Concerts to return
Winter tour gig moved to marquee at racecourse
Possibly the biggest marquee erected in Hawke’s Bay will be used for a concert that has been transferred from the Pettigrew Green Arena because it’s not big enough.
The Good Vibes winter tour concert, scheduled for the Taradale sports stadium on July 25, will now be held under a marquee at Hawke’s Bay Racing’s Hastings racecourse.
The Pettigrew Green Arena, which opened in 2003, would have coped with about 2500 fans, and the move highlights concerns about indoor venues for bigger concerts in Hawke’s Bay despite the history of the Mission Concert, with peak crowds of more 25,000, outdoor gigs over the years at several other wineries, and Napier’s McLean Park.
Next month’s concert will feature a seven-act line-up of some of New Zealand’s best-known and durable acts of the past 20-30 years, with a strong Kora-brothers influence, headlined by L.A.B, who played two shows at Black Barn, Havelock North in October 2018.
They’ve since had huge success, being voted the best live New Zealand act of 2019, and in March-April this year had the first New Zealandproduced No 1 hit in three years.
They will be supported by multigenerational legends Ardijah and Che Fu, 21st century leaders Katchafire, Sons of Zion, and Three Houses Down (with up-and-coming General Fyah), and rising star Victor J Sefu.
It will be the fourth concert on the Good Vibes North Island tour.
The marquee will also be used in Rotorua and Mt Maunganui.
Other concerts on the tour will feature Kora, Stan Walker and Lomez Brown.
Promoters have managed to stick with the eight original dates despite the Covid-19 lockdown which, however, resulted in the addition of Sons of Zion in place of Hawaii-based reggae artist Kolohe Kai.
The biggest marquee thought to have been used for a concert in New Zealand was a 7000sq m expansion, for a dance show attracting about 20,000 people to regular large-scale outdoor concert venue and Warriors rugby league home ground Mt Smart Stadium in Auckland last October.