Classic rockers set to star
Sharply dressed rockers who’ve got legs and know how to use them are returning to New Zealand shores along with a bevy of wellknown acts for the first post-Covid 2023 Summer Concert Tour lineup.
Headlining the three-stop tour are ‘‘That Little Ol’ Band From Texas’’ ZZ Top, along with 90s grunge legends Stone Temple Pilots, four times Grammy Award winners Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo and Aussie rockers The Angels. However, Pat Benatar may be a heartbreaker after recently announcing she would not be performing her classic song Hit Me With Your Best Shot live.
The acts will perform at the Taupō Summer Concert on Saturday, February 4, the Whitianga Summer Concert on Sunday, February 5, and at the Gibbston Valley Winery Summer Concert in Queenstown on Saturday, February 11.
Greenstone Entertainment chief executive Amanda Calvert said her team was ‘‘super excited’’ to be able to bring the Summer Concert Tour back to New Zealand after having to cancel the 2022 tour.
‘‘It’s been a tough couple of years for everyone, and we can’t wait to play our small part in bringing back live entertainment to our fans and to give them something to look forward to in the summer of 2023. Taupō, Whitianga and Queenstown are among New Zealanders’ favourite summer holiday spots, and it’s going to be awesome to see the regions humming with the tens of thousands of concertgoers expected to attend one of our shows.’’
Calvert said the move to February for 2023 meant the tour would not coincide with other events taking place in January.
‘‘We’re excited that we’ll be able to celebrate Waitangi long weekend at both our Taupō and Whitianga shows ... [and] looking forward to welcoming everyone along for an awesome afternoon of classic rock in February next year.’’
It’s been 35 years since ZZ Top played their epic show in front of an estimated 80,000 fans at Western Springs in 1987. Synonymous with beards, hot rods and spinning guitars, ZZ Top will be performing with Elwood Francis on bass and vocals. Francis stepped into the role after the death of original band member Dusty Hill in 2021.
Formed back in 1969, ZZ Top are most famous for their albums Eliminator and Afterburner, and the hit singles Sharp Dressed Man, Gimme All Your Lovin’, Legs and La Grange.
Jeff Gutt has been the full-time frontman for Stone Temple Pilots since 2017, taking over from Scott Weiland after he died from a drug overdose in 2015. Huge in the 1990s, the band’s hits Interstate Love Song, Plush and Vasoline, all featured in the New Zealand charts throughout the decade.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Pat Benatar and her husband Neil Giraldo have been performing together for more than 40 years and have had no fewer than 14 songs reach the New Zealand Top 50 charts.
Hits such as Heartbreaker, Love Is a Battlefield and We Belong will be on the set list next year, they also played on the 2013 Summer Concert Tour.
But Benatar will no longer perform Hit Me With Your Best Shot at live shows out of respect for American families affected by mass shootings.
Originally scheduled to perform on the 2021 Summer Concert Tour, The Angels are one of Australia’s longest lasting bands, dating as far back as 1976 when they first released Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again.
Tickets for the three shows go on sale from August 9 at greenstoneentertainment.co.nz.
A limited number of locals-only tickets go on sale from August 15 at local i-Sites and from My Music Taupō.