Fanfare: Corrs blimey, they're back

The group New Zealanders have taken to their hearts, Ireland's family band the Corrs, make a return visit in late February.

We've given them two number one albums and they clearly love coming down to see us.

"I think if you were to ask any artist to pick a country to make it in, they'd say New Zealand so you can get to tour there. So we're pretty happy," says Andrea. Awww shucks.

They are touring on the back of their In Blue album which has spent 21 weeks on our charts and sold in excess of 60,000 copies.

The Corrs' show at the North Harbour Stadium on Sunday February 25 offers various reserve seating options, corporate facilities and general admission to the grass bank areas. Tickets on sale now for all options through Ticketek.

* If you are a student heading out of Auckland for your tertiary stint next year, be sure to arrive in time for Orientation. Neil Finn is playing off-campus dates (also open to the public) in late February/early March in a solo show as part of the orientation programmes in Canterbury, Otago, Palmerston North, Wellington and Hamilton.

Also confirmed for orientation nationwide is the Australian rockabilly punk trio The Living End who come fresh, if that's the right word, from support dates with AC/DC throughout Australia.

* A belated big-up, hats-off and hearty congrats to young band Zed who last week inked a piece of important contractual paper with the hot US label Interscope who will release their cracking debut album Silencer over there.

How big a deal is this? It's big, mate. Interscope has Marilyn Manson, Eminem, No Doubt, Dr Dre and Beck. And the only non-US acts on the label are Ronan Keating, Sting, U2 and Samantha Mumba.

Zed's album has sold triple platinum here (more than 45,000) and will be released through the Universal label in Japan, Australia, Hong Kong, South Africa, Britain, Italy ... Oh, just about everywhere.

The band will swing through the country on a summer tour which, if things go according to the Master Plan, might be the last time we see them for a while because they'll travel to the States to promote the album in March.

Check them out now is the word to the wise. Zed's tour starts at Forum North in Whangarei on Wednesday January 17 and they play the Big Day Out (Fri, Jan 19). Then they swing back through New Plymouth (Fri Feb 2), Tauranga (Sat Feb 3), Rotorua (Sun Feb 4) and go down to Wellington and the South Island. Special guests on that second leg will be Eye TV.

* Waitangi Day might be a knotty one for politicians, the socially conscious and activists — but if you just want to enjoy fine Kiwi music on our national day and celebrate ourselves in the company of fellow citizens it's always been a good one. And it's Bob Marley's birthday, the reggae prophet who said, if you don't know your past you don't know your future.

Looking ahead to the music events next year it's already looking good.

Billing itself as New Zealand's Music Day Out, the Palmerston North Showgrounds will host a stellar line-up featuring — of course — Stellar*, Fur Patrol, betchadupa and the pepsismokefreerockquest 2000 winners Evermore from Feilding.

And those beloved entertainers Tim Finn, Bic Runga and Dave Dobbyn who enjoyed enormous success this year on their triple-headed monster national tour will also appear.

It's an eight-hour event and there will be food and wine booths on site, and tickets are available through Ticketek.

And if you are new to the country, Waitangi Day is our national day on February 6.

It's a Tuesday next year.