Halestorm to hit the Hutt with Devilskin
Homegrown rock band Devilskin couldn’t pass on the chance to have American rock band Halestorm, fronted by Lzzy Hale, open for them for their New Zealand tour.
‘‘We normally stay away from female-fronted rock bands to keep our point of difference but because there are so many kick-ass bands we have to get amongst it,’’ Devilskin’s bassist Paul Martin said.
The Grammy award winning band from Pennsylvania played Auckland in 2015 and Hale was excited to be heading back to tour New Zealand which includes a gig at Walter Nash Stadium in Taita on January 3.
‘‘There is such a passion for hard rock there and we are very humbled to be invited back with our new friends in Devilskin,’’ she said.
Apart from both bands having female singers, there were other ’’freaky similarities’’.
Both were family affairs. Halestorm was formed by Hale and her brother Arejay while still at junior high school, while Devilskin featured Martin and his son Nic Martin on drums, along with Jennie Skulander on vocals and Nail on bass.
After winning a 2012 Grammy for Best Hard Rock/ Metal Performance with their hit Love Bites (So Do I), Halestorm will be touring their current album Into The Wild Life.
Devilskin, formed in Hamilton in 2010, will be promoting their second album Be Like The River. This will be released on November 11, ahead of the 17-date summer tour, seven of which are with Halestorm.
Martin said even after Devilskin opened for thenformer Guns ’n’ Roses guitarist Slash, with Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators, in 2015, he was not jaded by his band’s success.
‘‘I’m the biggest fan boy out. I’m always at the front of stage trying to get guitar picks so I am never get complacent about it. I’m like a 17-year-old kid.’’
He hoped his band would also tour Australia with Halestorm.
Devilskin would not be at Homegrown in 2017 as they hoped to be touring Europe again.
Kiwi band City Of Souls will be playing on all of the tour dates, while Christchurch band Stonehurst will join the tour for the four South Island gigs.
The Be Like the River tour tickets went on sale on September 29. through Eventfinda.
*As well as Lower Hutt, the Be Like the River tour, with Halestorm, also hits six other spots: Christchurch, Nelson, New Plymouth, Mount Manganui, Auckland and Taupo.