Hopetoun Brown's soulful sound set to rock Rotorua

Supergroove's horn section of Tim Stewart and Nick Atkinson recently formed a band called Hopetoun Brown - and tomorrow night Rotorua music fans will get to experience their sound.

It's an exciting combination revolving around Stewart's big soulful voice and earthy performance, coupled with the deep tones of Atkinson's bass clarinet.

You can hear them at the Rotorua Museum with their blues, stomp and soul sound where they will be playing tunes off their new album Burning Fuse.

Rotorua is part of their 12-stop launch tour of country. Hopetoun Brown has been brought to Rotorua by The Rogue Stage and Rotorua Museum, with the support of Musicworks Rotorua and the Coromandel Sonic Lab. Karin Vincent from the Rogue Stage is hoping the gig will go the way of others they've had in the city.

"They've performed in Rotorua a couple of times and people begged me to get them back. The last time they were here, it [the show] sold out in three days.

"They are a fantastic band, and the kind of music they play is like no ordinary band. It's not a "sit in the corner" type of show, as they work hard to deliver great content," Ms Vincent said.

Back in their school days, Stewart and Atkinson fell in love with the unique sounds of New Orleans. Since then, they have worked on sharpening their skills on that classic Southern repertoire.

But, late last year, something happened that changed their sound. Stewart started to sing that Big Easy classic Saint James Infirmary. When the bass clarinet picked out the bass-line, Hopetoun Brown was born. "There's such a natural balance between Tim's voice and sound of the low clarinet," Atkinson said. "They're very complementary, almost complete."

Since then, they've been gigging around Auckland haunts like Golden Dawn, the Portland Public House, The Wine Cellar and the Leigh Sawmill.

The duo recorded Burning Fuse at The Lab Studios in Mt Eden. Their first track Demanding Blues is also available digitally.

Tickets are on sale from Rotorua Museum reception, Musicworks (1141 Pukuatua St), or theroguestage@gmail.com for $30 or $12 for students. Doors open at 7pm.