Tour news: Anika Moa, Benny Tipene plot small town tour

Your GPS or Google Maps app will be put to good use when Anika Moa heads out on the road with Benny Tipene for a North Island tour, called the "So Good They Named It Twice" tour, this July.

Unconventional tour spots will be the go-to towns for the trip, which visits only places with double names - Matamata, Ramarama, Poroporo, Kihikihi. You get the idea.

Moa, who has recently moved back down south, is looking forward to trucking round the North Island, and jumped at the opportunity.

"I've been on the road as long as I can remember, so I thought I'd show Benny the ropes. We thought visiting these communities would be a new, fun idea. Next tour will be the ones we forgot - Kohukohu, Karekare, Tikitiki. Or maybe a tour of towns beginning with 'Whaka', since Whakarewarewa almost qualifies for the double name."

As well as being "easy on the eye", she's convinced Tipene will be a great partner for the intimate shows. "As well as performing solo, I feel Benny and I will sing beautifully together.

"Had I been an X Factor judge I would have voted for Benny to win."

Moa has lately been visible on television, tutoring inmates from Auckland Women's Prison in Songs From the Inside, and working on a fresh album, full of new songs of heartbreak.

"I have just about finished recording the new record, and this tour will give my fans the opportunity to hear some of my new work for the first time along with the hits."

Tipene will be singing a few new tracks from his upcoming album too, along with the favourites from his current EP, Toulouse.

They're starting at Mike's Organic Brewery in Mimi (near Taranaki) on July 3, heading to the Town Hall in Kihikihi (Waikato) on July 4, the Memorial Centre in Matamata on July 5, the Country Inn in Ramarama on July 10, the Sports Club in Hora Hora (Whangarei) on July 11, Turner Centre in Kerikeri on July 12, Sports Club in Poroporo (Whakatane) on July 19, and finishing at the Memorial Hall in Katikati (Bay of Plenty) on July 19.

- TimeOut