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Three chart-topping homegrown talents are heading on tour.
Hori Shaw and Shane Walker, with support from Te Wehi, are heading to 10 Kiwi towns and cities this winter, a statement on behalf of organisers said today.
The Homegrown Road Trip will head to Gisborne, Whakatāne, Tauranga, Kaitaia, Hamilton, Rotorua,Napier, Palmerston, New Plymouth and Wellington over four weekends in June, July and August.
Ōpōtiki’s Hori Shaw, Shane Walker from Auckland and Te Wehi from Whakatāne have the top three spots on the Official Top 20 Aotearoa Singles Chart.
Hori Shaw, centre, Te Wehi, left and Shane Walker are touring the North Island as part of the Homegrown Road Trip.
Te Wehi’s cover of Allen Stone’s Unaware, Shaw’s Back in My Arms and Walker’s Coasty Girl have all reached number one on the charts and are currently charted at 1, 2 and 3.
Shaw said he was excited to bring his iconic sounds to towns and cities across the North Island for his first headline tour in New Zealand.
He has been a major part of New Zealand’s music scene since he released Country Roads in 2023 and his success has continued with further hits Back in My Arms; Shawfyah and One Day, all released last year.
Hori Shaw.
Back in My Arms is arguably his biggest release so far, securing a spot on NZ’s Official Top 40 Singles chart, and a number one spot on the Official Top 20 Aotearoa Singles chart.
Shaw said he appreciated the love he has received for his music. He said he believed Country Roads had connected with people because of its reliability, and he was excited to perform on tour this winter.
“Everyone can relate to it.”
Since releasing FX*K You Too, Walker has been cementing his place as a powerhouse in today’s music with Coasty Girl dominating airwaves and his subsequent single Waimā Girl is also making its way up the charts.
He said he was looking forward to connecting with fans on the Homegrown Road Trip, where he would be giving fans an engaging and entertaining set throughout.
He said each set will be tailored to each stop on the tour.
“You never know what you’re going to get.”
He said he had always been deeply connected to his Cook Island heritage but also had been reconnecting with his Māori roots in recent years, which had “been enlightening”.
The tour announcement also coincided with the release of a new single this week – a special single called Māmā, which will be released on Friday in time for Mother’s Day.
Te Wehi’s cover of Unaware reached number one on the Official Top 20 Aotearoa Singles chart on April 4, where it still sits.
Shane Walker.
He said he had always been a fan of Allen Stone and the song Unaware was a song he had connected to and sang socially.
