Get a taste of the Hawke's Bay Arts Festival

Reb Fountain is returning to Hawke's Bay to celebrate the release of her IRIS album. Photo / Supplied

Get a taste for this year's Hawke's Bay Arts Festival with the Festival Taster Series.

While the main festival begins in October, the Taster Series is on this month and next.

An exciting part of this Series are three icons of New Zealand music, Troy Kingi & Delaney Davidson, Che Fu & The Kratez and Reb Fountain with her band.

Troy and Delaney bring an award-winning combination of skills together for the Taster Series. Both have performed at previous festivals but never as a duo, which promises to be a fantastic night.

Troy Kingi (Te Arawa, Nga puhi) has arrived at the halfway point of his 1O 1O 1O Series: 10 albums, 10 genres, 10 years. Following on from his remarkable performance of The Ghost of Freddie César at the 2020 Festival, Kingi now swaps out his soul styling for folk twang and 12 strings on Black Sea Golden Ladder.

Co-produced and performing with award-winning Otautahi folk/country stalwart Delaney Davidson, Kingi says it is the most personal of all his albums.

"The first one I feel that is truly about me."

Each track dives deep into a different part of life, from birth to death, with the lead single Call My Name unearthing school-day memories, written by Davidson, Kingi and Kingi's daughter.

With the most top-10 songs of any individual in New Zealand music history, Che Fu is one of the country's most successful and beloved recording artists. Coming to the attention of Aotearoa NZ in the early 90s as one of the original members of Kiwi rock band Supergroove, Che went on to forge a career as a solo artist writing and recording hip-hop/soul chart-topping songs such as Chains and Misty Frequencies, and platinum-selling albums such as 2b S. Pacific and The Navigator.

Che-Fu's groundbreaking second album, Navigator, charted new territory for New Zealand hip-hop.

Both a critical and commercial success, the album reflected a truly Pacific soul, with its seamless blending of reggae, R&B, hip-hop and true stories. The influence and legacy of Navigator underscores its importance, paving the way for Aotearoa hip-hop's subsequent ascendancy.

Che Fu and his band the Kratez will be playing all the tracks off his Navigator album in its entirety in celebration of it being 20 years since its release.

The 2021 Taite Music Prize winner, Reb Fountain, is returning to Hawke's Bay with her all-star band including Dave Khan, Earl Robertson and Karin Canzek to celebrate the release of her highly anticipated album release IRIS - the product of New Zealand's first lockdown and her commitment to crafting music every day.

Fountain and her band have been astounding audiences nationwide since the release of her criticality acclaimed, award-winning 2020 eponymous album. Renowned for her spellbinding live performances, her IRIS tour is a show you don't want to miss.

She will be joined by Tāmaki Makaurau Neo-Folk Artist Jazmine Mary and here in Hawke's Bay by Arahi.

• For tickets to these music events and other events in the Festival Taster Series, go to www.hbaf.co.nz

• Troy Kingi with Delaney Davidson: Black Sea Golden Ladder, August 10, at Toitoi Hawke's Bay Arts and Events Centre.

• Che Fu and the Kratez: Return of the Navigator, August 12, at Toitoi Hawke's Bay Arts and Events Centre.

• Reb Fountain: IRIS album release, August 27, at Toitoi Hawke's Bay Arts and Events Centre