Three young Far North musicians are the envy of their schoolmates after they were invited on stage to perform with legendary 1990s funk-rock band Supergroove.
The trio, who form the horn section of the Kerikeri High School Jazz Band, were spotted by Supergroove when they opened Saturday's It! Bay of Islands Food and Wine Festival.
Along with band director David Lawless, the students - Michaela Hawkins (17, Kerikeri), Ben Gaualofa (13, Kerikeri), and Sydney Rowlinson (16, Takou Bay) - were invited to join the band on stage for the song You Freak Me, beefing up a brass section usually made up of trombone player Tim Stewart and saxophonist Nick Atkinson.
Sydney said they had played to big audiences before, including school prizegivings and Tauranga's jazz festival, but nothing like Saturday's 2000-strong crowd.