For immediate release: Wednesday 14th May 2014
NEW ZEALAND’S FIRST ANNUAL NEO-SOUL, JAZZ & HIP-HOP FESTIVAL
featuring
MAXWELL, D’ANGELO
COMMON, MOS DEF, ANTHONY HAMILTON
ANGIE STONE, MUSIQ SOULCHILD
WITH MORE TO BE ANNOUNCED!
I|E|G and Ginnen Group in association with George FM and Mai FM, are thrilled to announce Soulfest, New Zealand’s first
ever Neo-Soul, Jazz and Hip-Hop Festival.
This unique Music and Cultural Festival is a celebration of some of the world’s finest contemporary Neo-Soul, Jazz and
Hip-Hop Artists.
Auckland’s iconic Western Springs Stadium will host this event in a specially configured ‘limited capacity’ location
contained within the bottom speedway area of the grounds.
The 7 spectacular international artists have an astounding combined tally of 52 Grammy Nominations amongst themselves. Maxwell, D’Angelo, Anthony Hamilton and Angie Stone will all be
visiting New Zealand for the very first time, and will be joined by Common, Mos Def and Musiq Soulchild, plus a selection of some of New Zealand’s finest talent, still to be announced.
Over 10 live acts and DJ’s will feature throughout the 10-hour day.
Soulfest will also feature an expansive array of great “Soul Food”, and an excellent selection of wines, beers, spirits,
great coffee and non-alcoholic options aplenty.
Soulfest will be a unique opportunity to see and hear some of the world’s finest artists in a cool, relaxed and friendly
atmosphere.
VIP tickets will feature an exclusive front of stage area for a very limited capacity with access to the VIP bar, where
VIP foodoutlets and VIP toilets are all on offer for the ticket purchaser.
SOULFEST NZ DATE AND TICKET DETAILS
Sunday Oct 26th (Labour Weekend) – Western Springs Stadium, Auckland
12pm-10pm
TICKETS ON SALE from www.ticketmaster.co.nz or call 0800 111 999 / 09 970 9700
Limited Early Bird Pre Sale tickets to Ticketmaster members on sale Tuesday 3rd June from 8am
Limited General Public Early Bird tickets on sale Thursday 5th June from 8am
EARLY BIRD TICKET PRICES
Limited VIP Early Bird Tickets - $149 plus fees and charges
Limited General Admission Early Bird Tickets - $99 plus fees and charges
GENERAL PUBLIC ON SALE TICKET PRICES
VIP Tickets $179 plus fees and charges
General Admission $129 plus fees and charges
Limited VIP Side of Stage Experiences from $299 plus fees
Event Official Website: www.soulfest.co.nz
Proudly presented by I|E|G and Ginnen Group
For media inquiries please contact Nancy Blackler from Blackout | blackoutis@xtra.co.nz | +64 272 425 318
ARTIST INFORMATION / EDITORS NOTES:
MAXWELL
Maxwell, the sexy ambassador of Soul makes his New Zealand debut at Soulfest. The prolific artist who bought us absolute
timeless classics like “Sumthin’ Sumthin’”, “Ascension”, “Pretty Wings” and “Lifetime”, will be visiting New Zealand for
the very first time and performing hits off his phenomenal albums, including his latest work “BLACKsummers’night”. In
1996, the Brooklyn born legend took the music world by storm with his debut “Urban Hang Suite”. The critically acclaimed
CD received a Grammy nomination and went onto achieve double platinum status. Heralded as the future of Soul music,
Maxwell proved his staying power by following up with albums “MTV: Unplugged”, “Embrya”, 1999’s biggest selling single
“Fortunate” (Off the LIFE soundtrack) and 2001’s “Now”. After a hiatus, the Soul Legend returned in 2008 with a live
rendition of Al Green’s classic song, “Simply Beautiful” at the BET Awards. The unforgettable performance was one of the
most talked about performances of the year. His latest album “BLACKsummers’night” was recorded with an extraordinary
live ten-piece band. No synthesizers, no duets. Just Maxwell bare and in the flesh, ready to give old fans and new ones
a sensory experience that he never fails to bring.
D’ANGELO
Having touched the Neo-Soul genre with his sensual presence and stirring vocals some 15 years ago, singer-songwriter
D’Angelo has become one of the most influential and key contributors to the rise of the Neo-Soul movement. Bursting onto
the music scene in 1991, this Virginian native went on to incite vocal comparisons to the likes of music legends Marvin
Gaye and Prince with his 1995 debut album “Brown Sugar” and its subsequent hit singles “Brown Sugar” and “Lady”, a top
10 hIt on the Billboard Charts, went on to secure the albums platinum certification for over 1 million record sales in
the US alone. Following the success of “Brown Sugar”, D’Angelo took a four-year sabbatical from the music world and left
fans yearning for a follow up to the “Brown Sugar” success. The year 2000 saw the release of his much-anticipated second
album aptly titled “Voodoo” on Virgin Records and it received rave reviews and a new legion of new soul fans, dubbing it
D’Angelo’s greatest work. “Voodoo” debuted on the US Billboard charts at Number One, selling over 320,000 copies in its
first week and went on to win a Grammy Award for Best R Album. After an extended break, D’Angelo emerged again doing various guest appearances on tracks for artists like J.
Dilla and Common, and a rumoured new album and European Tours in 2012 saw D”Angelo re-enter the music world for another
spin. This will be the singer’s first show in New Zealand and Australia.
COMMON
Common is known as one of hip-hop’s most poetic and respected lyricists. The popular Actor, Author, TV & Film Producer, Youth Ambassador and Designer has released 9 successful albums which easily rank amongst hip-hop’s best,
won three Grammy Awards and countless BET, MTV and Billboard Awards. Common released his ninth album “The Believer, The
Dreamer” which was released to critical acclaim by Warner Bros. Records on December 20th, 2011. On September 18th, 2012
Common joined forces with the rest of the G.O.O.D Music crew to release the highly anticipated “Cruel Summer” album,
featuring additional artists including Kanye West, John Legend, Pusha T, Big Sean, 2 Chainz, and Kid Cudi. In 2007 he
made his acting debut co-starring opposite Jeremy Piven and Ben Affleck in “Smoking Aces”, and has since gone on to star
in many successful Hollywood movies including “Date Night”, “American Gangster” and “Wanted”. Common is currently
working on expanding his literary pursuits, acting and producing in film and TV projects, completing his latest album
and mix-tape, partnering with brands and continuing to inspire youth across the country with his Common Ground
Foundation.
MOS DEF
He is one of Hip-Hop’s most iconic recording artists with a career that spans over twenty years. Yasiin Bey aka Mos Def
hails from Brooklyn, New York and was a major force in the early nineties underground hip-hop movement, appearing on the
albums of fellow rapper’s De La Soul and Talib Kweli. Forming his group Black Star on Rawkus Records in 1998 and
releasing the successful album “Mos Def & Talib Kweli are Black Star”, which produced the hits “Respiration” and “Definition” which went on to become VH1’s 100
Greatest Songs of Hip-Hop. Launching his stellar solo career with his album “Black on Both Sides” in 1999, secured Mos
Def major industry love and respect for his socially and political aware lyrics and poetic style ofstory-telling through
rhyme, which garnered him a mass of mainstream hip-hop fans in the process. His second album ‘The New Danger’ in 2004
bore the singles “Sex, Love & Money” and “Ghetto Rock” which went on to receive several Grammy Award nominations. As a respected rapper and actor,
Mos Def has balanced the fine art of his craft and parlayed them into successful performance’s on Dave Chappelle’s Block
Party, plus acting roles in Brown Sugar, Talladega Nights, Be Kind, Rewind and Cadillac Records to name a few, and has
gone on to appear in the critically acclaimed HBO Film Something the Lord Made as Vivien Thomas, for which he received
an Emmy Award and Golden Globe Nomination, and won an Image Award. Mos Def is a definitive performing artist and has
become one of hip-hops most intriguing and historic emcees of our time!
ANTHONY HAMILTON
Anthony Hamilton’s voice just keeps getting better with time. The Grammy Award winner’s arresting voice has become a
favourite staple on the scene since 2003 – recently hailed at No. 1 for 4 weeks on Billboard’s Urban Adult Contemporary
chart with his soul-stirring single, “Pray For Me”. The Babyface-produced track is the second single from his fourth
studio album, “Back To Love”. Hamilton’s “Pray For Me” and his “Back To Love” album were both nominated for Grammy
Awards. Fans began paying attention to Hamilton in 2002, when he sang the infectious hook on Nappy Roots single “Po’
Folks”. That performance netted the singer the first of 12 Grammy nominations for best rap/sung collaboration. After
signing with So So Def, Hamilton scored a platinum debut with “Coming From Where I’m From” in 2003 and two years later
followed it up with “Ain’t Nobody Worryin”. Then in 2008 came “The Point Of It All”, and 2009 saw Hamilton win his first
Grammy Award for his collaboration on Al Green’s “You Got The Love I Need”. He has contributed to the works of artists
from Dr. Dre, Tupac, Young Jeezy, Angie Stone, Jadakiss and Jill Scott through to Santana and Josh Turner. Between his
own album sales and collaborations, Hamilton has sold more than 20 million albums. This is Anthony Hamilton’s first trip
to New Zealand.
ANGIE STONE
Grammy Award Nominated Singer-Songwriter, Producer and Actress Angie Stone, is the Grand Dame of Neo-Soul. With four Top
10 albums, including a number one album and ten singles, Stone has sold over 1..4 million albums in the US and over 5
million albums worldwide. Stone was born in Columbia, South Carolina and started off her singing career singing Gospel
music at her local Baptist Church. Dreams of singing stardom led Stone to Arista records and the debut of her first solo
album in 1999 “Black Diamond”, which went on to be certified Gold. Followed up by her next album, “Mahogany Soul” in
2001, which also went Gold. Third album “Stone Love” was released in 2004 and her fourth studio album “The Art of Love
and War” emerged in 2007. She followed this up with “Unexpected” in 2009 and “Rich Girl” in 2012. Angie Stone has
successfully held court as a Queen of the Soul Music sector and through various label changes in her career has always
managed to deliver music and live performances heralded the world over. A celebrated actress as well, Stone has appeared
in a number of VH1 TV shows and movies, live theatre alongside fellow singer Brian McKnight in Chicago on Broadway, and
also stars in Season Two of TVOne’s R Diva’s in 2013 as a mentor and life coach. This will be Stone’s first visit to New Zealand.
MUSIQ SOULCHILD
New Zealand couldn’t get enough of this mega talented Philadelphian musician during his electric live performances in
2013, and will no doubt welcome Musiq Soulchild back with open arms for Soulfest 2014. A consummate professional, this
Neo-Soul Singer/Songwriter has been creating soul stirring music for over 15 years, garnering a legion of mainstream RnB
and neo-soul music fans far and wide. His brand of effortless song-writing blended with infectious soul music has made
Musiq the leader of the new soul movement and it is a talent that has taken him from scatting at Philadelphia Jazz clubs
to achieving 2 x Platinum albums, 2 x Gold albums and 7 x hit singles including “Just Friends, “Love”, “Halfcrazy” and
“B.U.D.D.Y” to name a few. Musiq has been lauded with numerous nominations and awards from Billboard, BET, ASCAP, BMI
and Soul Train, including 11 Grammy Nominations, MTV and American Music Awards. Since the debut of his career in 2000
with his first release “Aijuswanaseing” to his seventh and most recent album “9ine”, with Syleena Johnson released in
September of 2013, Musiq has showed consistency and growth as a recording artist and songwriter who has achieved the
fine art of blending contemporary R, Soul, Funk, Jazz, Hip-Hop and Gospel into a music lovers paradise. In his own words of who Musiq is, he says, “Musiq
Soulchild is technically two ideas. Musiq is the front man and Soulchild is the idea behind it”.
STAY TUNED, MORE TO BE ANNOUNCED!