Pop-folk band making their first stop in Rotorua

Pop-folk band Looking For Alaska are ready to set the New Zealand folk scene alight and will be stopping off in Rotorua first on their North Island tour.

The event will be a special showcase of the band's original music, being held in the Monarch Room at the Princes Gate Hotel.

They will be joined by Fables, a folk band from Auckland, and the show is hosted by Karin Vincent from The Rogue Stage.

Member Aaron Gott said the Hamilton-based band's debut album Looking for Alaska was being released tomorrow.

Gott said he and Amy Maynard started out as a duo and played together for three years.

For the last year they had been doing things as a five piece band.

He said they were inspired by other New Zealand musicians such as Mel Parsons and Marlon Williams.

Gott said they were looking forward to travelling around the North Island, meeting "some cool people" and performing their music.

He said a lot of their songs were quite personal and about love, and that making an emotional connection with the audience was something he loved about performing.

"It's awesome when we get an audience that's really attentive, and getting to do what we love in front of people."

He said their music was "not really traditional folk" and they had songs which were catchy, some sing-along and some down beat ones.

Gott said they had performed in Rotorua before for the Wai-O-Tapu Folk Festival and he and Maynard had performed as a duo at Brew Bar.

"It's a beautiful place."

To get an idea of Looking for Alaska's music visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=ww5ECTH1iGo.

What: Looking for Alaska New Zealand Album Tour
When: Tomorrow 7pm to 11pm
Where: Princes Gate Hotel
Tickets: $20, available at www.eventbrite.co.nz and hard copy tickets from Musicworks Rotorua. Children are free.