Lakefront concert revealed

Fat Freddy's Drop are coming to Rotorua for a new summer concert. Photo / Supplied

A former Raggamuffin festival director is bringing dub and reggae back to Rotorua, but it won't be a direct replacement for the well-known festival.

Jackie Sanders of Jacman Entertainment has organised a concert for January 2 at the Rotorua Lakefront with Fat Freddy's Drop headlining.

They will be joined by Meta & The Cornerstones who have been described by National Geographic as the future of reggae music.

Also featuring will be Hipstamatics, a 10-piece funk band.

"We wanted to look at bringing a range of new, quality events to Rotorua - there are great locations in the city," she said. "The Lakefront has a great record at hosting concerts and you can't get much better than Fat Freddy's Drop. They are the absolute must-see band every summer and they don't play a lot. It's a bit of a coup to get them - we're excited they agreed to come to Rotorua.

"People will have had their Christmas and New Year celebration and this is a nice, fun family event - that's the feel we're going for."

She said Meta & The Cornerstones were booked for Rhythm and Vines and Rhythm and Alps but had January 2 free.

Hipstamatics played regularly in Auckland and sang "songs you know but they make them their own".

"We thought we would try something quite different. It's definitely not a replacement for Raggamuffin but we would love for this to be for a wider demographic. We're looking at doing a more old-school reggae concert later in February and that would bring reggae back to Rotorua in the way Raggamuffin was."

Ms Sanders said people should pack their picnic blankets and enjoy the laid-back atmosphere. Food and drinks would be available at the fenced concert, including local wines and craft beers.

• Tickets for the event will go on sale on Wednesday and earlybird tickets are $49; $85 for VIP tickets. Children aged 12 or under will be free. Once the earlybird allocations are exhausted, ticket prices will increase to $59 and $95 respectively. Tickets are available from www.eventfinda.co.nz or 0800 BUY TIX (0800 289 849).