On a beautiful Saturday afternoon on the grounds of Waitangi, music fans young and old poured into the venue ready for an afternoon and evening of hip-hop, roots, rock and reggae at the Bay of Islands Music Festival. The festival was already buzzing as the gates opened, families came with young children and soon the grounds filled up with people sitting on blankets and chairs, using umbrellas to keep cool in the hot sun.

The first band, Otium (pictured) came on stage at 2:15pm. From Whangarei, Otium are a 5-piece funk band, who have an impressive funk/reggae sound. They played a set of very catchy songs, even if you didn't know their songs you found yourself tapping your feet and really getting into the music. They interacted with the audience, and as the opening band, they definitely made you feel like you were going to have a good time.

NZ’s RnB hip-hop queen Ladi6 (pictured) was next on the stage, she was definitely a fan favourite starting off with a slow song which got everyone's attention, she then went right into a dance number which the audience really enjoyed and got up and started dancing. After talking to the crowd, she then performed Love To Love, which a lot of people sang along to, there was a very large crowd now including children dancing, singing and really getting into it. Ladi6 really got the crowd pumped and received a huge applause once her set had finished.

In between artists we had the amazing DJ Big 6 spinning the tunes keeping the ever-growing crowd entertained and the dancing flowing.

Fiji then got a very warm welcome - the crowd were very excited to see them perform. As the band performed their first song, a very large group of people made their way up to the barrier to sing and dance along, many children also went up too. It was a very energetic performance and so many people seemed to love it.

As George Veikoso sang, hitting many high notes, the crowd cheered. Fiji was such a hit with everyone -  they even got the audience singing their final song, which everyone was very much happy to do. Fiji was a very big crowd favourite and really got everyone geared up another level for what was yet to come.

As the sun beamed down we were all very much ready for the second part of what had been an entertaining afternoon. After a lengthy delay due to technical issues which was out of their control The Black Seeds (pictured) came out on stage. By now the crowd had really started to get into the swing of things. They started their set with the popular song Cool Me Down, which was also very fitting given how hot it had become. The Black Seeds interacted with the audience during each performance, getting everyone to sing along with the songs. I am sure it was just as hot up on stage as it was on the ground, but they never faulted. They were a class act and very much a fan favourite of the day. However, due to the technical issues they did have to cut their set short, although we all had fun regardless.

Next was Australian Rockers Wolfmother. From the moment they stepped on stage, they had the crowd really rocking. While they may be Australian they are very much loved by Kiwi fans of all ages - they had everyone singing and head banging to all their songs, especially when they sang Joker and the Thief which had a lot of members of the audience singing along. They finished their set and were getting ready to sign off, however the crowd chanted encore over-and-over, so the band happily obliged.

In the setting sun the temperature kept rising on the ground as New Zealand rock royalty Shihad (pictured) came onto the stage to rock a very excited and energised audience. Starting off with Think You’re So Free, everyone started jumping around and singing along. Once they started playing their older songs the audience got into it even more, singing as loud as they could whilst cheering and jumping around. After 30 + years as a band, Shihad can still draw a crowd and get them rocking hard - the energy and fire on stage is still as fresh as it was all those years ago.

Then came the moment of the night almost all the fans had been waiting for, Mr Bombastic himself Shaggy (pictured) appeared on the stage. Loud cheers and screams came from fans of all ages. As he came on the stage and started singing, it was like you had been transported back to the early 90’s. Working the crowd by getting them to sing and repeat after him.

The 51-year old reggae star blew the audience away, looking and sounding exactly like he did in the 90’s singing favourite songs like Mr Boombastic and Angel among many other hits. Not missing a single note and dancing just like he always has, Shaggy had the audience eating out of the palm of his hand for his entire set.

The Bay of Islands Music festival was a huge family orientated gig and had a bit of everything for everyone - even the security guards got in on the fun, dancing and interacting with the fans, while still doing their job. Everyone had a thoroughly enjoyable time, and no-one left disappointed. There were many smiles and happy people after Shaggy finished his performance.

Photos courtesy to Chris Morgan / Morgan Creative
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