Lone star is back to play

Jolie Holland plays the Kings Arms.

Next month Texan singer/songwriter Jolie Holland returns to New Zealand for two shows in support of her new album, Springtime Can Kill You.

Although she's from Texas, that is not necessarily reflected in her sound - a mix of blues, folk, and smoky gospel.

Holland plays Indigo in Wellington on August 22 and the Kings Arms in Auckland on August 23.

Michael Franti - the man who visits New Zealand almost as often as Ben Harper - returns for a show at the St James in Auckland on September 15 with his band Spearhead.

Franti's new album, Yell Fire!, came out this week.

The songs are inspired by his journeys to war zones in Iraq, Israel, and Palestine in 2004. He also made a documentary film about his experience, called I Know I'm Not Alone.

Denver rockers the Fray play Auckland's Studio on September 4. You may not have heard of the Fray but their debut album, How To Save A Life, which is out now in New Zealand, has sold more than half a million copies in the United States.