Jazz fans are set to be treated to an awesome lineup of class acts at this year's 55th annual National Jazz Festival.
Downtown Tauranga is set to explode with live music and other entertainment which should keep people dancing and joyful all Easter weekend.
The festival runs from April 13 to 17.
National Jazz Festival director Becks Chambers said preparations were going well, and ticket sales were tracking nicely. She urged people to grab their tickets early to not miss out on the huge line-up of top performers.
Especially the "incredibly talented" headline act Alchemy, and the ever popular Hurricane Party series down on Tauranga waterfront, she said.
Alchemy features four of New Zealand's favourite female singers - Ria Hall, Anna Coddington, Julia Deans and Bella Kalolo - backed by seven of the country's best jazz musicians performing at Baycourt on April 15.
"They will perform 19 iconic Kiwi pop songs, reinvented with a world-class jazz twist.
Alchemy will be an unforgettable live jazz-pop experience," she said.
Lovers of classic sultry jazz should not miss out on seeing Australia's answer to Ella Fitzgerald Nichaud Fitzgibbon, nor soulful acoustic guitar sensation Paul Ubana Jones.
Ms Chambers said as well as the headline acts, the Downtown Carnival, Hurricane Party Series, 40th National Youth Jazz Competition, and the new TECT Waterfront gala, the festival "truly offered" something for every music lover.
The popular Hurricane Party offered two nights for people to "get their groove on", featuring Swamp Thing, The Hipstamatics and The Cactus Channel.
The Downtown Carnival is held over days on multiple stages along The Strand and this year extends through Red Square to the new Grey St precinct.
There will be music for everyone from jazz to swing, blues and funk and strolling musicians and street performers adding to the carnival atmosphere, she said.
Ms Chambers said this year the Jazz Village would be replaced by the TECT Waterfront Gala taking place on Easter Monday, and she hoped 5000 people would attend.
"It will be a great big band bonanza thanks to Tauranga Big Band, and the Queen City Big Band from Auckland, with food, market stalls, and other entertainment.
"The Jazz Society will be the very first to use the new tidal stairs and pontoon on the Tauranga water font which is really exciting," she said.
"We've been working closely with Tauranga City Council to bring this new event to the waterfront. We can't wait to show people what's behind the barrier," she said.
Ms Chambers said the decision to rest the Jazz Village venue was made because of major upgrades of several buildings in the Historic village.
Some 300 performers from around the country would perform at the National Youth Jazz Competition at Baycourt from April 13 and 14.
History buffs should also head to Baycourt for the amazing 40 years of the National Youth Jazz Competition exhibition, which would showcases some of the country's top artists.
Ms Chambers said this year's jazz festival would not be the biggest ever after the Tauranga Jazz society decided to consolidate the event to keep within budget.
"But the lineup of performers are definitely some of the very best at their craft, and even if
you're not a jazz fan or know a lot about this genre of music, there is something to cater to everyone's taste," Ms Chambers said.