Momentum is building for February’s Summer Concert in Masterton with one of the headline acts winning big at the recent New Zealand Music awards. Hip-hop artist Kings picked up the Highest Selling Single with Don’t Worry ‘Bout It’ which also earned him the NZ On Air Radio Airplay Record of the Year. The Auckland-based entertainer is joining Kiwi reggae-soul band, The Black Seeds, for the Friday 9 February show at Trust House Memorial Park in Masterton. It will be the second consecutive year a Summer Concert has been staged in the stadium, following on from internationally acclaimed artist Ladyhawke’s performance in early 2017.

The Masterton Summer Concerts have been made possible by support from Masterton District Council, The Trust House Foundation and the Wairarapa Multisports Stadium Trust. Trust House recently signed off on a $20,000 grant for the event. Masterton Net Proceeds Committee chair Mena Antonio says the calibre of the artists make it a show not to be missed. “These artists are world class, and they are coming to Masterton,” she says. Top music acts were a regular occurrence in Masterton when King St Live was operating, but since the venue’s closing two years ago these have all but dried up. Supporting the Summer Concert is one way of responding to this demand, Ms Antonio says. “It is adapted from the old Summer Hummer style event, so as a community organisation we (Trust House Foundation) are really excited to be able to support it.” It is also pleasing to see a public facility such as Memorial Park being used in a more creative way, she says. Ms Antonio is full of praise for the organisers. In 2011 Rolling Stone Magazine described The Black Seeds as the “best live reggae band in the world”. This year Clash Magazine further endorsed the eight-piece band as “one of the best live reggae acts on the planet,” The February gig marks a return to Wairarapa for the Black Seeds having played at King St Live in 2014. Although overshadowed by Lorde, who scooped a staggering six Tui Awards at the 2017 Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards, Kingdon Chapple-Wilson, aka Kings, can be well pleased with his achievements. His trailblazing single Don’t Worry ‘Bout It outsold Lorde earning him the highest selling single and airplay. In fact, the single broke Lorde’s record for the most weeks at No.1 in the New Zealand Artists Top 20, spending 33 consecutive weeks at the top. Masterton Summer Concerts co-organiser, Matthew Sherry, anticipates a big crowd for the event. With general admission only $20 it is incredibly good value, he says.

Early ticket sales are doing well, he says. Tickets are on sale on eventfinda.co.nz.