Southern Amp 2 First Line-up Announcements + Special Earlybird Ticket Offer!!
28th June 2007 - Press Release

 
35 bands and DJs, 12 hours of non-stop live music on 3 separate stages – SOUTHERN AMP 2 has been 18 months in planning and now we can finally announce the first release of artists to perform on each of the stages. NZ’s South Island is set to rock and groove once again when the 2nd Southern Amp live music festival blasts into life at Jade Stadium in Christchurch on Saturday 10th November this year. Southern Amp 2 will comprise three separate live stages this year, one more than its debut run in 2005.

Earlybird Ticket Offer
This first announcements are coupled with a special Earlybird Ticket Offer for a limited period. The initial ticket release from Monday 2nd July will be at a special discounted price of just $79.50  for a maximum of 2 weeks, or until the initial ticket allocation is sold out. This is the same price of Southern Amp 2005 tickets so the price has been frozen as a special introductory offer for our patient live music fans!  General advance sale tickets will be $99.50 on sale from Monday 30th July (all prices exclude booking fees). Tickets will be on sale through Ticketek at usual ticketing outlets or online at www.ticketek.co.nz, and Real Groovy at www.realgroovy.co.nz.

Southern Amp 2 kicks off Christchurch’s biggest week of festivities, the annual New Zealand Cup & Show Week where thousands of visitors of all ages flock to the city from around the country, and with Uni students on holiday as well the overall festival atmosphere in Christchurch is at fever pitch.



Main Stage Acts
The huge Main Stage will feature 10 acts between 11.30am – 10.30pm. Four more key bands performing on the Main Stage at Southern Amp 2 will be announced mid July. 

SHIHAD – absolutely no introduction required for this band… they are pure NZ rock royalty! After a hectic weekend headlining an icy cold Queenstown Winter Festival, the band will now return to their base in Melbourne to continue writing songs for their 7th studio album. Shihad have not played in Christchurch since NYE 05/06 and will not appear live again anywhere in NZ until they return to Christchurch to close the main stage at Southern Amp 2 on 10th November.

THE BLACK SEEDS – After their 3rd album “Into The Dojo” spent 5 weeks at #1 and masses of time in the NZ Top 40 achieving double platinum sales, the Black Seeds are rightly regarded as one of Australasia’s finest and most dynamic live acts. The band has just returned from yet another Australian tour and now head off to tour Europe supporting their CD release there in July & August. Fusing Reggae, dub, funk & soul the band have been winning live audiences over since they formed in 1997.

ATLAS – The band have been catapulted into the NZ limelight in 2007 after their debut single “Crawl” spent a massive 8 weeks at #1 on the NZ Singles Chart recently. Their new single “Magic 8” is released in July and their debut album will be in the shops early November. Originally from Christchurch now Auckland-based, Atlas will perform in their hometown for the first time in over a year at Southern Amp 2. A full NZ summer tour will follow before they head to Australia next year to promote their debut album release there.

OPSHOP – With their single “Maybe” from their new album “Second Hand Planet” sitting comfortably at #1 on the Radio Charts in NZ, Opshop are enjoying fantastic airplay exposure across the majority of music radio stations throughout the country. The single has spent 4 months in the NZ Singles Chart and is still in the top 20! With the album holding strongly in the charts as well, Opshop are proving to be one of the bands that have beaten that difficult 2nd album stigma and will be touring throughout NZ to support the release.    
 
Opening the Main Stage will be two Christchurch bands that are currently enjoying growing national exposure. DUKES were the NZ winners of the recent Australia & NZ-wide MTV “Kickstart” promotion and flew over to Sydney to compete against the winners from the 5 Aussie states, finishing as very fine second! Their new album will be released soon. THE VALVES are one of Christchurch’s hardest working and dynamic new live rock acts. With a top 15 rock radio single “Walking In The Rain” currently enjoying good airplay and their debut album released next month they will blast Southern Amp 2 into life at 11.30am!
 


Ministry Of Sound Stage
The Ministry Of Sound Stage (located in a huge specially constructed enclosed marquee) will feature 12 artists & DJs – A further 6 acts including another headline acts will be announced mid July: Ministry of Sound is the most recognisable dance music brand in the world. MOS Australia will host their own Stage once again this year at Southern Amp 2 featuring some of the best NZ & Australian club acts.

CONCORD DAWN with MC TIKI – Concord Dawn have been making big waves in the world of electronic music for many years, dubbed the “NZ pioneers of Drum & Bass” and have released their distinctive sound on some of the world’s most distinctive dance labels. They have earned a fearsome reputation for their live performances from extensive touring in numerous countries and will perform at Southern Amp 2 with MC TIKI, a long standing member of NZ superstars Salmonella Dub prior to leaving the band last year.

LADI6 – Ladi6 (Karoline Tamati) is one of New Zealand's premier vocalists and MCs. Starting her musical career in Christchurch, Ladi6 was part of the all-girl hip-hop group Sheelahroc before moving to Auckland with her band Verse Two in 2004. Her vocals have featured on stand-out tracks by some of Aotearoa's finest talent, including Shapeshifter, Scribe & Fat Freddys Drop. Her debut album is out this year.

KID KENOBI & MC SHURESHOCK – Kid Kenobi (Jesse Desenberg) has been voted Number 1 DJ in the Technics InTheMix Top 50 in Australia three years in a row, he’s got a Dance Music Award under his belt and is a regular club visitor to NZ as one half of a formidable team with his MCing partner MC Shureshock (aka Cameron James Brown). Shureshock’s inimitable style translates not only across genres but across cultures! The pair performed on the Freestylers recent NZ club tour to the usual massive response!

JOHN COURSE – A leading DJ figure in Australian dance music John first rose to prominence when he won the DMC Mixing Competition in Victoria in 1988 and 1989 remaining at the top of his game since then. Constantly in demand for guest spots throughout Australia, John has played shows in Dubai, London, throughout Asia and Europe regularly over the last few years.

GOODWILL – Not only one of Sydney’s finest DJ’s over the last 10 years, but one of Australia’s. In recent years Goodwill’s production credits, including ‘Happenis’, ‘Go Away Baby’ & ‘Outta Control’, have made him Ministry Of Sound’s highest selling Australian artist and a producer in demand. He also hosts the Ministry of Sound Sessions Radio Show on Nova FM in Australia, currently the largest dance radio show in the southern hemisphere. Goodwill is a DJ worth checking out!

OB1 – originally from Christchurch and an absolute icon of the NZ club scene for the last 10 years, OB1 (Matt O’ Brien) has performed throughout NZ at just about every major club and festival including The Gathering & The Valley Festivals. Now Auckland based on The Edge FM radio network OB1 will return to his hometown for his slot on the Ministry of Sound Stage at Southern Amp 2.   



Chart/RDU98.5FM Christchurch Music Stage
Finally, the third and newest stage is a specifically dedicated Christchurch Music Stage presented by ((Chart)) – The Christchurch Music Industry Trust and local radio station RDU98.5FM, both of whom actively support and are heavily involved in the growing local music scene in Christchurch. Only artists based in Christchurch, or of true Christchurch origin were allowed to apply to perform on this stage through the Southern Amp website (www.southernamp.co.nz). Over 60 acts applied for the 12 slots on this stage.
The Christchurch Music Stage at Southern Amp 2 will feature (in no particular order):

CHARLIE ASH / HEAVY JONES / GASOLINE COWBOY / THE ENRIGHT HOUSE / TAINTED / FLYING SOLO / THE UNDERCURRENTS / ED MUZIK / THE TIGER TONES / 4MANBOB / BAND THEFT AUTO & ARTISTS of SHE’LL BE RIGHT RECORDS incl members of MUSTARD, TRILLION BAND and more…

Links to their MySpace sites are at www.christchurchmusic.org.nz/artists, listen to their music & check some great Christchurch music at SAmp 2.

That’s the first batch of announcements! The complete and final line-up will be announced mid-July. Southern Amp 2 is a 15+ age restricted event, under 15’s will be required to be accompanied by a parent or guardian to gain admittance. Tickets on sale Monday 2nd July at all Ticketek outlets nationwide.

It has been two years in the making but Southern Amp is back bigger and better! Get prepared for a great day out on Saturday 10th November 2007 at Jade Stadium in Christchurch including thrill rides, great hospitality in a safe and secure world class venue, and most importantly, with 35 live acts on 3 stages performing, 12 hours of fantastic live music!

Contacts:
Media – Carla Potter: Tel – 027 4249749, Email – carlabrat@ihug.co.nz
General Event Info – Southern Amp Ltd: Email – info@southernamp.co.nz
 
Websites:
Southern Amp Festival – www.southernamp.co.nz
MySpace profile – www.myspace.com/southernamp
((Chart)) Christchurch Music Industry Trust – www.christchurchmusic.org.nz