s raucous rock’n’roll, through ethereal balladry, to highlife rhythms, with Ross’ upbeat vocal wizadry the glue that somehow makes it all work.

Accompanying them on tour will be an art exhibition by Wellington Abstract Artist, Deano Shirriffs. After doing set design on their January tour, and selling most of his paintings, he is back on the road, adding colour and surreal visual conversations to the mix.

www.fraserross.com
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Blue Smoke will be open from 5pm and serving up The Brewery’s wood fired pizza and hand crafted Cassels & Sons beer all night long.

Doors for the show will be at 8pm.

FACEBOOK EVENT

Music will get underway around 8:30pm with an opening set from local songstress Emily Fairlight.

Paul Ubana Jones ia a one man with guitar, sounding like a whole band. With a voice that is as husky as it is evocative, with intoxicating rhythms leaving nobody untouched Paul has toured with the best.

Paul Ubana Jones has been described as a Kiwi treasure, a legend by many that have followed his career.

Born in London to a Yorkshire mother and a Nigerian father, Paul Ubana Jones was playing guitar by the age of 11. This was the beginning of a three-decade career that would see him crossing continents and recording eight albums being credited with three major music awards

“Paul Ubana Jones’ soulful voice, sprightly guitar agility and enthusiasm made this the most inspired performance of the evening….in any other country he would be an institution!”
— Simon Sweetman reviewing Paul Ubana Jones, Patti Smith & Bob Dylan. Auckland 1998
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Blue Smoke will be open from 5pm and serving up The Brewery’s wood fired pizza and hand crafted Cassels & Sons beer all night long.

Doors for the show will be at 8pm

Music will get underway around 8:30pm with support from Best Bets & Bryony Mathews.

FACEBOOK EVENT

It’s been just over two years since the release of Mufti Day, an album that featured the four alt radio hit singles Lance’s Tape, Her Heart Breaks Like A Wave, Cryptic Lipstick and 365 (feat. Emily Edrosa). For Auckland indie guitar pop merchants Dictaphone Blues, it’s been nearly as long since the band hit the road too, so to finish of the kiwi summer in hip fashion, that’s exactly what they’re going to do. Songs old and (a few) new will be aired as the band gear up for a busy 2017.

Sharing the stage for one unforgettable night will be Christchurch rockers BEST BETS and Bryony Mathews.

The last 18 months has seen Dictaphone Blues singer-songwriter Edward Castelow busy producing recordings for other acts in his Mezzanine Studio in Mt. Eden. Dad Jokes, Bryony Matthews, The Conjurors, Blazing Shade, Borneo, Lacuna, Black Science and Thee Rum Coves have all been through and recorded either albums or EPs, keeping Ed’s appetite for recording whet while not focusing on his own songs.

Come the end of 2016, some new material emerged from the aural realms and Ed set about demoing these new ideas. These new songs made it into the hands of revered UK producer Dave Eringa (The Who, Manic Street Preachers, Idlewild and Kylie Minogue) who will be working alongside Ed in the production of a new record.

Blue Smoke will be open from 5pm and serving up The Brewery’s wood fired pizza and hand crafted Cassels & Sons beer all night long.

Doors for the show will be at 7:30pm

Music will get underway around 8pm

Blue Smoke is the first stop on a 28-day tour of NZ by one of Australia’s most versatile acoustic trio’s, Sturrock and Ward.

This trio combines the award-winning song-smith abilities of Brian Ward with the masterful guitar work of Marcus Sturrock with the lovely vocal tone, agility and harmonies of Jenny Ward.

Sturrock and Ward will take the audience on a journey through styles ranging from Celtic tunes to world music

Widely traveled on the Australian and International festival circuit, Sturrock has played and jammed with a virtual brag book of musicians and has developed a reputation for being a wild and gifted performer. This gentleman guitarist’s performance and passion speak for themselves.

Jackdog’s song-smith ability, ready wit and sense of humour are sure to inspire and entertain.

He writes and performs in a wide variety of styles and genres – R&B, inspiring anthems and ballads, political comment, comedy and everything in between. A former President of the Australian Songwriters Association, he remains ever-passionate about grassroots original music.

FACEBOOK EVENT

Doors: 7:30pm
Show time: 8pm
Blue Smoke open from 5pm

https://www.facebook.com/events/398147600533291/

No one really knows how Flora Knight and Archer met, but it’s not too far fetched an idea that the world might’ve stopped spinning for one 13,000 billionth of a second or so.

They were certainly both born to play music of a pure soul, music of life that is, with no plastic bullshit adornment attached..

and you can’t very well go touring around the place in a car if that be the case. You got’sta walk or crawl, roll or slip n slide.. you get the idea.. They follow in the footsteps of the swag men, the Maori, the explorers, the Moa.. tramping this here land for the dam bloody pleasure of it.. and maybe some ego glorification too but musicians get downright ornery and depressed at times and who could blame em.. Besides, Archer is sick of shifting irrigation pipes and Flora’s about ready to stick her head into the deep fryer, so it’s better this way.

Come February 2017 Archer and Flora will be coming round the mountain to a town near you with fiddles and guitars for the walkin’, rollin’ crawlin’, hitchin’, trampin’, fallin’ down and getting back up again swaggin’ tour of TE WAIPOUNAMU (The South Island)

Archer & Flora FEB 2017 tour of Te Waipounamu

Doors; 7:30pm
Show time; 8pm
Blue Smoke open from 5pm

https://www.facebook.com/events/710390532464440/

Daniel Champagne exudes a natural ease on stage, as he sings poignant lyrics and beautifully crafted melodies that invariably whisk the heart up with grand romanticism. Coupled with an exhilarating guitar talent that transcends mere acoustic playing to replicate a whole band, Champagne is just magical’ -themusic.com.au

The story goes that the young Australian singer, songwriter and one-of-a-kind guitar virtuoso first picked up his instrument of choice as a five-year-old following in the footsteps of a musical father. He began writing songs at 12, training classically throughout his teens and performing solo wherever he could, honing his craft and developing what would become the dynamite live show that he is renowned for today.

At 18 he left school, turned professional and hit the road. The next five years saw him traversing North America, the United Kingdom, Europe, New Zealand and of course, his homeland Australia playing such festivals as Vancouver and Mariposa Folk (Canada), Belgium’s Labadoux Festival and Australia’s Woodford, Falls Festival, Port Fairy Folk Festival and the legendary Byron Bay Bluesfest.

He’s toured and shared stages with the likes of Lucinda Williams, Judy Collins, INXS, John Butler Trio, KT Tunstall and Ani DiFranco, Jake Shimabukuro, Rodrigo y Gabriela – all of this while writing, producing and independently releasing two Eps, Gypsy Moon Volumes 1 and 2, his first long player ‘Pint of Mystery’ (2011) ‘My Own Design’ (2009) and ‘Wide Eyed and Open’ (2010), and the ‘Real Live’ offering in 2012. His latest release “The Heartland Hurricanes” is available now.

As one reviewer recently wrote, “still in his early twenties, the distances he has been would be more frequently associated with veterans of the Folk scene” (The Dwarf).

“Today I saw the future of Folk – Festival goers flocking in their thousands towards the main stage to witness the young musical phenomenon from Australia dish out an absolute show-stopper at the evening’s end.” -Firefly Column, USA

http://www.danielchampagnemusic.com/

Support; Emily Fairlight
Doors; 8pm
Show time; 8:30pm
Blue Smoke open from 5pm

www.facebook.com/events/569647036575626

Ben Salter’s love affair with Aotearoa continues this summer with his third trip over the ditch in four years. Local songwriting heroin, Emily Fairlight will be joining him on the Blue Smoke stage for a mesmerizing yet rambunctious performance.

On Saturday the 4th of February Blue Smoke will be open from 5pm so feel free to come early for a little pre-show frivolity..

An incredibly powerful singer and mesmerizing performer, Salter is well known in Australia through his work with a diverse array of bands and projects. He’s released over twenty albums with bands such as The Gin Club, Giants of Science, three time ARIA award nominees The Wilson Pickers, Vandemonian Lags, The Young Liberals and Hownowmer. However he’s most commonly found pushing his esoteric folk/rock/whatever solo schtick on people across Australia and the world.

He’s released two critically acclaimed solo albums and his third, Back Yourself, is due for release later this year. A genre-hopping songwriter’s songwriter, Salter has written, recorded and performed alongside artists such as Gareth Liddiard (The Drones), Mick Thomas (Weddings Parties Anything), Tim Rogers You Am I, and Bernard Fanning Powderfinger. He has supported acts including Cat Power, J Mascis, Built to Spill, Counting Crows, Iron & Wine, and many others.

He is no stranger to New Zealand either, having toured here five times over the past ten years. He’s toured with Auckland’s hip hop poet extraordinaire Tourettes aka Dominic Hoey, whom he met in a remote Icelandic fishing village, and has performed with local hero Marlon Williams, both as support and a band member. He also once bested Liam Finn in a rap battle.

On record, Ben’s music spans a wide range of genres, from progressive, layered rock tracks to sparse string embellished ballads. He sometimes performs with a band but usually it’s just him, a guitar and some pedals, performing what he describes as esoteric folk music. He sings pretty good too.

Please note Blue Smoke will be open from 7pm for ticket holders only

Banished Music presents THE VEILS, TOTAL DEPRAVITY NZ TOUR, Summer 2017

“Like savage collisions of Bowie, Nick Cave and Nine Inch Nails” – UNCUT
Hot on the heels of the release of their blistering fifth album, Total Depravity, The Veils announce their first tour of New Zealand since 2013. With a powerful set of new songs, and a hand-picked collection of support acts from NZ’s finest (including Dunedin luminaries The Chills; Christchurch troubadour & Noir Protagonist Delaney Davidson; and Napier noise-merchants Queens Of Beauty School), The Veils are set to return South in a blaze of glory.

Since the band premiered the first track from the album Axolotl with Pitchfork back in June, anticipation has built steadily for the record co-produced by EL-P (Run The Jewels) and Atom Greenspan, and since its release Total Depravity has received unanimous and glorious praise worldwide.
Their latest single Low Lays The Devil was premiered by both NME and Zane Lowe’s Beats1 show, and was championed by Steve Lamacq heading straight on to the prestigious BBC 6 Music’s Playlist.

“Being based in London we don’t get to tour NZ nearly enough, but that only makes this all the more special. These shows are going to be insane, I can feel it. It’s a homecoming – there’s nothing else quite like it.” says lead singer Finn Andrews.