Press Release
Wednesday 30 October, 2013

Music to Feast on at the Taste of Auckland Peroni Bandstand

Music is the hottest food match at Taste of Auckland this year in Victoria Park with an outstanding line-up to compliment every dish, no matter what your taste.

Local music icon Peter Urlich has again curated a stellar squad of guests to perform on this year’s Peroni Bandstand.

Urlich says entertainment at Taste of Auckland is extremely important as it helps create the perfect vibe for the occasion.

“Without the right atmosphere, created by great music, the festival just wouldn’t be the same,” he says.

“So I’ve got together everything from jazz, swing, latin, pop and soul, to create the perfect vibe to match with every glass of wine and every dish served up,” says Urlich.

Headlining opening night on Thursday at the Peroni Bandstand are Sal Valentine and Babyshakes and The Jazz Age.

Babyshakes, led by the dynamic Sal Valentine, deals in infectious, fresh and surprising rhythm and blues, framed by big-band horns toting heavy licks that would be at home in the roaring 20s, and a rhythm section that knows what to play when Sal says go.

The Jazz Age, featuring Miss Georgia Wood, deal in American Songbook standards, served polished, perfected, particular and impeccable.

“Think Gatsby, deco and vintage glamour,” says Urlich.

The Friday night line-up will be one to groove to with Latin Aotearoa and latest darlings, The Gramophone Band.

Latin Aotearoa was born from the concept of blending local flavours with the colourful culture of South America. DJ Bobby Brazuka’s soul and funk selections come together with Venezuelan songstress, Jennifer Zea’s ravishing vocals to create a unique live performance.

The Gramophone Band plays the sweet dulcet tones and the toe tapping hits of the 1920s through to the 1960s. From gypsy jazz, swing, and ragtime to rock-a-billy.

Saturday night is started with incredible nine piece band The Hipstamatics playing authentic, vintage, soul-powered arrangements and remixes of iconic songs, conceived by, and unique to the band, and is finished off with a music-to-move-to DJ set by Peter Urlich himself.

The rest of the festival is peppered with not-to-be-missed sets by marvelous Mexican quartet, El Mariachi Band, Franko Heke, Voxnova, Josh Leys, Club Manouche and the Samson, Nacey, Haines Trio.

Taste organiser Rob Eliott says the festival has been working with Peter Urlich for five years and fans are in for a treat, with a great, diverse offering of bands that frequently sell out around the country.

“It’s going to be one of those fantastic festivals where the music sets off the event just perfectly, with toe-tapping, hip swinging, head bopping bands,” he says.

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About Taste Festivals:

Taste Festivals are unique international events at which top restaurants and chefs from the host city gather to present their signature dishes to ‘foodies’ at iconic locations. Taste Festivals set the benchmark for food and drink worldwide with festivals in Amsterdam, Cape Town, Dubai, Dublin, Edinburgh, Jo'burg, London, Melbourne, Milan, Sydney and Auckland. At each event, thousands of visitors enjoy a vibrant festival atmosphere, take part in informative and fun features, taste specialist dishes from the world’s finest restaurants and meet the most loved celebrity chefs. Taste of Auckland is operated by Brand Events & Festivals under license from Taste Festivals Ltd, an IMG company. The event is managed locally by Lemongrass Productions.

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