Funkster fun at Centre Stage Taupō

The Funkraiser - a collaborative production featuring the Taupō Concert Band and funk group Hot Tub.

The Funkraiser - a collaborative production featuring the Taupō Concert Band and funk group Hot Tub – was so successful last year the two acts are doing it again.

In this year’s show on Friday, November 8, audiences will be warmed up with a bracket of well-known movie themes before a second half featuring some more sensuous and laid back numbers than Hot Tub’s set list in 2023.

The 2024 theme has something of a smoky speakeasy vibe, said Donovan Bixley, Taupō Concert Band president and Hot Tub vocalist.

“But that’s not to say there aren’t a couple of ripping funkster tunes in there, like Cold Duck Time and Backrow Politics that will get a first Taupō airing with Hot Tub.”

Money raised during the evening will go towards the upkeep of the band rooms, used also by sibling organisations the Great Lake Big Band, Taupō Brass and Taupō Youth Windband.

Tickets for the Funkraiser on November 8 at Centrestage’s Matai St Playhouse are $35 and available on TryBooking as well as at the theatre on the night, if not all sold prior.

Doors open from 6.30pm, with pre-show entertainment. The bands run from 7pm-9.30pm. The playhouse bar will be open, and a light supper is provided between the two acts.