Huge Success for National Jazz Festival at Easter

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: MONDAY 5 APRIL

Huge Success for National Jazz Festival at Easter

Two international headline acts, a programme of top New Zealand jazz musicians, sunny weather and a hugely popular jazz village drew more than 60,000 people to the 48th National Jazz Festival in Tauranga at Easter.

The five-day festival was headlined by Brian Auger’s Oblivion Express and two sold-out Dr John concerts, and again featured a recreated French Quarter in the city’s Historic Village for the TV3 Jazz Village with four stages of music, buskers and street entertainment.

“It’s been absolutely fantastic,” said festival director Arne Herrmann. “People came out in droves for the riverboat and steamtrain trips, we had sold out performances by international and local artists and thousands of people at the Downtown Carnival and TV3 Jazz Village.

“Last year was the beginning of a larger festival with a whole new approach and this year has confirmed that the public want and will support a festival of this size. It is the oldest jazz festival in the country and one of the largest in the world and is now well and truly on the radar of international jazz artists.”

Mr Herrmann said he and artistic director Liam Ryan would now be looking to secure another major international headline act for the 2011 festival.

ENDS

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