The Auckland Arts Festival has announced the musical line-up for its much-loved Spiegeltent venue next March, and it's a colourful list of local and international artists.
New York native Emily King (pictured) is a Grammy Award-nominated singer-songwriter who has recorded with NAS, Lupe Fiasco, and toured with Emeli Sande, Alicia Keys and John Legend. She'll be playing two nights in the Spiegeltent, showcasing her delicate voice and well-judged blend of understated pop and soul.
Fellow American, comedian Desiree Burch, will present her show Tar Baby, which takes a funny and inclusive look at the scary and divisive subject of race.
Post-modern diva Meow Meow brings her kamikaze cabaret style show Little Mermaid to Auckland for the first time, and promises to terrify and inspire in equal measure.
Belgium brings us The Great Downhill Journey of Little Tommy, a live rock concert and theatre performance that fuses rock, industrial and electronic sounds, and follows Tommy, a teenager who leaves his home on a hilltop to see the sea for the first time, in this Tim Burton-esque tale.
Scotland's six-man band Shooglenifty will likely be the first ever act to bring "hypno-folkadelic ambient trad" to New Zealand, while Dragon's Diva Den will turn the tent into a karaoke club for the first time.
On the local front, Tami Neilson, Bella Kalolo and Anna Coddington get together to pay tribute to Dusty Springfield in Dust to Dusky, charting her story from her folk beginnings to the 90s. The Black Quartet will perform beautiful songs from local artists like Tiny Ruins and Lawrence Arabia, for one evening only. Don McGlashan and Shayne Carter join forces to mine their back catalogues and bring new rough-hewn diamonds into the light for the first time. And Laughton Kora will gather some friends for a for a big beat DJ set.
The full festival programme and ticketing information can be found at aaf.co.nz.