Big blues acts headed to NZ for Easter show

Musicians B.B. King (pictured), Ben Harper and Elvis Costello are heading to NZ for a two-day blues festival in April next year. Photo / Supplied

Big name acts B.B. King, Ben Harper and Elvis Costello are heading to New Zealand for a new two-day blues festival to be held during Easter.

The inaugural Grassroots Festival - labelled the New Zealand Blues and Roots All Music Festival - will take place on April 23 and 24 at Puhinui Reserve in Manukau.

The long-awaited follow up to the short-lived Coromandel Blues Festival in 2008, the Grassroots Festival takes advantage of the many international artists visiting Australia for the Byron Bay Blues Fest around the same time.

Blues guitar legend B.B. King, who is 85 and still touring, will headline the event, alongside Elvis Costello and the Imposters, and Ben Harper and the Relentless 7.

Costello will have some not-so-fond memories on his return to New Zealand since he will be playing at the site of the ill-fated 1999 Sweetwaters Festival for which he was never paid.

Also on the international bill are duelling Mexican guitar duo Rodrigo Y Gabriela, who played at The Civic in January, US-born acoustic blues guitarist Eric Bibb, and US blues folk singer-songwriter Ruthie Foster.

The local line-up includes bluesman Paul Ubana Jones, singer-songwriter Don McGlashan, sonic psyche two-piece Cairo Knife Fight, reformed psychedelic 70s band Ticket, and the Andrew Spraggon-led Sola Rosa.

There will also be a second announcement of local and international artists before the end of January.

Tickets on sale December 14 from grassrootsfestival.co.nz or ticketek.co.nz.

Meanwhile, although not part of the Grassroots Festival, also coming here off the back of the Byron Bay event are 70s funk legends the Meters (now known as the Funky Meters) and guitar hero Derek Trucks.

With the release of their self-titled debut in 1969, the Meters, today including founding members Art Neville and George Porter Jr, helped kick-start the 70s golden age of New Orleans' funk.

Trucks, who is renowned for his skilful, delicate slide guitar style, plays the Powerstation on April 27 with his band and his wife, singer Susan Tedeschi.

Tickets on sale December 14 (pre-sale) and December 16 (public sales) at ticketmaster.co.nz and Real Groovy.

-TimeOut