Tour news: Gin Wigmore returning for NZ tour

Kiwi singer Gin Wigmore.

The effervescent Gin Wigmore hasn't performed a show in New Zealand since her 2012-2013 summer tour with Jimmy Barnes, but today we can happily announce that she'll be back this July to perform a series of intimate club shows, hot on the heels of the global release of her third album Blood To Bone, which will be launched on Friday, June 26.

She'll be charming her fans with three shows, performing Wednesday July 1 at the Kings Arms Tavern, Auckland; Friday July 3 at Bar Bodega, Wellington; and Saturday July 4 at CPSA, Christchurch, with tickets available through Ticketmaster from Tuesday May 5.

The 28-year-old has also released her first single New Rush this week, and was briefly back in New Zealand for promo duties. Catching up with TimeOut, the husky-voiced singer had plenty of stories to share - her new life in Los Angeles with her new husband Jason Butler (lead singer with American post hard-core band Letlive, whom she met while on the 2013 Warped tour), how the punk attitude inspired her, and finding out exactly how she wanted her new album to look and sound.

"New Rush feels like a really good representation of what I was trying to do with the album - strong parts, solid, focused, honest, big drums, all about the groove.

"There are elements of rock, hip hop, soul, pop. I still write songs more than anything though. It's a different beast, but it's still me singing out the front."

New Rush is about that desire to get out of a rut, and searching for a way to taste something new. But with the chorus line 'I'll step on you to sip on fire', Wigmore admits it's not really about being virtuous.

Listen to New Rush by Gin Wigmore:

"I guess it's kind of shitty really, it's mean, it's not nice. It's saying I'm going to step on you to get that new rush. The whole idea behind it was that I wanted a new rush. I was sick of my life, I almost saw what was to come, and I didn't like it, and I didn't want to be in it, and I didn't see myself in it, I wasn't happy, and I really wanted that to change."

It was partly inspired by the difficult decision she made to leave her (now ex) fiance and her life in Sydney behind, and see what might happen.

"When you're waking up next to someone every day and you're not happy, it really hit me in the face how miserable I was becoming and how out of character I was becoming. So the song, in a not very pleasant way, was about stepping on anything to sip on that fire. And I know it's going to burn me, and it's going to be really hard to swallow, but it's going to be worth it."

She's very happy to be performing all her new songs for her New Zealand fans first, though she says she hasn't taken any cues from her new husband and started stage diving or hanging from the rafters.

"No, I'd probably break something in about one minute" she laughs. "I always try to perform with a sense of honesty, but it'll be interesting to see how these new songs turn out, I'm not quite sure yet. It's strange to take the songs into a live setting, seeing how these different rhythms work for me to move to, and seeing how they make me operate on stage. I have no idea what the live show will be like really, but hopefully it'll be good!"

And she's also hoping to return later this year or early next year for another run of bigger shows, so keep your eyes peeled for another announcement. In the meantime, you'll be able to read our full interview with Wigmore in TimeOut soon.

Tickets go on sale on Friday May 1.

- TimeOut