Cee-Lo will bring the crazy to Raggamuffin in the new year. (Supplied)
Cee-Lo will bring the crazy to Raggamuffin in the new year. (Supplied)
RAGGAMUFFIN is back with one of its best line-ups yet - but some major changes are being made ahead of the long-running festival's second Auckland leg.
Those changes include a move from December to February to take advantage of the settled summer weather, after last year's move to Auckland wasdampened by constant drizzle.
The headliners for Raggamuffin IX, to be held at Trusts Arena in West Auckland on February 20, are Eddy Grant and Cee-Lo Green.
Other acts confirmed in today's first line-up announcement include Sly & Robbie, Inner Circle, Maxi Priest, Junior Marvin's Wailers, Spawnbreezie, Boo Yaa T.R.I.B.E, Three Houses Down and Tomorrow People.
Grant is a pop-reggae icon with a back catalogue of hits like Electric Avenue and Baby Come Back, while Grammy-winner Cee-Lo is known for his smash Crazy, released in 2006 as part of his Gnarls Barkley collaboration project with Danger Mouse.
His fifth studio album, Heart Blanche, is due out this year.
Other changes have been made to make Raggamuffin a family-friendly event.
They include a deal offering free tickets to children under 14 when accompanied by an adult ticket holder, and cheaper youth tickets available to those aged between 14-17.
The Trusts Arena layout will also be changed to move food and merchandise facilities down to the same level as the main stage.
At last year's event, the first in Auckland after seven years in Rotorua, punters faced a steep climb up stairs to access those facilities - a long way from the main stage. That event was headlined by UB40, Ice Cube and Chronnix.
Pre-sale tickets for Raggamuffin IX are available from July 27, and earlybird tickets from August 10 for two weeks through Ticketmaster.
