Concert season kicks in

Canadian singer songwriter Sarah McLachlan is best known for her emotional and whimsical songs, but she's also the founder of concert tour Lilith Fair, which has a line-up consisting solely of female solo artists and female-led bands.

After a 10-year break, McLachlan got Lilith Fair back up and running this year with 23 shows around the United States and now A Taste Of Lilith is on its way to New Zealand for a show at the Aotea Centre on October 18.

McLachlan will be joined on the bill by Dixie Chicks offshoot band Court Yard Hounds, made up of sisters and multi-instrumentalists Martie Maguire (the fiddle player) and Emily Robison (on the banjo). Although the Chicks are still a going concern, the two sisters released the debut, self-titled, Court Yard Hounds album in May.

Singer-songwriter Julia Deans, who has just released her debut solo album Modern Fables, will headline the local part of the show and will be supported by swooning Auckland trio The Teacups, made up of Chelsea Jade, Elizabeth Stokes and Talita Setyady. The concerts are also a fundraising tool for charities, with the Breast Cancer Foundation the New Zealand beneficiary.

Fan club pre-sale tickets go on sale on August 30 and general public tickets on September 2 from 9am at buytickets.co.nz. See lilithfair.com
A new music festival is rolling into town this year - and it's likely to be the loudest one of the lot. No Sleep Til Auckland, a one-day multi-band event on December 10 at the ASB Showgrounds with some of the metal and punk world's biggest names, will be headlined by Megadeth who will be performing their classic fourth album Rust In Peace from 1990 in its entirety.

They were last here in 2009 with Slayer and flame-haired leader Dave Mustaine was in fine form.

Also on the bill are punk rock stalwarts NOFX, Dropkick Murphys, and Alkaline Trio, kick-arse Oz metallers Parkway Drive, and expect some bloody carnage when shock metallers Gwar turn up.

In addition, darkness will descend when Sweden's Katatonia take the stage, it might get a little more flowery for Canada's 3 Inches of Blood, and hardcore heroes Antagonist A.D., Wellington's melodic punks The Outsiders, and new act Leeches (featuring Bleeders, Goodnight Nurse, Antagonist A.D. and Brick Vs Face members) are just some of the band's making up the local line-up.

Tickets on sale September 9 from Ticketek and for more information go to nosleeptil.com.au
Last week Peter Hook announced he was coming to New Zealand to play Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures, and now, The Fall, a band who also formed in 1976 and just down the road from Hooky's hometown of Salford in the greater Manchester area, will play the Powerstation on December 13.

The post-punk band led by singer and devilish rambler Mark E. Smith return to New Zealand for the first time in 20 years - and 28 years after playing the shows which Flying Nun released as the live album, Fall In A Hole.

Now in their 34th year of existence, The Fall released Your Future Our Clutter in April which is the band's 28th studio album.

Smith (53) is the only constant in the band, which over the years has had many different members - more than 50 have been through the ranks in some shape or form - and it prompted legendary British DJ, the late John Peel, to sum up The Fall with the phrase, "always different, always the same".

Pre-sale tickets from 9am, August 31 (for more info go to powerstation.net.nz) and public sales 9am, September 2 at ticketmaster.co.nz and Real Groovy.