Reggae royalty returning to NPDC’s Bowl of Brooklands this summer

NPDC’s Bowl of Brooklands is set to welcome the return of L.A.B to the stage on 11 January 2025.

The concert is the second  announced today for the Bowl’s summer 2024/25 season and will be the band’s third headline performance at the Bowl of Brooklands, following their previous headline shows, as well as a memorable appearance at WOMAD in 2020.

Following on from the release of their number one new album L.A.B VI and having already sold-out shows in New Zealand and the United States this year, this tour will be NZ’s only chance to catch L.A.B live this summer.

This lineup features a who’s who of the current crop of big local artists – with Stan Walker, Corrella, Aaradhna and AJA alongside L.A.B. who have won six  2024 Aotearoa Music Awards between them and are consistently holding top spots on the New Zealand top 20  singles charts and Radioscope Top Airplay charts.

 “It’s exciting to have the second big show for the summer announced for the Bowl this summer and to be welcoming back L.A.B for their third headline show at the venue,” says New Plymouth District Mayor Neil Holdom.

“2025 is already shaping up to be a massive year at the Bowl of Brooklands with Te Matatini in February, followed by WOMAD with thousands of visitors and performers heading our way.”

This morning, promoters of the Timeless Summer Tour announced a show at the Bowl on January 16 featuring Boy George, Little River Band, Bonnie Tyler and Starship featuring Mickey Thomas.

In a candid 2022 interview, L.A.B's frontman, Joel Shadbolt, declared the Bowl of Brooklands his favourite venue in New Zealand, following their successful sell-out summer tour of stadiums across the country.

The band last appeared at the Bowl of Brooklands in 2022 to perform to a packed out-crowd of 12,000 concertgoers.

A limited number of pre-sale tickets will be available from midday on Monday 8 July for New Plymouth Event Venues subscribers, sign up here. 

Tickets will then go on sale to the general public at midday Wednesday 10 July and can be purchased online from Ticketek.

The 2023/2024 Summer at the Bowl concert series attracted 21,000 people over three shows and generated $8.1 million in total expenditure and injected $4.2m of GDP into the local economy.

Fast Facts:

• The iconic Bowl of Brooklands in New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park is Taranaki's largest concert venue and was awarded ‘Large Venue of the Year’ by the Entertainment Venues Association of New Zealand in 2021.
• The Bowl is a natural amphitheatre with a permanent stage over the lake and has hosted audiences under the stars since 1958.
• This world-renowned venue holds up to 15,000 and has hosted international headline acts such as Sir Elton John, R.E.M., Fleetwood Mac, Bryan Adams, Six60 and L.A.B
• On the back of their hit single ‘Blue Eyed Māori’, Corrella will be bringing their energetic live performance to these three shows.
• A true legend of NZ music, Aaradhna is another artist with new music on the way, which she’ll be bringing to the stage alongside her catalogue of stone-cold classics.
• Kicking off a massive day of local music will be the Wellington-based soul vocalist AJA. Winner of the 2022 APRA Maioha Award.