Maniapoto, who is descended from Ngati Tuwharetoa, Tuhourangi-Ngati Wahiao and Ngati Pikiao, will appear at Lakeside for the first time on February 17 as Moana & the Tribe.
She will front the band alongside her sister Trina Maniapoto.
"Trina and I are from here. Our family lived with our grandfather Hema and Uncle Hitiri for a number of years. Our dad Nepia and his brothers were stalwarts of the Whakarewarewa Rugby Club – our brother Maru still is."
She said their father was part of the kapa haka hotel circuit.
"Trina was too at one stage, then started helping me out with administration, so I suggested she come do some harmonies. She had one gig in New Zealand before embarking on a 38-gig tour of Europe [with me].
"Most of my band are either Te Arawa or are based in Rotorua yet we're pretty much an unknown quantity in Rotorua. This is an opportunity for us to show off our songwriting and fusion styles."
Moana Maniapoto's invitation to Lakeside has been long overdue. Photo / Supplied
Formed in 2002, Moana & the Tribe have played hundreds of concerts on stages in Budapest, Istanbul, Moscow, Berlin, Toronto, Venice, Shanghai, Seoul and Toronto, and have played at the Sydney Opera House twice.
Maniapoto's talents were recognised in 2016 when she was inducted into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame as a musician who has made "a significant long-term contribution to New Zealand music".
Last year, she and her sister led their band on a 22-town national tour called My Name Is Moana, which focused on fresh and saltwater water issues in New Zealand.
Her latest album, Rima, has been her most successful and was a finalist at three major music awards in 2015 and named a Top of the World Album (Songlines UK). She and her co-writers, Scotty Morrison from Rotorua (of Te Karere fame) and Paddy Free, are nearing completion on her sixth studio album, Ono.
"Scotty has been with me since the Moahunter days. He was the only haka performer that wasn't in Tuhourangi. He started off as a haka man but has co-written songs on three of my albums. It's been an inspiring creative relationship, pushing both of us."
Her performances incorporate haka and that part of her show at Lakeside will be led by Laurence Kershaw, who is putting together haka performers who are or have been part of the band.
Rotorua's Mickey Ututaonga, who has toured the world with her, will be back on the drums.
When Moana & the Moahunters began, the haka wing consisted of one warrior, Warena Morgan.
"I was inspired to incorporate live haka into my band when the Moahunters played support to Public Enemy. They had the SW1 dudes standing on stage looking all militant and doing the odd move. I thought to myself 'you wanna see mean?'," she said.
Before they went on stage at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in 1993, she asked Morgan to run out and do his thing.
"I can still see the audience's jaw drop. We started composing and incorporating haka into our dance music with songs like Treaty and Ancestors. Warren (Warena) brought our Tuhourangi cousins into our band - Chad Manga, Colin Tihi, Hereana Roberts; Paraiha and Tuhoe Huata joined up - there were others too. Aneta Morgan was a big hit when she toured with us."
Lakeside artistic director Richard Anaru said Maniapoto's invitation to Lakeside was long overdue.
"For years I have watched her in the music industry and I have seen her growth not only in music but as a political and social commentator.
"Her musical achievements have always been based unselfishly around her whanau and her people and she's used her music to communicate those thoughts and she's taken that message all around the world."
Anaru said everything about Maniapoto was what this year's Lakeside theme was all about.
"She's an extremely clever individual and her wairua is interwoven always with her performances. Whenua is about all of that and we are so thrilled she is part of the show."
Lakeside 2018 - Whenua #itsabouthome line-up Sons of Zion unplugged Moana and the Tribe Strangely Arousing Modern Maori Quartet Alayna Powley Turanga Merito Kelly Makiha Maimoa Music Howard Morrison Trio Cairo Noelle Dannenbring Hohaia Macfarlane
Concert details When: Saturday February 17 Where: Rotorua Village Green Time: 7pm Tickets: Free open air concert, some seated tickets up the front available through Ticketmaster for $42.20
