Night out with the Girls

Auckland's live music calendar is getting a dose of oestrogen this September with the all-female, all-star line-up of New Zealand songwriting talent: Give It a Girl.

Featuring Annie Crummer, Margaret Urlich, Julia Deans, Sharon O'Neill, Shona Laing, Debbie Harwood and Lisa Crawley, the showcase will feature each of the artists' hit songs, stretching all the way back to 1905 - the title of Laing's 1972 breakthrough hit.

The vocalists will be backed by a six-piece band featuring O'Neill's partner and one-time Dragon keyboardist and producer Alan Mansfield.

The six-show series will begin on September 1 at SkyCity Theatre and tickets are on sale now through Ticketek.

Meanwhile, American indie rocker and former Pavement frontman Stephen Malkmus returns to New Zealand this September, with support from Dunedin rock institution The Verlaines - whose Death and the Maiden Malkmus covered on the 2002 Flying Nun tribute album Under The Influence.

Malkmus will be joined by his band the Jicks, with whom he released his fourth studio album Real Emotional Trash in March last year. Malkmus and the Jicks will play Auckland's Studio on September 18. Tickets from Eventfinder and Real Groovy.

His father, veteran country-rocker Steve may have fired him but Justin Townes Earle has cleaned up his act and is back on the road, playing Auckland's King's Arms on October 11, after a quick stop at Wellington's Bar Bodega the previous night.

Growing up in Nashville, surrounded by the rock'n' roll lifestyle, Townes Earle may have picked up some bad habits along the way, but he was also exposed to some of the best music around.

Bringing those influences together, he has created his own brand of American roots music, as heard on his acclaimed new album, Midnight at the Movies.

Tickets to the show are on sale now through Eventfinder.