NZ’s First Annual Neo-Soul, Jazz & Hip-Hop Festival
For immediate release: Wednesday 14th May 2014
NEW ZEALAND’S FIRST ANNUAL NEO-SOUL,
JAZZ & HIP-HOP
FESTIVAL
featuring
MAXWELL,
D’ANGELO
COMMON, MOS DEF, ANTHONY
HAMILTON
ANGIE STONE, MUSIQ
SOULCHILD
WITH MORE TO BE
ANNOUNCED!
I|E|G and Ginnen Group in association
with George FM and Mai FM, are thrilled to announce
Soulfest, New Zealand’s first ever Neo-Soul, Jazz and
Hip-Hop Festival.
This unique Music and Cultural
Festival is a celebration of some of the world’s finest
contemporary Neo-Soul, Jazz and Hip-Hop Artists.
Auckland’s iconic Western Springs Stadium will host
this event in a specially configured ‘limited capacity’
location contained within the bottom speedway area of the
grounds.
The 7 spectacular international artists have an
astounding combined tally of 52 Grammy Nominations amongst
themselves. Maxwell,
D’Angelo, Anthony
Hamilton and Angie Stone will all
be
visiting New Zealand for the very first time, and
will be joined by Common, Mos
Def and Musiq Soulchild, plus a
selection of some of New Zealand’s finest talent, still to
be announced.
Over 10 live acts and DJ’s will feature
throughout the 10-hour day.
Soulfest will also feature an
expansive array of great “Soul Food”, and an excellent
selection of wines, beers, spirits, great coffee and
non-alcoholic options aplenty.
Soulfest will be a
unique opportunity to see and hear some of the world’s
finest artists in a cool, relaxed and friendly
atmosphere.
VIP tickets will feature an exclusive front of stage area for a very limited capacity with access to the VIP bar, where VIP foodoutlets and VIP toilets are all on offer for the ticket purchaser.
SOULFEST NZ DATE AND TICKET DETAILS
Sunday Oct 26th
(Labour Weekend) – Western Springs
Stadium, Auckland
12pm-10pm
TICKETS ON SALE from www.ticketmaster.co.nz or call 0800 111 999 / 09 970 9700
Limited Early Bird Pre Sale tickets to
Ticketmaster members on sale Tuesday 3rd June from
8am
Limited General Public Early Bird tickets on
sale Thursday 5th June from
8am
EARLY BIRD TICKET PRICES
Limited VIP Early Bird Tickets - $149 plus
fees and charges
Limited General Admission Early Bird
Tickets - $99 plus fees and charges
GENERAL PUBLIC ON SALE TICKET PRICES
VIP Tickets $179 plus fees
and charges
General Admission $129 plus fees and
charges
Limited VIP Side of Stage Experiences from $299
plus fees
Event Official Website: www.soulfest.co.nz
Proudly presented by I|E|G and Ginnen Group
For media inquiries please contact Nancy Blackler from Blackout | blackoutis@xtra.co.nz | +64 272 425 318
ARTIST INFORMATION / EDITORS NOTES:
MAXWELL
Maxwell, the
sexy ambassador of Soul makes his New Zealand debut at
Soulfest. The prolific artist who bought us absolute
timeless classics like “Sumthin’ Sumthin’”,
“Ascension”, “Pretty Wings” and “Lifetime”, will
be visiting New Zealand for the very first time and
performing hits off his phenomenal albums, including his
latest work “BLACKsummers’night”. In 1996, the
Brooklyn born legend took the music world by storm with his
debut “Urban Hang Suite”. The critically acclaimed CD
received a Grammy nomination and went onto achieve double
platinum status. Heralded as the future of Soul music,
Maxwell proved his staying power by following up with albums
“MTV: Unplugged”, “Embrya”, 1999’s biggest selling
single “Fortunate” (Off the LIFE soundtrack) and
2001’s “Now”. After a hiatus, the Soul Legend
returned in 2008 with a live rendition of Al Green’s
classic song, “Simply Beautiful” at the BET Awards. The
unforgettable performance was one of the most talked about
performances of the year. His latest album
“BLACKsummers’night” was recorded with an
extraordinary live ten-piece band. No synthesizers, no
duets. Just Maxwell bare and in the flesh, ready to give
old fans and new ones a sensory experience that he never
fails to bring.
http://www.musze.com
D’ANGELO
Having
touched the Neo-Soul genre with his sensual presence and
stirring vocals some 15 years ago, singer-songwriter
D’Angelo has become one of the most influential and key
contributors to the rise of the Neo-Soul movement. Bursting
onto the music scene in 1991, this Virginian native went on
to incite vocal comparisons to the likes of music legends
Marvin Gaye and Prince with his 1995 debut album “Brown
Sugar” and its subsequent hit singles “Brown Sugar”
and “Lady”, a top 10 hIt on the Billboard Charts, went
on to secure the albums platinum certification for over 1
million record sales in the US alone. Following the success
of “Brown Sugar”, D’Angelo took a four-year sabbatical
from the music world and left fans yearning for a follow up
to the “Brown Sugar” success. The year 2000 saw the
release of his much-anticipated second album aptly titled
“Voodoo” on Virgin Records and it received rave reviews
and a new legion of new soul fans, dubbing it D’Angelo’s
greatest work. “Voodoo” debuted on the US Billboard
charts at Number One, selling over 320,000 copies in its
first week and went on to win a Grammy Award for Best R&B
Album. After an extended break, D’Angelo emerged again
doing various guest appearances on tracks for artists like
J. Dilla and Common, and a rumoured new album and European
Tours in 2012 saw D”Angelo re-enter the music world for
another spin. This will be the singer’s first show in New
Zealand and Australia.
http://www.d-angelo.com
COMMON
Common
is known as one of hip-hop’s most poetic and respected
lyricists. The popular Actor, Author, TV & Film Producer,
Youth Ambassador and Designer has released 9 successful
albums which easily rank amongst hip-hop’s best, won three
Grammy Awards and countless BET, MTV and Billboard Awards.
Common released his ninth album “The Believer, The
Dreamer” which was released to critical acclaim by Warner
Bros. Records on December 20th, 2011. On September 18th,
2012 Common joined forces with the rest of the G.O.O.D Music
crew to release the highly anticipated “Cruel Summer”
album, featuring additional artists including Kanye West,
John Legend, Pusha T, Big Sean, 2 Chainz, and Kid Cudi. In
2007 he made his acting debut co-starring opposite Jeremy
Piven and Ben Affleck in “Smoking Aces”, and has since
gone on to star in many successful Hollywood movies
including “Date Night”, “American Gangster” and
“Wanted”. Common is currently working on expanding his
literary pursuits, acting and producing in film and TV
projects, completing his latest album and mix-tape,
partnering with brands and continuing to inspire youth
across the country with his Common Ground Foundation.
http://www.thinkcommon.com
MOS
DEF
He is one of Hip-Hop’s most iconic
recording artists with a career that spans over twenty
years. Yasiin Bey aka Mos Def hails from Brooklyn, New York
and was a major force in the early nineties underground
hip-hop movement, appearing on the albums of fellow
rapper’s De La Soul and Talib Kweli. Forming his group
Black Star on Rawkus Records in 1998 and releasing the
successful album “Mos Def & Talib Kweli are Black Star”,
which produced the hits “Respiration” and
“Definition” which went on to become VH1’s 100
Greatest Songs of Hip-Hop. Launching his stellar solo
career with his album “Black on Both Sides” in 1999,
secured Mos Def major industry love and respect for his
socially and political aware lyrics and poetic style
ofstory-telling through rhyme, which garnered him a mass of
mainstream hip-hop fans in the process. His second album
‘The New Danger’ in 2004 bore the singles “Sex, Love &
Money” and “Ghetto Rock” which went on to receive
several Grammy Award nominations. As a respected rapper and
actor, Mos Def has balanced the fine art of his craft and
parlayed them into successful performance’s on Dave
Chappelle’s Block Party, plus acting roles in Brown Sugar,
Talladega Nights, Be Kind, Rewind and Cadillac Records to
name a few, and has gone on to appear in the critically
acclaimed HBO Film Something the Lord Made as Vivien Thomas,
for which he received an Emmy Award and Golden Globe
Nomination, and won an Image Award. Mos Def is a definitive
performing artist and has become one of hip-hops most
intriguing and historic emcees of our time!
https://www.facebook.com/MosDef
ANTHONY
HAMILTON
Anthony Hamilton’s voice just keeps
getting better with time. The Grammy Award winner’s
arresting voice has become a favourite staple on the scene
since 2003 – recently hailed at No. 1 for 4 weeks on
Billboard’s Urban Adult Contemporary chart with his
soul-stirring single, “Pray For Me”. The
Babyface-produced track is the second single from his fourth
studio album, “Back To Love”. Hamilton’s “Pray For
Me” and his “Back To Love” album were both nominated
for Grammy Awards. Fans began paying attention to Hamilton
in 2002, when he sang the infectious hook on Nappy Roots
single “Po’ Folks”. That performance netted the
singer the first of 12 Grammy nominations for best rap/sung
collaboration. After signing with So So Def, Hamilton
scored a platinum debut with “Coming From Where I’m
From” in 2003 and two years later followed it up with
“Ain’t Nobody Worryin”. Then in 2008 came “The
Point Of It All”, and 2009 saw Hamilton win his first
Grammy Award for his collaboration on Al Green’s “You
Got The Love I Need”. He has contributed to the works of
artists from Dr. Dre, Tupac, Young Jeezy, Angie Stone,
Jadakiss and Jill Scott through to Santana and Josh Turner.
Between his own album sales and collaborations, Hamilton has
sold more than 20 million albums. This is Anthony
Hamilton’s first trip to New Zealand.
http://www.anthonyhamilton.com
ANGIE
STONE
Grammy Award Nominated Singer-Songwriter,
Producer and Actress Angie Stone, is the Grand Dame of
Neo-Soul. With four Top 10 albums, including a number one
album and ten singles, Stone has sold over 1..4 million
albums in the US and over 5 million albums worldwide. Stone
was born in Columbia, South Carolina and started off her
singing career singing Gospel music at her local Baptist
Church. Dreams of singing stardom led Stone to Arista
records and the debut of her first solo album in 1999
“Black Diamond”, which went on to be certified Gold.
Followed up by her next album, “Mahogany Soul” in 2001,
which also went Gold. Third album “Stone Love” was
released in 2004 and her fourth studio album “The Art of
Love and War” emerged in 2007. She followed this up with
“Unexpected” in 2009 and “Rich Girl” in 2012. Angie
Stone has successfully held court as a Queen of the Soul
Music sector and through various label changes in her career
has always managed to deliver music and live performances
heralded the world over. A celebrated actress as well,
Stone has appeared in a number of VH1 TV shows and movies,
live theatre alongside fellow singer Brian McKnight in
Chicago on Broadway, and also stars in Season Two of
TVOne’s R&B Diva’s in 2013 as a mentor and life coach.
This will be Stone’s first visit to New Zealand.
https://www.facebook.com/RealAngieStone
MUSIQ
SOULCHILD
New Zealand couldn’t get enough of
this mega talented Philadelphian musician during his
electric live performances in 2013, and will no doubt
welcome Musiq Soulchild back with open arms for Soulfest
2014. A consummate professional, this Neo-Soul
Singer/Songwriter has been creating soul stirring music for
over 15 years, garnering a legion of mainstream RnB and
neo-soul music fans far and wide. His brand of effortless
song-writing blended with infectious soul music has made
Musiq the leader of the new soul movement and it is a talent
that has taken him from scatting at Philadelphia Jazz clubs
to achieving 2 x Platinum albums, 2 x Gold albums and 7 x
hit singles including “Just Friends, “Love”,
“Halfcrazy” and “B.U.D.D.Y” to name a few. Musiq
has been lauded with numerous nominations and awards from
Billboard, BET, ASCAP, BMI and Soul Train, including 11
Grammy Nominations, MTV and American Music Awards. Since
the debut of his career in 2000 with his first release
“Aijuswanaseing” to his seventh and most recent album
“9ine”, with Syleena Johnson released in September of
2013, Musiq has showed consistency and growth as a recording
artist and songwriter who has achieved the fine art of
blending contemporary R&B, Soul, Funk, Jazz, Hip-Hop and
Gospel into a music lovers paradise. In his own words of
who Musiq is, he says, “Musiq Soulchild is technically two
ideas. Musiq is the front man and Soulchild is the idea
behind it”.
http://www.musiqsoulchild.com
STAY TUNED, MORE TO BE ANNOUNCED!