The surviving members of the international Māori showbands are set to tour for one final time. Members of the Quin Tikis, Māori Volcanics, the Māori Hi Quins, Castaways, Quin Tiki and Hi Five will perform three major concerts as part of the Last Stand Tour.
The Māori Volcanics have had a career spanning more than 40 years.
Māori Volcanic Mahora Peters says, “Billy and I have been in Vegas for the last five years and we're back home for good now, so we decided to put the Volcanics back together.”
The Māori showbands were big in the 1960s, with names like Billy T James and Prince Tui Teka once gracing the stage as well.
Māori Volcanic Billy Peters says, “A lot of the boys are not very well anymore and so that is why it's called The Last Stand, this will be the last one, there won't be any more of the boys left after this year because their very ill and we wanted to catch them before we lost them all.”
Surviving members of the Māori showbands will make the trip back from overseas, where they'll be joined by some new faces.
New member Jermaine Kawau says, “I couldn't have hoped for anything better at the moment, playing with Billy Peters and Margery Peters it's absolutely fantastic.”
Hone Paki who is also joining the Volcanics says, “The history behind the Māori Volcanics is quite vast and its had some great men and women have come through the showbands and I'm really stoked to meet icons that are coming back from the states.”
They'll perform three shows in Wellington, Auckland, and Rotorua, the final chance for NZ to see some of the Māori greats live on stage.