Folk rock musician Billy Bragg has been hailed as a protest song hero for more than three decades, and local fans are being offered their chance to provoke some new thoughts from the man British newspapers regard as an institution.

TV3 journalist Ali Ikram will host an informal question and answer session with Bragg on the eve of his Auckland Town Hall concert. Free to all-comers, the Q&A will be held at the Real Groovy record store on Queen Street.

According to promoters, the session may even include "a song or two."

Bragg who has striven to entertain people and "make them think" for three decades, is booked for four dates in New Zealand, including an earthquake benefit gig in Christchurch. The gigs are promised to be a showcase of his own songwriting as well as that of legendary American folk artist Woody Guthrie.

The Q&A begins at 5.30pm on Thursday, October 11.

* Billy Bragg in New Zealand

October 12: Auckland Town Hall
October 13: The Opera House, Wellington
October 14: Otago Girls Auditorium
October 16: Aurora Centre

- Herald online