The power of social media has helped a local band bring one of the country’s biggest heavy metal acts to Nelson – and they hope there will be more to come.
Wellington-based Beastwars are making their way to Nelson after local rockers, Deranger, ran a successful Facebook campaign to entice them to play the Top of the South.
Now, not only will they get to see them play live – they get to share the stage with them at Club Paradox on 6 December.
“We’re all massive Beastwars fans. The show will be one of the biggest heavy music events Nelson has seen in a long time,” says band member Matt Duncan.
Matt says it all started when Beastwars put up a Facebook post asking which small towns would like to see them.
“We jumped on this and set up a page called ‘Bring Beastwars to Nelson’. We had a really good response and they said they would look at coming if we got over 100 responses. We managed to get a lot more than that.”
The acclaimed sludge metal group were recently nominated as finalists for best group and for best rock album at the NZ Music Awards.
Their latest record, IV, debuted at number one on the official NZ Music Charts in July.
“Having a band of their calibre, who are incredible live, is a massive deal for Nelson fans,” says Matt.
Deranger say they have made it their mission to put Nelson back on the tour circuit.
“Nelson used to be a real hub for alternative music. The closure of a number of venues and small turnouts has seen the city getting bypassed by bigger acts. We want that to change,” Matt says.
They also want to inspire local musicians to put bands together and start playing live.
“There are a lot of great musicians here who hide out in their bedrooms or focus on recording music. We want Nelson to be buzzing with live acts across all genres.”
For Deranger the show marks another step in their bid to become a nationally recognised act.
“We hope it will lead to other opportunities with Beastwars and other touring New Zealand and international acts.”
Beastwars are playing with support from Deranger and Dead City Joggers at Club Paradox on Friday, 6 December. Tickets available at https://www.undertheradar.co.nz/ticket/11127/Beastwars.utr
