Gibbston rocks to the classics
ZZ Top, Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo and Stone Temple Pilots provided the tunes as thousands rocked out in the baking sun at Gibbston over the weekend.
Saturday's annual Queenstown’s Gibbston Valley Winery Summer Concert also welcomed The Angels and Wanaka band Powder Chutes, who warmed up the crowd before the international acts.
The Angels were the first of the big name internationals up, with an energetic performance, showing that with nearly 50 years of history, John and Rick Brewster along with front man Dave Gleeson still have what it takes to nail their iconic rock hits including Am I Ever Gonna See You Face Again, Take A Long Line and No Secrets.
Stone Temple Pilots performed a strong set of music from the 90s and early 2000s with lead singer Jeff Gutt, along with band members Robert and Dean DeLeo (guitar and bass) and drummer Eric Kretz, delivering hits like Interstate Love Song, Plush and Vaseline.
And then Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo wowed the crowd with a huge set a classic rock ballads including Heartbreaker, Love Is a Battlefield , We Belong and We Live For Love to name just a few.
ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons, Elwood Francis and Frank Beard needed no introduction. With the instantly recognisable beards, black leather jackets, shades and guitars, they smashed out Sharp Dressed Man, Gimme All Your Lovin’, Legs , La Grange in style.
The concert was the last date on what was supposed to be a three-date Summer Concert Tour, but Whitianga Summer Concert was cancelled due to weather.
Amanda Calvert, CEO of Greenstone Entertainment, says: "While we were unable to hold our planned Whitianga Summer Concert, we’ve had a wonderful time being able to deliver our shows in both Taupo and Queenstown, and to have seen all the amazing feedback from concert goers over the last two weekends.
"A huge thanks goes out to all our fans, supporters, suppliers, and of course the incredible line up of artists who have journeyed to New Zealand to make our summer just that much better.
"We’re already working on our 2024 Summer Concert Tour and look forward to bringing everyone more news on it across the coming months”.
