Music in Parks: Benny Tipene

Overview

For 22 years, open air concert series Music in Parks has been a highlight of the summer event calendar. Regional parks and reserves across the city will play host to three months of entertainment this year including 26 all-ages gigs, spanning genres from hip-hop to rock, electronica, jazz, opera and country.

Palmerston North pop-songwriter Benny Tipene will kick off proceedings on Sunday 17 January with a performance at Takapuna Beach Reserve. Launching his career on televised singing competition X Factor NZ, Tipene managed to avoid the stigma that often surrounds the reality experience. Following the series he hit number two on NZ charts with debut single ‘Walking on Water', released his debut EP Toulouse, and scooped a nomination for Best Pop Album at the 2014 Vodafone NZ Music Awards. He has since been rising a wave of success supporting his full length album Bricks.

For the outdoor performance Tipene will be joined by a hoard of local talent including rising electronic artist Maala, synth-pop duo Lightning On Me, rock four-piece This Flight Tonight and North Shore singer-songwriter Veronica Grace.

Further highlights of the 2016 Music in Parks season include country diva Tami Neilson at Myers Park, the Auckland Jazz Orchestra in the Domain Band Rotunda, and The Black Seeds and Weird Together at afternoon-long festival George in the Park at Freemans Bay’s Western Park.