Festival promoters show off new site

Music will return to Puhinui Reserve in Manukau this Easter for the first time since a disastrous Sweetwaters Festival over a decade ago. 
Promoters from Chugg Entertainment unveiled the Grassroots site today to a select group of media and industry insiders. The 122ha reserve on the shore of the Manukau Harbour is a magnificent place on a sunny day.
Michael "Chuggi" Chugg says the property - normally part equestrian course and part operating farm - is unrivalled anywhere in the world.
The last time a festival was booked at the reserve was the ill-fated Sweetwaters 99 which left bands and tradespeople owed $3 million. Promoter Daniel Keighley was later sentenced to 12 months for fraud.
Mr Chugg says he expects a modest crowd of about 20,000 for Grassroots on the weekend of April 23 & 24. "We're wanting to get this underway and build a festival that people can enjoy," he says.
Headline acts are Grace Jones, BB King, Ben Harper, Tony Joe White and Elvis Costello, though the festival is billed as "blues, roots and all music".
"For me, going to festivals has always been about experiencing a new act and going home with their CD in my pocket to add to my collection of bands," Mr Chugg says.
"As big supporters of local music, I'm proud to say 18 of the 31 acts are local."
The Grassroots Festival will have two stages - a Manukau Stage to the east of the site and a smaller Puhinui Stage further south. There are areas for onsite camping as well as separate sites for campervans. Food, wine and market stalls line the western perimeter.
Mr Chugg says the event has been three years in the planning, including drawn out negotiations with the owners of the site, previously the Manukau City Council, now part of the Auckland Council.
While the press event today showed off much of the natural potential for the festival site, one area remains to be sorted. There is, as yet, just one access road in and out of the festival, from prices Rd.
Mr Chugg says there will be improvements made to the metal-lined road and another carriageway is being arranged.
Tickets for the event range from $130 for a single day, to $299 for a two-day VIP experience.
"I think it works out to about $10 an act, which we could have easily made by bringing some of them out individually," Mr Chugg says. "Once again, I find myself giving things away."
He says several thousand tickets have already sold, there are about 150 applicants from potential stallholders and a huge number of people have volunteered to help on the site.
Full line-up:
Grace Jones, BB King, Elvis Costello & The Imposters, Ben Harper and Relentless7), Rodrigo Y Gabriela, Tony Joe White, Imogen Heap, Lulo Reinhardt, Felice Brothers, Eugene Hideaway Bridges, Flip Grater, Hammond Gamble, Shona Laing, Doug Jerebine & Billy T.K. SR, Heart Attack Alley, Julia Deans, Darcy Perry, Caitlin Smith, Riverhead Slide, The Warratahs, The Bads, The Thomas Oliver Band, Eric Bibb, Paul Ubana Jones, Ruthie Foster, Cairo Knife Fight, Ticket, Don McGlashan and Sola Rosa.
More info: www.grassrootsfestival.co.nz