L.A.B deserved to close out the two-day One Love Festival in Tauranga.
L.A.B deserved to close out the two-day One Love Festival in Tauranga.
Sons of Zion introduced a familiar face as their new vocalist.
Stan Walker brought his mates on stage to recreate their version of the Yummy Challenge.
And the crowd accepted the challenge of a mass Glitter TikTok dance.
While there was no shortage of surprises at One Love 2020, it wasn't at the expense of the expected quality performances from everyone on the line-up over the two days. We got the premium experience and more at the Wharepai Domain this week.
The two main international headliners took the stage on separate days, portioning that Jamaican flavour to enjoy for the whole weekend.
Banger after banger, Sean Paul took many of us back to the good times that were the early 2000s, giving us a healthy dose of high energy to end the first night.
And those dancers, thank you. I mean, I know wasn't the only one butchering the dutty wine - and anyone who doesn't agree dancehall is the best style of dance of all time can figuratively fight me.
Reggae superstar Shaggy was a crowd favourite at One Love 2020.
And then there was Shaggy for our Sunday session, our favourite Mr Lover Lover giving us that sexual innuendo we all love to hear from him.
It doesn't matter how many times you watch this Jamaican reggae legend, you are entertained just as you are watching him for the first time - singing along to every song, dancing along to every track and for those good few minutes during It Wasn't Me, acting as though you, 1) have enough game to even find yourself in that situation, and 2) believe denying infidelity after getting caught red-handed is a good idea.
How good is the power of music, hey?
Shaggy is a performer. He makes the crowd have the time of their life, and he certainly served the crowd with a decent helping of that.
Now can we also take a minute to appreciate the talent that is New Zealand music - particularly our favourite Bay musos L.A.B. To say that these lads owned that stage and deserved to close out the festival is an understatement.
L.A.B is more than a band that makes good music. Each and every one of the members are skilled musicians whose craft is undeniable, who give absolutely everything they have in their performances and carve up the stage like no other. Their live performances cannot be beat and based on the crowd reaction, I'm pretty confident a casual 20,000 others would agree with me.
Hearing that crowd sing along to In The Air was a [insert preferred profanity here] moment. If you were there you were no doubt one of the thousands cheering as soon as it started and singing until the end. If you weren't there, you might need to make better life choices. Their set was a vibe, topped off by the addition of another Kora brother - Fran - joining his blood brothers Brad and Stu, and L.A.B brothers Joel, Ara and Miharo on stage to help close the night.
Joel Shadbolt from L.A.B.
The reunion of Nesian Mystik brought was nostalgia at its best. They're the group who owned Kiwi summers in their day, they were a staple on the NZ hip hop scene for close to a decade and they supported some of the biggest names in music on their New Zealand tours.
When they hit the stage at One Love in Tauranga it was like they never left. Their following was still there, the crowd was excited and you could tell their stage presence was fuelled by experience.
Their music was a part of my youth so it's no surprise I was dancing and singing along to every song - I particularly apologise to anyone next to me when these poly lads performed 'Nesian 101' .... and 'Sun Goes Down' .... and 'Nesian Style' ... and, okay every track. I must admit I'm still impressed by their use of 'tion' lyrics.
Other highlights of the One Love Festival, on January 25 and 26, was Jackson Owens joining Sons of Zion on stage as their new vocalist, bringing his own style to the band while also fitting in seamlessly. I'm looking forward to seeing more of what he brings to the band in the future.
Jackson Owens joined Sons of Zion as their new vocalist.
Stan Walker and his mates/fellow Born to Dance stars Tia Maipi and Jordan Vaha'akolo-Cruickshank performing their reply to Parris Goebel's Yummy Challenge was even more entertaining than the original Instagram video the Tauranga singer posted earlier this month.
There was no shortage of talent he brought on stage with him. While a crowd favourite was when Hamo Dell joined him to perform their hit Choose, it was when fellow Tauranga Moana talent Ria Hall and Tawaroa Kawana, from New Zealand's Got Talent and Maimoa Music fame, joined him to sing Aotearoa that really struck a note with the crowd.
Every time Stan Walker performs, it's a vibe.
There was plenty to love about One Love Festival 2020 and while every one of the performers did justice over the weekend, a shout out has to go to everyone who works hard behind the scenes to run such a major event. We appreciate you.
