Wanganui Savage Club has pulled off a bit of a coup with its concert Saturday night.
Lawrence Arabia brings his nationwide tour to the venue just a week after being nominated for two awards at the Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards.
Despite the moniker, being occasionally seen in Middle Eastern robes and working under the Honorary Bedouin Records mantle, Arabia is Christchurch-born and something of an enigmatic cult figure on the New Zealand music scene.
He is bringing a multi-talented four-piece band to Wanganui for what is his first NZ tour since last July, and one which features shows at cities and towns outside the main centres. His last album, The Sparrow, was released last year and received plenty of plaudits from the press, including Britain's Sunday Times making it "CD of the Week". It was also iTunes NZ's New Zealand Album of the Year 2012 and a Taite Music Prize nomination.
Since releasing his debut album in 2006, Lawrence Arabia has toured extensively in Europe, Australia and North America, including tours with Feist, Beach House, Okkervil River and Crowded House, and in 2009 his song Apple Pie Bed won the APRA Silver Scroll, while the album it came from, Chant Darling, won the inaugural Taite Music Prize.