Get out your dancing shoes and bucket hats, L.A.B are performing a headline show in Tauranga this summer.
The December 28 show at Wharepai Domain will be the Bay of Plenty band’s only show in the region this summer.
The Kiwi reggae-fusion group will also perform at Nelson’s Trafalgar Centre on January 5.
The In The Air hitmakers will be joined at both shows by special guests, California ska/alternative rock band Sublime With Rome.
“Having sold out performances worldwide and with their sixth album nearing completion, [L.A.B] will emerge from studio with a bang for these two shows,” promoter Loop said in a press release.
Concert-goers could expect the L.A.B classics plus some new songs from the forthcoming L.A.B VI album, which was due out early next year.
The venue capacity is 8000 people, with last year’s show — the first stop of their summer tour — selling out. It was the group’s first gig on home turf since 2019.
Joel Shadbolt, frontman for L.A.B. Photo / Sam Hannaford
“It’s becoming something of a tradition as L.A.B are Bay of Plenty locals hailing from Pāpāmoa and Whakatāne,” a spokeswoman said.
Gates will open at 4.30pm with a special DJ until Sublime With Rome come on at 6.30pm. L.A.B will take the stage from 8pm until the show finishes at 10pm.
Tickets for both shows will go on sale on Thursday at noon on loop.co.nz.
This event is currently R18 and organisers were in the process of applying for a Special Licence to allow people under the age of 18 to enter, a spokeswoman said.
“We will advise on the outcome of our licence application as soon as possible.”
The band were last due to perform in the Bay at this year’s One Love festival on Auckland Anniversary weekend, alongside other local and international artists, but this was cancelled due to extreme weather.
L.A.B will not perform at One Love in 2024.
In a 2022 interview with the Bay of Plenty Times,L.A.Bfrontman Joel Shadbolt, from Pāpāmoa, said playing in the Bay was always special.
“Playing at home gets the locals excited, so you’re always seeing people around town at home, who will tell you how excited they are for the show,” he said.
“Those are the same people you see in the crowd at the show, and that’s always a real buzz.”
Sublime with Rome is the combination of original Sublime member Eric Wilson and friend of the band Rome Ramirez.
Sublime had several huge hits in the 90s, including What I Got, Santeria and Wrong Way, but fell apart after singer Bradley Nowell’s death in 1996. Sublime with Rome was formed in 2010.
