Green Day, B-52s heading to NZ

Green Day are set to hit Auckland later this year. Photo / Supplied

The sounds of silence were set to grip Auckland following Simon & Garfunkel's shows at Vector Arena this weekend - but the tide has turned and a new wave of live entertainment is heading our way as Green Day, Ne-Yo, Flo Rida and others announce New Zealand tours. Playing at venues across Auckland, the spate of shows breaks the big gig drought and should - hopefully - be the beginning of a bountiful new season of live music lining up for the rest of the year.

GREEN DAY
With their acclaimed eighth studio album riding high in the charts, Green Day embark on a world tour which includes a stop in Auckland on Saturday, December 19. The 21st Century Breakdown tour will see the band roll into town following five Australian dates and marks their first visit to our shores since the American Idiot tour at the North Shore Events Centre in March 2005. Tickets go on sale July 1, via Ticketmaster.

NE-YO
Ne-Yo will get one step closer to his Kiwi fans when he plays Vector Arena on November 16.

The award-winning songwriter has hits all over the show from his collaborations with industry heavyweights - including Beyonce, Kanye West and Rihanna. But it's his own chart-topping album Year of the Gentlemen that sees him head Downunder for five shows this November. Ne-Yo will be supported by rising local talent Vince Harder, the voice behind P-Money's number one hit last year, Everything.

Tickets go on sale June 22, via Ticketmaster

FLO RIDA
There will be Apple Bottoms aplenty at the Powerstation this September, as Flo Rida brings his posse to town for a one-stop tour. The man behind current chart hit Right Round and rising single Sugar, Flo Rida is best known for last year's number one, Low. He plays the Powerstation on Saturday, September 5. Tickets go on sale Friday, June 19 via Ticketmaster.

THE GAME
He pulled the plug on his last Auckland appearance but American rapper The Game is giving it another crack with a show at the Logan Campbell Centre this August. The Game will bring his LAX tour to Auckland on Wednesday, August 12, before heading south to Wellington and Rotorua. Originally scheduled to play Vector Arena in August 2007, as part of the Roc tha Block Tour, the show was postponed before The Game cancelled his appearance altogether.

Tickets to his Auckland show will be available through Ticketek.

B-52s & THE PROCLAIMERS
The B-52s and the Proclaimers team up to provide a soundtrack for summer this December, playing three dates around New Zealand. The bands will tour some of the country's leading vineyards, performing at the popular summer concert series, A Day on the Green. Christchurch will be the first show for the show - which also includes a reunited Dave McArtney and the Pink Flamingos - before Wellington's Alana Estate on December 12 and Auckland's Villa Maria Estate Winery on December 13. Tickets go on sale June 22, through Ticketmaster.

NICKELBACK
They may not have gone down too well when opening for the Rolling Stones at Western Springs in 2006, but Nickelback have seemingly survived the experience and are ready to give us another crack. The Canadians are understood to be heading our way this year with their Dark Horse tour but dates have yet to be confirmed.