History & Gallery 2015

2013 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees Ann and Nancy Wilson, first showed the world that women can rock when their band, Heart, stormed the charts in the ‘70’s with hits like “Crazy on You”, “Magic Man”, “Barracuda”, “Straight On”, and so many more. Heart continued topping the charts through the ‘80’s and ‘90’s with huge hits like “These Dreams”, “Alone” and “What About Love”. Nearly 35 years after their first big hit, Ann and Nancy Wilson were back in the Billboard Top 10 in 2010 with Heart’s “Red Velvet Car” album, and a Top 5 DVD (“Night at Sky Church”). In even more recent times the pair were asked to perform “Stairway to Heaven” as the finale to the 2012 Kennedy Centre Honours tribute to Led Zeppelin – visibly moving Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, and John Paul Jones and bringing the entire audience to their feet.

With 10 multi-platinum albums and sixteen Top 30 hits, Foreigner is universally hailed as one of the most popular rock acts in the world with a formidable musical arsenal that continues to propel sold-out tours and album sales, now exceeding 75 million copies. Responsible for some of rock and roll’s most enduring anthems including “Juke Box Hero”, “Feels Like The First Time”, “Urgent”, “Waiting For A Girl Like You”, “Double Vision”, “Hot Blooded”, “Cold As Ice”, “Dirty White Boy” and the worldwide #1 hit, “I Want To Know What Love Is”, Foreigner continues to rock the charts more than 30 years into the game.

Grammy-nominated Three Dog Night are not content resting on their legacy alone – a legacy that boasts songs such as “Mama Told Me (Not To Come)”, “Shambala,” “An Old Fashioned Love Song”, “Black and White”, “One” and “Joy To The World”. Always working to expand their audience, the band have embraced and been embraced by 21st century music technology as new fans discover them through digital music stores as well as the good old fashioned record store. Their releases from this decade alone have sold well over a million copies and the band’s continued popularity has landed “The Best of Three Dog Night: 20th Century Masters” on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart for a total of nine months!

The 2015 Taupo Summer Concert turned on a summer days of old, to a rocking sell-out crowd of 15,000. With a line up of three superb international acts again this year, (Three Dog Night, Foreigner and Heart), this was the largest crowd seen at the concert since it kicked off back in 2012. Three Dog Night warmed up the crowd with some of their mega hits like Mama Told Me (Not To Come), Old Fashioned Love Song and Joy To The World. Foreigner then took to the stage with lead singer Kelly Hansen wowing the crowd with his abundance of energy and smashing out a huge set of songs that everyone knew – Juke Box Hero, Cold As Ice, Hot Blooded, Urgent and Waiting For A Girl Like You just a few that got everyone on their feet and singing along to every word. Concert headliners – Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Sisters – Ann & Nancy Wilson of Heart didn’t disappoint, opening with Barracuda, and closing the day with their hugely popular rendition of Led Zeppelin’s Stairway To Heaven.

The Summer Concert Tour then visited Whitianga for the first time, and it was set amongst the wonderful backdrop of Whitianga Waterways. Concert goers turned up in their thousands at the Whitianga Summer Concert, making the most of the Auckland Anniversary long weekend and the hot summer’s day. Three Dog Night took the stage to thousands of fans and entertained them with an afternoon of classic rock nostalgia. Foreigner and Heart then followed blasting out their chart topping hits that had everyone saying they couldn’t wait to be back for next year’s concert.

Saving what some described at the best till last, the Gibbston Valley Winery Summer Concert, was held in the idyllic and beautiful Queenstown with the Crown Ranges as a backdrop. A near sell-out crowd of 15,000 flocked from all over the South Island to experience a power house of international masters of rock.

Three Dog Night were first on stage and entertained with hit songs like Mama Told Me (Not To Come) and Old Fashioned Love Song. Next up were Foreigner with Kelly Hansen on vocals, whose stage antics and incredible voice got the crowd on their feet and rocking. Founding member Mick Jones came on stage to massive applause. They went on to play all their hits to a hugely appreciative audience including “Urgent”, “Cold As Ice” and “Say You Will”. As a special treat for the final concert goers, Ann Wilson of Heart sang with Foreigner as they performed their huge power ballad “I Want To Know What Love Is”.

The final act, Heart, rocked the stage with Nancy Wilson on guitar and Ann Wilson on vocals, wowing the crowds with “These Dreams”, “Magic Man” and “Barracuda”. Again the crowd were lucky to experience another unexpected surprise, as Mick Jones, of Foreigner, joined Nancy on guitar to play Led Zeppelin’s “Misty Mountain Hop”. Ann Wilson finished the show with another amazing version of a Led Zeppelin song, “Stairway To Heaven” a perfect match to the awesome surrounds.