Much loved Kiwi music legend Dave Dobbyn will kick start ‘New Zealand’s Ten Coolest Days’ with a special one-off performance at the opening night of the American Express Queenstown Winter Festival on Friday 21 June.

Renowned for anthems including ‘Loyal’ and ‘Welcome Home’, Dobbyn will fire up thousands of festival-goers to celebrate the start of winter in true Kiwi style when he headlines the free American Express Opening Party and Fireworks on Queenstown’s waterfront.

Dave Dobbyn and some special guests will take to the stage in Earnslaw Park to perform ‘Slice of Heaven’ before the Festival officially opens at 7.00pm with a spectacular fireworks display over Queenstown Bay.  He will then return to the stage to perform his greatest hits.

Dobbyn’s stellar career has seen him amass multi-platinum sales across seven studio albums and live projects, with ‘Loyal’ polled as New Zealand’s greatest song ever.  He has also won more awards for songwriting than any other Kiwi, including being honoured with an APRA (Australasia Performing Right Association) Lifetime Achievement Award.

American Express Queenstown Winter Festival Manager Lisa Buckingham says it’s a real coup to secure such a Kiwi music icon to open Southern Hemisphere’s biggest celebration of winter.

“It’s going to be a real buzz for people to see a legend like Dave Dobbyn perform these Kiwi anthems live against the backdrop of our alpine scenery – I can’t think of a more fitting way to celebrate winter in our little slice of heaven.”

Sharing the bill as MCs are popular Kiwi comedians Urzila Carlson and Paul Ego, in town for the festival’s NZ Comedy Gala on Tuesday 25 June. A great line up of local acts will play to crowds from 5.30pm, including Wakatipu High rock band The Fletcherz and the winners of recent Queenstown original song contest Songstars.

The American Express Opening Party and Fireworks officially launches a 10-day celebration of Queenstown's unique culture and community with live concerts, comedy, theatre, family fun, and mountain mayhem.

Tickets for the American Express Queenstown Winter Festival are now on sale online at www.winterfestival.co.nz and the full festival programme will be available from next week (6 May 2013) and is available to download at www.winterfestival.co.nz/programme/.

ENDS

Picture Captions:

1) Opening night 2012

2) Dave Dobbyn

For further information contact:

Lisa Buckingham

American Express Queenstown Winter Festival Manager

Phone: +64 27 294 6837 / +64 3 441 2453

Email: lisa@winterfestival.co.nz

Background to the American Express Queenstown Winter Festival

WINTER STARTS HERE! From 21 June to 30 June, the 2013 American Express Queenstown Winter Festival celebrates 39 years of winter fun and festivities with 10 days of totally outrageous and uniquely Queenstown events. Join us on Facebook or Twitter, or keep an eye on www.winterfestival.co.nz to be first with the latest news and hot updates.

Started in 1975, Festival was born when a group of clever locals thought the arrival of snow was a ‘great excuse for a party’.  The group organised races on the mountain and in town, lollies for the kids, beers for the grown-ups, a concert or two and a local ball, all of which were a great success. News quickly spread and over the years it has grown in size and stature to become the Southern Hemisphere’s biggest winter celebration.

Now an iconic event cemented on Queenstown’s calendar it attracts 45,000 attendees and injects a whopping $57 million back into the local economy.

Despite phenomenal growth, the festival has stayed true to its roots and is still a festival for the community. It has evolved to forge a unique indentity as New Zealand's premier celebration of all things winter and holds a special place in the heart of Queenstowners.