There are many reasons to love New Zealand, the scenery, the wildlife, the people and now the music. More specifically the reggae-influenced tunes which gets Aotearoa rocking.
Here in no particular order are six reasons to love New Zealand and love its music.
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Fat Freddy’s Drop
Fat Freddy’s Drop are an electric mix of genres incorporating, reggae, jazz, soul, and funk to create a sound which immediately gets you dancing.
Black Seeds
The Black Seeds are another band which doesn’t just incorporate reggae music in their sound. This song captures the chilled out laid-back vibe that New Zealand offers a visitor to its shores.
Katchafire
Named after a Bob Marley track, Katchafire are straight-up laid-back reggae. One of the best live acts in New Zealand.
Cornerstone Roots
You know when you go to a show and not really know what to expect? You have never heard the band before but you hear the words reggae and great time, and you know you have to check it out. Well that’s how I found out about Cornerstone Roots, they played the Mint Bar in Wanaka back in the winter of 2009. Great live band, didn’t stop all dancing all-night.
Tiki Tanne
Tiki Tanne is gonna be a huge star, mixes up reggae with dub to devastating effect, saw the dude back in 2009 in Wanaka, brought his old man out on the stage for a wicked version of the haka.
Sweet & Irie
Sweet & Irie are just as the name suggests, sweet music with an irie flavour.
Good picks: I’d add Shapeshifter and Tahuna Breaks to a list like this. Tahuna Breaks’s newish “Empower me” is pretty funky with a definite reggae vibe.
Great shout on Shapeshifter. I haven’t heard of Tahuna Breaks, will certainly check them out.