Line up announced for fifth anniversary of Fritter Festival

27 October 2016

Media Release

Celebrating 5 Years of Fritter

Venues and Events Whangarei is pleased to announce a top line up for the fifth anniversary of the Whangarei Fritter Festival to be held on Saturday 25 March 2017 at Toll Stadium.

The fifth Fritter Festival has attracted two great headliners including Kiwi music industry pioneers The Feelers and one of New Zealand’s finest acts The Black Seeds, who performed at the very first festival in 2013. Reggae roots band dDub will join the line up, along with local acts Less the Harp, Cake and Eat it, Rangitane Riot and Farandicus, Luke Bird will be the Master of Ceremonies.

“The festival is going to be a massive celebration of everything Northland has to offer – outstanding talent, delicious food and wine, arts, crafts, good times and great memories,” Mrs O’Gorman said.

“All eleven vineyards and wineries from 2016 have already signed up for the five year anniversary. Almost all restaurants and cafes will be returning but there will be space for about four or five new ones.

“Eligible businesses must be a café or restaurant operating in Northland and must agree to the festival terms and conditions. For example, they have to produce a signature fritter to sell to the public at the festival and have enough to last them throughout the day.”

Early bird tickets go on sale on Wednesday 2 November at 9am from Eventfinda and Forum North Box Office for $37 for adults, $17 for children and groups of 10 or more can buy tickets for $33.30 each. You can also purchase bus tickets for the three bus services that will be provided from Matapouri, Mangawhai or Whangarei Heads and official Fritter Festival merchandise is also available to buy on line at Eventfinda and at Forum North.

About the bands:

The Feelers who started out as a music partnership between James Reid and Hamish Gee has spanned almost twenty years and brought us one of our best loved bands. They have amassed some remarkable statistics, a quarter of a million albums sold, five multi platinum albums, three number one albums, seven number one singles and more radio airplay than any other New Zealand artist or band since radio stats began in 1999. Since their last multi platinum offering, ‘One World’, they have also welcomed two new arrivals to the band, guitarist Andy Lynch (formerly of Zed) and bass player Clint Harris (Opshop).

The Black Seeds, one of New Zealand’s finest acts and pioneers of a South Pacific reggae/roots sound, have carved out their reputation on the back of multi-platinum albums and a masterful live show that’s been filling dance floors for over a decade. Since 1998, vocals led be Barnaby Weir and Daniel Weetman have been the driving force behind expressing The Black Seeds message. Conscious lyrics convey personal triumphs and failures, relationships good and bad, and are underpinned by a constant optimism.

dDub are one of the country’s best loved live acts. Engaging and uplifting, the dDub crew propel their way seamlessly through a powerful and non-stop reggae/roots explosion. Horns, harmonies, and hands-high dDub tunes combine to create an elevating musical experience not to be missed. Renowned for their 'cranking and skanking' live shows, the band never fails to connect with the crowd and they have become firm favourites at many nationwide outdoor festivals in NZ.

Less the Harp are a SIX piece Rock / Reggae band based out of Bream Bay and have been playing in Northland venues since the mid 2000s. Less the Harp's sound is like if Sublime were marinated in Kiwi Reggae then slow cooked over the coals of 90's rock. The boys have been making music together since their High School days and with age has come a solid and refined sound.

Rangitane Riot are a professional five piece band from Northland whose repertoire include classics from the 70s to today. Significantly, band member Tony Harrison, owner of the Music Workshop who’s been doing the sound and staging for Fritter since year one will be fittingly opening the festival with his band at the five year anniversary.

All members of Cake & Eat It come from an extensive and professional background of music and live performance. With years of experience locally and internationally there is a polished clean sound with this acoustic trio that emanates unmistakable vocal expertise, musicality and energy. Each member lives and breathes the gift of music and love collaborating with other like-minded, humble musicians and also enjoy mentoring and encouraging up & coming acts.

Farandicus are a six piece band based in Northland whose sound is smooth, clean and soulful. Currently at work on their first album, the group plays a tight set of original music. Their songs are varied, and can be hard to pin down to a specific genre, but the soul and funk influences shine through most clearly.

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