Fat Freddy's Drop
Whether it's classic rock or reggae, there's plenty of entertainment on offer over the next few months, as Rebecca Malcolm finds out.
FOR many, summer and concerts go hand-in-hand.
Whether it's welcoming in the New Year at a dance party, or grabbing a group of mates together to chill out for an afternoon of Kiwi music, summer in New Zealand isn't the same without a wide array of entertainment offerings popping up.
Over the next few months there is plenty on offer around the North Island, from Fat Freddy's Drop to reggae superstars like The Wailers and The Black Seeds and international rock legends like Heart and Foreigner.
Music promoter Jackie Sanders says for a long time, summer concerts have become part of the Kiwi summer ideal.
Plenty of artists plan their summer routes around the beach hot spot areas that are flooded with people over the summer holidays, but recently Taupo has started to make a name for itself as a summer music destination - and Jackie thinks Rotorua has that potential too.
It's part of the reason she's worked to bring Fat Freddy's Drop to Rotorua on January 2 - and she hopes to bring more summer music events to town in the future.
"The beach hot spots have great concerts ... Rotorua seems to have been missed on those circuits and I'm not sure why. I definitely think there is an opportunity here."
They're looking to make the summer concert an annual event, and hope the first sets the standard.
"Fat Freddy's Drop have a very wide appeal. They are a quintessential summer band."
So far ticket sales have been "selling really strongly" and Jackie is hopeful of a crowd of between 3000 and 4000 turning up for the event.
"What we wanted to do was a really chilled event to bring in the New Year, something people could bring their families to."
While Rotorua's set to be busy with visitors over the holiday season, Jackie says the concert is equally aimed at locals.
That family-friendly music event making the most of locals on holiday and visitors flooding into town is behind another major concert Jackie runs, Reggae by the River in Taupo.
Headlined by Katchafire, The Black Seeds and Sons of Zion, it follows on from a similar successful concert last year and makes the most of the extra visitors in the town during the "10 days of madness" over the holidays.
"It's a great triple bill and a great location. It puts a different atmosphere on the whole event that time of year."
While Rotorua has lost Raggamuffin this summer, with the event moving to Auckland and taking an earlier December date, there's no shortage of reggae action for fans.
In fact, the move and change of direction for Raggamuffin may have been fortuitous for One Love Festival organiser Pato Alvarez.
Pato says tickets for the Waitangi Weekend event in Tauranga are selling extremely fast, with this year's festival looking to be the biggest of the three held so far.
"They're going crazy. People who want tickets are going to have to get in fast because they're selling daily."
With headline acts like The Wailers, The Black Seeds, Stan Walker and Sons of Zion, Pato says they've now firmly cemented himself as the biggest reggae fest in the Bay over the summer period.
For Pato, Waitangi weekend was a natural fit combining celebrating the Maori culture with Bob Marley's birthday.
"It's a good weekend to put on an event. You've got to tick all the boxes."
He believes the festival's success shows they've got all the crucial elements right - the right artists, the right location and the right time.
"We can see the support and we can see this is going to be big."
Pato says he's already at work on the 2016 offering.
"I knew it was going to be big but this has surprise me."
He expected a wide range of people at the event, which is R18, ranging from younger ones attracted by the likes of Sons of Zion and Stan Walker to the "oldies" who were there to see The Wailers.
For Pato, the highlight of the event is seeing people having a good time - and that's what makes the hard work worth it.
In Taupo, businesswoman Amanda Calvert has carved out a successful niche with the Taupo Summer Concerts, held at Riverside Park.
Since 2012 the concerts, headlined by an international act, have drawn thousands.
More than 10,000 tickets have already sold to this year's concert, featuring Heart, Foreigner and Three Dog Night.
Corporate numbers have reached their capacity for the event, and ticket sales are tracking at almost double the number as the same time last year.
"We're absolutely thrilled with Taupo's response to the Summer Concert Tour. Being our hometown it's a fantastic feeling to know the tour is supported there.
"This Summer Concert Tour is arguably the best line-up to-date, we can't wait to show these iconic rockers, Heart, Foreigner, and Three Dog Night, what New Zealand has to offer."
Amanda says there's only one thing better than great live music - and that's great live music at a stunning location.
She says her company, Greenstone Entertainment, has found its focus showcasing great bands from the 70s and 80s at breath-taking locations like the Taupo one.