BB King announces new show for late April

B.B. King's longevity in music is unrivalled. Photo / Supplied

Following last week's cancellation of the Grassroots Festival, blues legend B.B. King has announced a show on April 24 at Auckland's Civic Theatre.

King was set to headline the Easter festival before it was called off due to the impact the Christchurch earthquake had on ticket sales.

The festival was timed to coincide with the Byron Bay Blues Festival in Australia and was set to feature Elvis Costello, Ben Harper, Grace Jones and many others.

The only other act from the original bill to announce a Grassroots spin-off show so far are rootsy, folk-country band the Felice Brothers who play the Kings Arms on April 24.

However, given Harper's affection for New Zealand there is the possibility he will play here, and possibly even Costello, who has a small window of opportunity after the Byron Bay event before he heads to the United States.

King is the ultimate bluesman. Eighty-five years old, he still plays a relentless number of shows each year and, tellingly, he announced his farewell tour five years ago but he hasn't stopped since. His longevity is unrivalled in music and to this day he is renowned as one of the world's most influential guitarists with his seamless string-bending electric blues sound.

King, who opened for U2 at Western Springs in 1988 and played the Logan Campbell Centre in 1997, will be supported in Auckland by Ruthie Foster, the "blues powerhouse" from Texas (at least that's what Oprah called her).

Meanwhile, as you may have heard, the Foo Fighters are heading to New Zealand for a charity gig in aid of the Christchurch earthquake at the Auckland Town Hall on Tuesday, March 22.

- TimeOut