NEWS

Following its tradition of giving local artists the opportunity to perform in front of a large crowd, Central Otago’s ESTROGEN, played cover hits of their favourite female artists and provided an awesome start to what was to follow, PSEUDO ECHO, COLLECTIVE SOUL, TEXAS and SIMPLE MINDS.
With the crowd now warming up, PSEUDO ECHO took to the stage right on lunchtime, and as was the case in Taupo and Hamilton last week, set the benchmark for the afternoon and had concert goers on their feet with their hits from the 80’s including Funky Town, A Beat For You, Listening as well as Send Me An Angel.

Next up were COLLECTIVE SOUL, fronted by flamboyant frontman, Ed Roland, and as with any good rock band, had fans fist pumping and doing a few head bangs to their 90’s rock classics The World I Know, Shine, December and Where The River Flows.
Mid afternoon set in, and performing at their first ever New Zealand gigs, TEXAS, led by the charismatic Sharleen Spiteri, and featuring Cat Myers, just one of the three female drummers across todays show, (Pseudo Echo and Simple Minds also have female drummers), gave fans an outstanding performance with hits such as I Don’t Want A Lover, Say What You Want, Black Eyed Boy and Summer Son.

Having chosen Taupo as the perfect place to bring the band together for rehearsals nearly two weeks before the first show in Taupo, (and before embarking on their huge worldwide tour post their New Zealand shows), SIMPLE MINDS showed just why they have reached the amazing heights that they have in their nearly five decades of history. Don’t You (Forget About Me), Waterfront, Promised You A Miracle and Alive & Kicking were just a few of the hit songs that filled their set, a perfect way to finish this year’s Summer Concert Tour with another afternoon of amazing live music entertainment in the gorgeous Gibbston Valley.

Amanda Calvert, CEO of Greenstone Entertainment says of the tour, “While we had to take a break from one of our favourite concert locations this year, we’ve had an amazing time delivering our shows in Taupo, Hamilton and Queenstown, and can’t wait to have the Whitianga Summer Concert in Coromandel back on the calendar for next year. A huge thanks goes out to all our fans, supporters, suppliers, and of course the incredible line up of artists who have journeyed to New Zealand to make our summer just that little bit more special. We’re already working on our 2025 Summer Concert Tour and look forward to bringing everyone more news and updates over the coming months”.

With Greenstone Entertainment’s philosophy of supporting local New Zealand artists, the day kicked off with WHITE CHAPEL JAK, who have also opened previously at the Whitianga Summer Concert. Their high energy was the prefect precursor to the four international artists who followed – PSEUDO ECHO, COLLECTIVE SOUL, TEXAS and SIMPLE MINDS.

PSEUDO ECHO, an icon of 80’s Australian music, got the line-up of international artists underway and had the crowd up and dancing to their array of hits including Funky Town, A Beat For You, Listening as well as Send Me An Angel.

COLLECTIVE SOUL are proving to be a true rock influence at this year’s Summer Concert Tour shows, and once again proved to be a popular choice for the bill as they performed their classics The World I Know, Shine, December and Where The River Flows as well as songs from their most recent album, Vibrating.

In the words of Sharleen Spiteri, founding member of Scottish band, TEXAS, “as a band I don’t think we’ve ever been happier, and I don’t think we’ve ever been tighter”. This was clear to see and it’s no surprise they’ve sold more than 40 million albums worldwide across their career with hits songs such as I Don’t Want A Lover, Say What You Want, Black Eyed Boy and Summer Son.

The weather, challenging at times, didn’t dampen spirits, and the day was rounded off by yet another band originally from Scotland, SIMPLE MINDS. Their set of well over an hour and a quarter, headed by founding member and lead singer, Jim Kerr, and fellow founding member Charlie Burchill, brought to life why they are one of the world’s most popular bands with unmistakable hits including Don’t You (Forget About Me), Waterfront, Promised You A Miracle and Glittering Prize. It’s no surprise we love these Scottish icons with no less than 15 of their singles reaching the NZ Top 50 singles charts across the 80’s.

Due to an isolated thunder and lightning storm beyond the control of event organisers, and for the safety of all people involved, including concert goers, staff and artists, todays Summer Concert – Claudelands Oval was brought to a close 5-10 minutes earlier than scheduled, finishing with Simple Minds most recognised song, Don’t You (Forget About Me)

Amanda Calvert, CEO of Greenstone Entertainment comments, “We’re stoked to have been able to accommodate our upper North Island fans and to bring the Summer Concert Tour to Hamilton as an interim measure before returning to our traditional Whitianga Summer Concert in the Coromandel in future years. While yesterday’s show wraps up our North Island leg of the tour, we’re excited to now head to the South Island and another gorgeous New Zealand location for this coming Saturdays Gibbston Valley Winery Summer Concert in Queenstown. If you haven’t yet been to one of our North Island shows, it’d be amazing for you to join us in the picturesque Central Otago for the final show in this year’s tour.”

Tickets for Gibbston Valley Winery Summer Concert, Queenstown (Saturday 3 February) are still available and can be purchased at www.greenstoneentertainment.co.nz or at the gate on the day.

Getting the day underway was local Taupō band, SONOROUS, who with the opportunity to perform in front of thousands of people which they don’t normally get the chance to do, got the crowd warmed up for and awesome line up of four international artists, all headliners in their own right – PSEUDO ECHO, COLLECTIVE SOUL, TEXAS and SIMPLE MINDS.

PSEUDO ECHO were originally scheduled to play at the 2021 Summer Concert Tour, and took to the stage to get the afternoon of live international music underway. Having pioneered the eighties with their avant-garde look and electro sound, their set list didn’t disappoint, and included hits like their No.1 single Funky Town, as well as A Beat For You, Listening and the unmistakable Send Me An Angel.

Next up, COLLECTIVE SOUL a formidable five-piece rock band out of the states, brought their awesome chemistry of live rock to the Taupō Amphitheatre, with their indelible set of classics including The World I Know, Shine, December and Where The River Flows.

Scottish band, TEXAS were next on the bill. Having formed back in 1986, they’re still fronted by founding member Sharleen Spiteri, and after having received rave reviews at Glastonbury 2023, it was clear to see they’ve bought that same energy with them to New Zealand, punching out their 80’s and 90’s sounds including I Don’t Want A Lover, Say What You Want, Black Eyed Boy and Summer Son.

The electric atmosphere of the Summer Concert Tour afternoon show came to a climax with one of the world’s most recognisable and formidable bands, SIMPLE MINDS. Having not visited New Zealand since 2017, the Summer Concert Tour is the first leg of a huge worldwide tour for Simple Minds, who after New Zealand, head for shows in Australia and Dubai, before a stadium tour of shows in the UK and Europe. Concert goers were treated to hit after hit from their huge repertoire of songs dating back to the 80’s, with the unmistakable Don’t You (Forget About Me), Waterfront, Promised You A Miracle and Alive & Kicking just a few that they performed across their one and a half hour set.

Amanda Calvert, CEO of Greenstone Entertainment comments, “Today’s Taupō Summer Concert has been right up there with one of the best. The artists and their music are amazing. It’s made extra special this year with three of the four international performances all having female drummers, a first for the Summer Concert Tour. We love the fond memories that we’re able to create for concert goers, and receiving all the wonderful stories that our fans share with us as to why they come back year after year to celebrate these incredible days of live music entertainment. Taupo was a great kick off to the tour and with shows still to come in both Hamilton and Queenstown, we hope that people who couldn’t make it today will join us at one of the two remaining concerts”.

Tickets for the Gibbston Valley Winery Summer Concert, Queenstown (Saturday 3 February) are still available and can be purchased at www.greenstoneentertainment.co.nz or at the gate on the day.