Tour news: Orb at Splore; Costello goes south

The Orb.

Splore festival has rounded off its 2014 line-up announcement with several big names added this week, plus a whole heap of performance artists, on top of the already chocka multimedia line-up.

Credited with starting the ambient acid house movement, old school English chill-out act, The Orb, have added a visit to Splore to their 25th Anniversary World Tour, and are promising an immersive set with psychedelic imagery to the fore.

The Orb have had a fairly idiosyncratic career, but their sellout shows and hit singles, such as Little Fluffy Clouds, have earned them the title of classic dance music purveyors.

Returning after a winning Saturday night set at Splore 2012, hilarious British act The Cuban Brothers will be back with more stripping, breakdancing and Caribbean good times, along with British rapper Ty and Australia's pre-eminent funk band, The Bamboos.

Up-and-coming DJ/producers added to the line-up include Stone Throw's Jonti; UK's Om Unit, who is heading the "slow/fast" revolution; plus Kutmah, a DJ who counts many other DJs among his fans; and many more from Japan, Brazil, the US, and New Zealand.

There have been several additions to the Living Lounge line-up also. This hub of music, theatre, circus, and dance will host The Modern Maori Quartet - dubbed "the creative love child of Prince Tui Teka and Flight of the Conchords", along with a great assortment of local talent with a flair for the dramatic, including The Pyramid Scheme, Spartacus R, The Cosbys, Sal Valentine & The Babyshakes, and The Drab Doo Riffs.

There will also be performers roaming across the site throughout the weekend, adding their sprinkling of dance, magic, mysticism, and technology to the colourful world of Splore.

The newly announced acts join 60-plus artists already announced, including DJ Shadow, Ebony Bones, Ragga Twins, Adam Freeland, Blak Twang, Billions Cobra and Binge Culture, along with 34 visual art installations. Unfortunately, because of family circumstances, previously announced artist Alice Russell, has postponed her February Australia/NZ tour.

Splore takes place from February 14 to 16 at Tapapakanga Park, and you can check out all the ticketing/camping/transport/artist info at splore.net

In other festival news, The Doobie Brothers and Elvis Costello and the Imposters will headline the inaugural Queenstown Blues and Roots Festival in April.

The two acts are part of the line-up for the Byron Bay Blues and Roots Festival across the Tasman at Easter and will be heading to the South Island show on Saturday April 26.

Also playing at the Queenstown Events Centre venue will be Kiwi acts Fly My Pretties, The Black Seeds, King Leo, and the The Johnnys.

The new Queenstown event follows previous attempts to establish a parallel New Zealand event to the giant Bryon Bay festival. Tickets will cost $99.

Meanwhile, more acts have been announced for Raggamuffin festival, which takes place in Rotorua on January 31 and February 1.

Organisers say Californian supergroup Common Kings will be joining the line-up, along with New Zealand acts Ardijah, Aotearoa Reggae All Stars, Majic, Lion Rockers Hi-Fi plus the winners of the 2013 Smokefree Pacifica Beats competition, Strangely Arousing.

Common Kings toured New Zealand in October, but are looking forward to playing the large-scale festival and showing off their Polynesian roots, and rock, reggae, and R'n'B influences once more.

The new acts join a line-up of reggae megastars, with headliners Damian Marley (youngest son of legend Bob Marley), Shaggy, Groundation, Rebel Souljahz and, for the first time in New Zealand, Morgan Heritage. Also featuring are three stars from the Marley brothers' Ghetto Youths International record label, Christopher Ellis, Black Am I and Wayne Marshall.

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- TimeOut