KEY POINTS:
What singer/songwriter who is coming to New Zealand in May, looks like Chris Martin from Coldplay and sings in a way not too dissimilar to James Blunt?
Here's a clue: he even shares Blunty's first name. You guessed it, James Morrison.
The lovable working class British geezer whose Undiscovered was one of last year's biggest albums, will play Auckland's St James on May 15. You'd never guess from his funk-soul-brother voice, similar to that of Stevie Wonder, that he's a 20-something white guy born in the town of Rugby in England. During his teens he honed his songwriting by busking for a living and by 21 he was a sensation.
On April 12, the Magic Numbers, one of the stars of the 2006 Big Day Out - they were cute and cuddly, remember? - will play the St James. Two pairs of brothers and sisters, Romeo and Michele Stodart and Sean and Angela Gannon, the Magic Numbers play heartwarming guitar-pop with equally lovely melodies.
If you need to check them out before you buy your tickets then go for their excellent self-titled debut from 2005 and then last year's Those the Brokes.
For something more jumped-up, but no less happy, check out southern Californian ska-punk band Reel Big Fish at the Kings Arms on March 27.
Meanwhile, the Eagles of Death Metal, the band made up of Jesse "The Devil" Hughes and Josh Homme from Queens of the Stone Age on drums, have moved to the bigger St James venue for their show on March 22.
