Smokefree Pacific Beats

Well what a surprise!!  I was taking an evening stroll last night and happened to bump into my friend Malcolm Lakatani along with Petrina George standing outside the Telstra Clear Pacific Centre.  Talented young musicians were there competing in the Smokefree Pacifica Beats competition.  Not being able to resist shooting musicians shooting live I raced back home, got my 70-200mm and got back as quick as I could.  I had to leave at 9pm to collect my daughter from work, but what I saw and heard from these young musicians was impressive.  There  is a heap of musical talent here in New Zealand that's for sure!!

Anyway, to give you a little taste of the atmosphere here's a few shots for your amusement.  There's also a few more shots on Facebook.  If you think I may have a shot of you on stage that you'd like, just email me at chris@nzcjs.com :-)

Pacific Music Awards 2012

Malcolm Lakatani and his band play tribute to Keil Isles at the 2012 Pacific Music Awards

So much musical talent, so much joy and happiness, such a wonderful atmosphere, but how could it be anything else with so many Pacific Island people at the event?  It was superb.  Lifetime achievement award was presented to Keil Isles for whom there was a tribute performance by Malcolm Lakatani and his band.  And what a band!!  Semi Leo on bass guitar, Chrismas Ropati on lead guitar, Patrick Tanielu on drums, Saylene Ulberg on keyboards, Ross Devereux and Thabani Gapara on sax and the gorgeous Grace Ikenasio on backing vocals ... Wow!!  If the Keil Isles band was like these guys then I can see why they were so popular.  Wonderful performance and such a shame it had to end.

Quite a few artists performed on stage and it was a real privilege to be there and soak up the atmosphere.  I suppose Adeaze must be the main talking point at the conclusion of the awards.  These humble guys managed to win Best Urban Album, Best Pacific Group and Best Pacific Song for their track Paradise.  Great to see them perform on stage too!  If you haven't heard them head over here ... http://adeazemusic.com/ and take a look.  There's a short music video you'll see on their homepage.  Well worth a listen.

I'll close this post now with a few more shots from the night.  Want to see more?  Head on over to my Facebook page to see a small album of the Adeaze boys, Mista Lakatani's band, and some general shots from the night.

Adeaze.