Amplifier

06.10.09
[press release]

The days are getting longer and Anika Moa is celebrating with the Aroha Tour 2009 that will take her from as far south as Rakiura/Stewart Island to as far north as Kaitaia, taking in 24 destinations along the way. As well as touring the main centres of Aotearoa, Anika will be playing to 'heartland' audiences at venues in small towns including Akaroa, Ranfurly, Granity, Raglan, Featherston, and Havelock North.
 
Anika will be accompanied by a small band that includes two of New Zealand's finest musicians: bass player Chip Matthews (New Loungehead, Opensouls) and drummer Nick Gaffaney (Solaa, Jan Hellriegal). Playing support is Julia Deans, the charismatic lead singer of Wellington band Fur Patrol, who will be showcasing songs from a debut solo album that she has recently begun recording.
 
Anika's third album, In Swings the Tide was released in October 2007, and a year later Anika won Best Female Vocalist at the 2008 Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards. Since its release the album has gone close to double platinum in sales. That In Swings the Tide was written during an intense time of change and growth is evident in songs such as 'My Old Man', 'Blind Woman' and 'Dreams in My Head', a song which earned Anika a nomination as a finalist in the APRA Silver Scroll Awards 2008.
 
Anika says that writing In Swings the Tide was cathartic, but that the "dust has settled and it is time to move on." She has been working on some "fresh" new songs over winter, which she will be road-testing on the tour. "I'm a writing factory right now," she says. "So it's all fun and roses."
 
Anika says that "the new songs are mostly about love. Love songs are the best - and sometimes the worst, but for me, the best. On the tour, I'm going to perform most of the new songs and I've even gone electric, as in electric guitar-ing. I call it doing a Dylan."
 
Anika is a gifted performer, entertaining her audience with her down to earth stories, delivered with a dimpled grin and a cheeky mainland accent. As outspoken and funny as Anika can be however, it is her beautifully crafted songs that take centre stage - candid musings about love and life, sung with the raw emotion that inspired them.
 
As well as the new songs, Anika will be showcasing favourites from a career that began with winning Most Promising Female Musician at the Smokefree Rockquest in 1998 and has included the critically acclaimed albums Thinking Room (2001) and Stolen Hill (2005). Anika's fourth album is planned for release in March 2010, but right now she is "buzzing on the tour".
 
"I tour at least twice a year around Aotearoa. It's a good excuse to meet quirky people on the road, eat some yummy local kai and fall in love with my fellow musicians and the beautiful crowds we'll encounter," she says.
 
So celebrate the start of summer with a night to remember - Anika Moa, Julia Deans and friends are bringing the Aroha Tour 2009 to a (small) town near you.

The Aroha Tour 2009 with Anika Moa and Julia Deans,
October 29 to December 5

Tickets $30 + BF available now via www.eventfinder.co.nz *(all shows except Havelock North and Kerikeri)
and from local outlets from Monday September 14

ANIKA MOA - TOUR SPRING 2009, Tickets Sold locally at

SOUTH ISLAND

Thur-Oct-29
Akaroa Peninsula, Gaiety Hall, Akaroa Visitors Centre

Fri-Oct-30 , Ranfurly, Ranfurly Town Hall, Style Corner

Sat-Oct-31 , Wanaka, Red Rock Bar & Café, Play it Again & Venue

Wed-Nov-4 , Granity, Lyric Theatre, Drifters Café

Thur-Nov-5
Greymouth, Railway Hotel, Railway Hotel

Fri-Nov-6
Queenstown , Dux De Lux, Play It Again

Sat-Nov-7
Te Anau, Fiordland Events Centre, Fab & Finesse

Wed - Nov 11
ChCh, Dux De Lux, Real Groovy Christchurch

Thur-Nov-12
Oamaru, The Penguin Club, Beggs Music Works

Fri-Nov-13
Gore, Heartland Hotel, Cairns Music

Sat-Nov-14
Stewart Island, Community Centre, Door Sales

NORTH ISLAND

Wed-Nov-18
Kaitaia, Community Centre, Far North iSite Information Centre

Thur-Nov-19
Kerikeri *, The Centre, The Centre at Kerikeri & centakeri.com 0800 200 411 ONLY

Fri-Nov-20
Bethells Beach, Bethells Beach Cottages, www.eventfinder.co.nz only

Sat-Nov-21
Leigh, Sawmill Café, Sawmill Café

Wed-Nov-25
Cambridge, Town Hall, Cambridge Information Centre

Thur-Nov-26
Raglan, Town Hall, Raglan Information

Fri-Nov-27
Thames, Civic Centre, Thames Civic Centre Booking Office

Sat-Nov-28
Rotorua, Bar Barella, Venue

Thur-Dec-3
Featherston, Memorial Hall, Featherston Library & Service Centre

Fri-Dec-4
Wellington, Bodega, Real Groovy Wellington

Sat-Dec-5
Havelock North *, The Underground Cellar - Black Barn , www.blackbarn.com ONLY