By Jane Luscombe
Some of Canterbury's most famous musicians will be heading home next month to put on a free concert for everyone affected by the earthquake.
The event, called Band Together, is being billed as the biggest in New Zealand, and the rest of the country will be able to watch it live on TV3.
OpShop's Jason Kerrison has spent the past week on the phone to some of the biggest names in New Zealand music. It was the only way he knew how to react after the quake hit his home town.
"I don't know how to inspect buildings, I can't help in that regard, but I can call my mates and see if we can get a bit of a concert together, and so we have done and it's really exciting," he told 3 News. "The line-up is going to be huge."
Many of them are Cantabrians like Bic Runga, the feelers, OpShop and local favourites the Bats. So too are the Exponents, who are reforming for the occasion.
They'll be joined by Dave Dobbyn and Dane Rumble, and the list keeps on growing.
Timaru boy and former New Zealand Idol judge Paul Ellis is working with Kerrison.
"Some things have a natural momentum and this certainly does," he says, "and yeah, everyone is pulling together."
This is the first time both of them have been home since the quake.
"It's only when you are here on the ground and you are feeling the shudder of just driving along that you get a little bit of a sense of it," says Kerrison. "I can't even imagine what people have been through here."
They announced the concert in front of the Prime Minister on a visit to Canterbury University. John Key is an OpShop fan, and nothing will keep him away from the concert.
"I have him on my iPod and I really like their music actually," says Mr Key.
It'll be held almost a year to the day since a concert for victims of the Samoan tsunami - but this time it's all about the locals.
The event in Hagley Park will be streamed around the world. Assorted sports stars will be on the phones in a pledge room and hope to be swamped with calls offering donations. The date to jot in your diary is October 23.
3 News
source: newshub archive
