Nostalgia Alert: You Can See Suzy Cato Perform at Auckland Folk Fest This Weekend
The four-day festival is returning for its 50th year — with a very special headliner.
Auckland Anniversary Weekend is filled with various exciting sun-soaked festivals to get your groove on — Gardens Music Festival, Laneway and That Weekend, just to name a few. But if you like your music lineups of the rockin' and rollin' folk variety you probably have one event on your calendar: Auckland Folk Festival, which is set to celebrate its 50th year this weekend, running from Friday, January 27 — Monday, January 30.
Well, nineties kids we've got a drawcard that might just entice you to buy a ticket — seeing New Zealand icon Suzy Cato hit the stage. It's a childhood dream come true for any fellow fanatics of You and Me, Suzy's World or any of her other after-school bangers. The national treasure will be taking the stage on the kid's stage, but the young at heart are more than welcome — get ready to drown out the young ones with a rousing chorus of 'See Ya See Ya Later'.
Joining her will be NZ songwriter Kath Bee, a songwriter whose work you'll probably know as the jams you belted out in school assembly. Think 'Individuality', 'Dad I Wanna be a Camel' — and her most recent hit 'E Tū Tāngata - Stand Together'.
Also on the lineup? Two Tūī Best Folk Artist award finalists, T-Bone and Butter Wouldn't Melt are hitting the main stage on Sunday — before the winner is announced that arvo. Joining them is a lineup of international and local folk acts that will be taking the stage, including the three-part harmonies of Melbourne/Naarm-based Folk Bitch Trio, Edinburgh-based duo The Jellyman's Daughter, local Maori songwriter and storyteller Te Kaahu, US folk music star Sneaky Bone and Irish fiddle player Manus McGuire — as well as many more.
There will be plenty of delicious food trucks and spots to relax in the showgrounds' lush surroundings. Those keen to make a weekend of it can camp onsite while locals can make a day of it — the showgrounds are only 15 minutes from Auckland's CBD after all.
AUCKLAND FOLK FESTIVAL 2023 FULL LINEUP:
Across the Great Divide
Albi & The Wolves
Alpaca Social Club
Butter Wouldn't Melt
Criu
Ethno Aotearoa
Folk Bitch Trio (AUS)
Kerryn Fields
Manus McGuire (IRE)
Monty Bevins
OrigiNZ
Rough Town
Sneaky Bones (USA)
Songs from the Old Country
Sweet Bottom (NZ/USA)
T-Bone
TE KAAHU
Te Wehi Haka
The Frank Burkitt Band
The Jellyman's Daughter (SCO)
TUi MAMAKi
We Mavericks
Wheel of Experience
Auckland Folk Festival will run at the Kemeu Showgrounds from Friday, January 27 until Monday, January 30.
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