Five of New Zealand's top musicians are heading to Black Barn in February.
The show, Under A Starry Sky, will see the talented Margaret Urlich, Annie Crummer, Sharon O'Neill, Shona Laing and Debbie Harwood performing chart-topping songs that have woven themselves into New Zealanders' lives since 1970.
Add to that top female comedian, Michele A'Court, and concertgoers are in for a night of laughter and song.
For one night only, these original singer-songwriters will come together for a rare night of hit song after hit song. From 1905, to Room That Echoes, Maxine, to Escaping and Melting Pot, the show will sing its way through three decades of exceptional NZ music -- performed by the writers and original artists themselves.
Harwood, who has been organising the show, says she is determined to make sure the songs are heard.
"It's important to get New Zealand music on stage ... to get to the people," she said.
Harwood, who had open-heart surgery in 2009, has recently moved back to her home town of Hawke's Bay.
"I grew up in Taradale and at 17 drove to Auckland -- 33 years later I drove home again to stay," she said. "I love Hawke's Bay. The people are just so kind, as is the weather."
Harwood loves touring and rehearsing with the line-up for Under A Starry Night.
"We just get better with age. We are more comfortable and our voices more potent."
* The show is sure to sell out, so book early for the February 13 show at Black Barn. For tickets, visit blackbarn.com
Kiwi singer Sharon O'Neill
SHARON O'NEILL
In1979 O'Neill released her first single, Luck's On Your Table, from the album This Heart, This Song. A support slot on a national Australian tour with Boz Scaggs gave her the exposure she needed and her single Maybe reached No 12 on the Australian charts.
Her third album, Foreign Affairs, was released in 1983 and the single Maxine -- which had been recorded in LA, was her next hit. In 1990 O'Neill recorded the album Edge of Winter, then settled back to writing songs for others.
SHONA LAING
In 1972, at just 17, Shona was runner-up in New Faces with her landmark song 1905, inspired by her infatuation with actor Henry Fonda. She was named Best New Artist and Recording Artist of the Year in 1973. That year also saw her win the Tokyo Song Contest with a song called Masquerade, which reached No 11 on the NZ charts. A move to England garnered EMI's interest and the single Don't Tell Me received substantial airplay from Radio 1 and was heard by Manfred Mann.
Laing returned to New Zealand in the early 80s and released her album Genre in 1985. The song Glad I'm Not a Kennedy -- which had been overlooked here -- won a Pater award in Australia for NZ Song of the Year. In 2001, Glad I'm Not a Kennedy was voted No 24 in the top 100 NZ songs of all time and in 2002, The Essential Shona Laing was released. In 2007, Laing released her latest album, Pass The Whisper.
Crummer's first single, Once Or Twice, released when she was just 16, reached No16 on the charts. Her signature sound was cemented in Kiwi pop history on the Netherworld Dancing Toys' No1 hit For Today.
Crummer's first solo album, Language, reached platinum status and spawned the No 3 hit See What Love Can Do, recorded with Herbs. She has supported Ray Charles, k.d. lang, Paul McCartney, Michael Jackson and Sting. Crummer is releasing new material, under the moniker annie.c.
Debbie Harwood
DEBBIE HARWOOD
After three solo releases, Harwood formed the Kiwi phenomenon When The Cat's Away, named Top Group at the NZ Music Awards in the late 80s, as well as celebrating a gold album and the No 1 single, Melting Pot. Harwood also won Most Promising Female Vocalist in 1985, Most Promising Group in 1987 and was a finalist in the category of Best Female Artist at the 2006 NZ Music Awards.
When The Cat's Away toured and recorded again in 2001 and 2002, achieving platinum sales for their live album with Sharon O'Neill, and had yet another hit single with Asian Paradise.
Urlich had phenomenal success with her debut album, Safety In Numbers, in 1989. The New Zealand-born singer saw her first album steadily build into a major hit on the Australian charts. By 1991, Safety In Numbers had gained her three platinum albums in Australia and a No 1 platinum album and No 1 single, Escaping, in her homeland.
Urlich's second album, Chameleon Dreams, took her to Los Angeles where she wrote two songs with Ian Prince, one of the key contributors to Quincy Jones' Back On The Block project. Then in 1998 the seeds were sown for what was to become Urlich's fourth album, Second Nature. She is a serious songwriter/performer, with a touch of dance floor diva -- an enthralling live performer.
