Greg Johnson 'blown away' by Kiwi talent

Northland musician Andy Richards is a big Greg Johnson fan and would have happily paid to see the great Kiwi singer-songwriter perform at Whangarei's Salut later this month.
Now Richards is excited because he's been chosen to be Johnson's opening act at the May 26 gig after the Johnson invited artists to send in a recording of their songs.
Johnson listened to songs from 124 artists across the country after he offered up opening slots at each of the nine gigs on his Small Towns & Ball Gowns Tour to new acts.
Richards competed against five other Northland acts for the Salut slot and Johnson said he was impressed with the standard of musicianship in the North.
He said he was immediately impressed with Richards' sound.
"There's a lot of great mellow music up there in the North. Andy Richards has a real energy to his songs that I'm sure will work nicely on the crowd in the beautiful old Salut Bar," Johnson told the Northern Advocate.
Musicians in each of the nine regions were invited to submit a track via Johnson's website
The winning entry also gets the opportunity to sell merchandise, show tickets and a performance fee.
"I was blown away by the sheer number of talented artists working away in small-town New Zealand," Johnson said.
"The choices were really difficult but I tried to fit acts that I knew could cope in front of a large and possibly noisy audience; a tough gig for anyone.
"It'll be fun seeing the acts putting up live," Johnson said.
Richards, 27, is originally from Warkworth and spent the past two years in Whangarei before returning to Warkworth recently.
He has been gigging and writing his own tunes for almost 10 years and his debut EP The Music is due for release this year.
Richards was blown away to be chosen by Johnson to open.
"I'm a big fan of Greg Johnson, he's one of our best singer-songwriters, so to get the chance to open for him is huge for me.
"It's a fantastic opportunity," Richards said.
"I would have been going along to the gig anyway ... at least this way I won't have to pay for my ticket."
Richards hoped to have his debut EP out in time for the Salut gig, but that may mean reducing the number of planned songs from five to four.
He recorded much of the music for The Music at York St Studios in Auckland with some of the country's top session musicians, but it was a song done on a home recording studio that he sent to Johnson.
"It was more of the style I thought he might like and might fit in with what he does, so I sent that through rather than the York St stuff," he said.
Greg Johnson, with support from Andy Richards, plays at Salut on May 26.