Whanganui musician Ra Costelloe to open for Tiki Taane in Christchurch after Kiwi legend discovers Stuck in Love

Whanganui musician Ra Costelloe is set to play the biggest gig of his young career.

The 23-year-old has been performing for three years, but only decided to start taking it seriously this year and it has paid off big time.

On October 6, Costelloe will open for New Zealand music icon Tiki Taane at Blue Smoke in Christchurch and he is stoked about it.

"It was a real humbling moment to find out that I'm opening for such a New Zealand legend, I was speechless, I just jumped up and down a bit," Costelloe says.

"Tiki Taane has influenced me. We used to jam Always on my Mind at high school, it was such an iconic song in New Zealand that everybody loved."

From busking at the Whanganui River Markets to opening for Tiki Taane, Ra Costelloe is making moves in music. Photo / Stuart Munro

Taane recently posted a video on Facebook announcing that he was searching for an opening act and Costelloe got the gig from among almost 200 entries.

Taane was impressed by Costelloe's single Stuck in Love which was released with a new video recently, filmed in Whanganui's Durie Hill tunnel.

"Stuck in Love was written four years ago from the perspective of being stuck in a place you can't get out of. It speaks for itself, there aren't any hidden meanings," Costelloe says.

"The relevance of shooting it in the tunnel is that you get that feeling that you're trapped and there's a long way ahead. Also, it's just a cool looking tunnel."

Born in Cornwall, England, Costelloe and his family moved to Whanganui when he was 4 years old.

"I grew up on a farm with a piano and no internet or TV. We all play piano in the family, but I never learned the guitar," Costelloe says.

"It was Dad who was keen on the Irish gig scene, he plays guitar and used to sing."

Costelloe went to Whanganui High School. When he finished there he moved to Invercargill to study contemporary music at SIT and then moved to Wellington.

In the capital, he went gigging whenever he could, wherever he could and would record covers and upload them on social media.

He now lives in Mangamahu.

"I came back this year. It's been really exciting, we've shot a few originals in Whanganui and now I've got an album prepared.

"The music scene here is getting there, it's buzzing. It feels like it's about to get to the next level.

"There are so many names coming here, Stan Walker, House of Shem are always coming to Whanganui for gigs and that's exciting."

The aforementioned acts are inspirations for Costelloe, as are Australian musician Matt Corby, Kiwi kingpins Six60 and American powerhouse Christian Aguilera.

He describes his sound as a modern take on blues, R&B and reggae.

"New Zealand has its own sound. I'm so glad we came here, all of the bands have their own unique sound and I'm in love with that.

"I want to push for that, the world needs to hear that more and that's what I'm trying to do with my music."

Costelloe is nearing the production stage of his album. It has been self funded through gigs, more than 1000 album sales and regular busking at the Whanganui River Markets.

Social media has put his name out there and soon Costelloe will embark on a trip to Poland where he has been booked for a private gig.

For now, there's only one thing that's always on his mind and that's Christchurch.

"I think about it before I go to sleep at night and think about it again when I wake up," Costelloe says.

"Every time I think about music, which is every minute of every day, I think about this gig."