Rhythm & Vines takes the vibe on tour

"Rhythm & Vines takes the vibe on tour"

The hottest ticket for New Year's Eve is taking its signature vibe to the four corners of New Zealand in a move it hopes to develop further, all in the name of New Zealand Music.

"We have always been about promoting New Zealand music," affirms Hamish Pinkham, Rhythm & Vines Artistic Director, and one of the original 3 Otago Uni students who came up with the idea for the festival in 2003. R&V is now the country's biggest NYE concert event, with 16,000 tickets sold-out months in advance. "The Cellar Tour is a way to continue working with diverse New Zealand music acts throughout the year, and keep the vibe of our Gisborne event going." Plans to take NZ artists overseas under the R&V brand are also in the works.

Pinkham's band Blackbird will kick off the shows on the 6-city tour which starts in Dunedin on the 21st of March. The self-described "Kiwiana folk" outfit exude a sun drenched hybrid of original acoustic rock and soul with splashings of reggae. Rounding out the 4-piece are Kyle Bell, Jamie Buckley and percussionist Nego Beto from BrazilBeat Sound System, who hops on as a special guest for the tour. Living in Gisborne amongst the beaches and wineries is not the worst way to spend the summer months. And that is exactly where these Blackbirds have been spreading their wings, playing, getting creative and having a damn fine lifetstyle while they are at it. Sharp songwriting and cruisy guitar and vocal harmonies make for an all round feel-good experience. http://www.myspace.com/blackbirdnz http://www.brazilbeat.org

Queenstown's original bad boys, The Sunshine Soundsystem, have a road-tested recipe to get crowds jumpin'. Legendary DJ Downtown Brown and brother tag-team MCs KPz and Staun weave hip-hop, funk, dancehall, reggae and jungle/d'n b into a dancefloor tour-de-force. Having shared the stage with international acts like The Nextmen, Aphrodite and London Electricity, as well as headlining major festivals all over
New Zealand, Sunshine bring a deep-rooted positive solar vibration every time. They were a starring act at R&V '07 and the Rhythm and Vines-sponsored PBC Summer Sessions.

North Shore Pony Club are a genre-bending live electronic DJ act who have been hatching astute dance music since 2005. Their pumping set at The R&V After Party this year (PBC Summer Sessions) guaranteed their spot on the tour. Reared on 80's pop sophistication, Aaron Clapton and Matt Lofe chuck "black gold and white trash" into their "bastard disco blender", with superlative results. Their single "Computer Games" is now featured on prime-time MTV UK, and there's sure to be a lot more where that came from for these Auckland boys. http://www.myspace.com/northshoreponyclub

Along with Nego Beto from Brazilbeat Soundsystem, there are other special appearances from well known and up and coming artists including CP Moore of The Taliband, Johnny Love Band, Dad's Army, and more to be confirmed.