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New Zealand reggae is the New Zealand
New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous Islands of New Zealand, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands....
 (Aotearoa
Aotearoa

Aotearoa is the most widely known and accepted Maori language name for New Zealand. It is used by both Maori and non-Maori, and is becoming increasingly widespread in the bilingual names of national organisations, such as the National Library of New Zealand / Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa....
) variation of the musical genre reggae
Reggae

Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s.While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Music of Jamaica, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady....
. It is a large and well established part of New Zealand music, and includes some of the country's most successful and highly acclaimed bands.

Reggae in New Zealand the 1970s and 1980s included Herbs
Herbs (band)

Herbs are a New Zealand reggae vocal group formed in 1979 once described as "New Zealand's most soulful, heartfelt and consistent contemporary musical voice"....
, Dread, Beat and Blood, Unity Pacific and the Twelve Tribes of Israel. The 1979 Bob Marley
Bob Marley

Robert "Bob" Nesta Marley Jamaican Order of Merit was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the lead singer, songwriter and guitarist for the ska, rocksteady and reggae bands: The Wailers and Bob Marley & the Wailers ....
 concert at Western Springs Stadium
Western Springs Stadium

Western Springs Stadium is an entertainment venue in Auckland, New Zealand, that consists of a natural amphitheatre. During the winter it is used for club rugby union matches and over summer it is used for Dirt track racing in New Zealand....
 is credited with having a huge influence of the growth of reggae in the country and inspiring many prominent reggae artists.






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New Zealand reggae is the New Zealand
New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous Islands of New Zealand, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands....
 (Aotearoa
Aotearoa

Aotearoa is the most widely known and accepted Maori language name for New Zealand. It is used by both Maori and non-Maori, and is becoming increasingly widespread in the bilingual names of national organisations, such as the National Library of New Zealand / Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa....
) variation of the musical genre reggae
Reggae

Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s.While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Music of Jamaica, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady....
. It is a large and well established part of New Zealand music, and includes some of the country's most successful and highly acclaimed bands.

Reggae in New Zealand the 1970s and 1980s included Herbs
Herbs (band)

Herbs are a New Zealand reggae vocal group formed in 1979 once described as "New Zealand's most soulful, heartfelt and consistent contemporary musical voice"....
, Dread, Beat and Blood, Unity Pacific and the Twelve Tribes of Israel. The 1979 Bob Marley
Bob Marley

Robert "Bob" Nesta Marley Jamaican Order of Merit was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the lead singer, songwriter and guitarist for the ska, rocksteady and reggae bands: The Wailers and Bob Marley & the Wailers ....
 concert at Western Springs Stadium
Western Springs Stadium

Western Springs Stadium is an entertainment venue in Auckland, New Zealand, that consists of a natural amphitheatre. During the winter it is used for club rugby union matches and over summer it is used for Dirt track racing in New Zealand....
 is credited with having a huge influence of the growth of reggae in the country and inspiring many prominent reggae artists. The growth of the Rastafarian religion, particularly among Maori
Maori

The Maori are the indigenous people Polynesian people of Aotearoa . The group probably arrived in south-western Polynesia in several waves at some time before 1300....
, was also a factor in the growth of the genre, and the high rates of use of marijuana among New Zealanders is likely to have had an influence.

The reggae scene is centred around the Waikato
Waikato

Waikato is the name of a region in the North Island of New Zealand. Exact boundaries of the region depend largely on the use of the name, but in all cases it refers to an area around the city of Hamilton, New Zealand and extending along the banks of the Waikato River....
 and the capital Wellington
Wellington

Wellington is the Capital of New Zealand, situated at the southwestern tip of the North Island between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range. The Wellington Urban Area is the major population centre of the southern North Island and ranks as New Zealand's third most populous Urban areas of New Zealand with residents....
, with capital music having a more dub
Dub music

Dub is a form of music, evolved from reggae that involves revisions of existing songs. The dub sound consists predominantly of instrumental remixes of existing recordings and is achieved by significantly manipulating and reshaping the recordings, usually by removing the vocals from an existing music piece, emphasizing the drum and bass frequ...
 and jazz
Jazz

Jazz is a primarily American musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
 influenced sound. Most New Zealand reggae bands incorporate different stylistic influences, and the result is a unique combination of sounds.

The most successful of recent acts is Fat Freddy's Drop
Fat Freddy's Drop

Fat Freddy's Drop are a seven-piece Traditional music/dub music/reggae music/jazz music/soul music band from Wellington, New Zealand.The group's first major release was a live album, Live at the Matterhorn, a lengthy jam session recorded in a popular Wellington night club....
, who incorporate jazz, soul and dub influences and reflect the capital sound. They have won numerous awards and sold over 90,000 copies of their debut album. One of the most important groups of the last decade was Trinity Roots (1998-2005), who also melded sparse jazz melodies with their reggae to great effect.

Other major groups include Katchafire
Katchafire

Katchafire is a New Zealand roots reggae band from Hamilton, New Zealand.Katchafire formed in 1997 as a Bob Marley tribute band and later began writing and performing their own songs....
, Cornerstone Roots
Cornerstone Roots

Cornerstone Roots are a successful contemporary New Zealand reggae band from Raglan, New Zealand/Whaingaroa in the Waikato.Formed in 2001 after a session at the infamous local Raglan Musicians Club, the original three-piece outfit singer/songwriter/guitarist Brian and drummer Turongo Dixon and bassist Naomi Tuao formed the rhythm section...
, Kora
Kora (band)

Kora are a New Zealand reggae, rock, dub & roots band, originally hailing from Whakatane. Four musical brothers from the Kora family, Laughton, Francis, Stuart and Brad, began playing together as a band in the early 1990s under the name Auntie Beatrice, winning the national Rockquest high school band competition in 1991 and the East Coast reg...
, House of Shem and The Black Seeds
The Black Seeds

The Black Seeds are a band from Wellington, New Zealand. Formed in 1998, The Black Seeds fuse Dub music, reggae and funk sounds to form a unique musical "party" sound....
. Major dub/electronic groups include Pitch Black
Pitch Black (band)

Pitch Black is a New Zealand electronica band that was formed in 1997....
, Shapeshifter
Shapeshifter (band)

Shapeshifter are a live drum and bass act from New Zealand. They have been heralded as a musical phenomenon for their ground breaking live shows and unique blend of heavy soul/drum and bass....
 and Salmonella Dub
Salmonella Dub

Salmonella Dub are a Dub music/Drum n Bass/Reggae/Roots reggae band from Kaikoura, New Zealand. They were formed in 1992 by Andrew Penman, David Deakins and Mark Tyler....
.

The scene is live performance based, and large reggae festivals occur annually. The most important are the Soundsplash Eco Reggae Festival in Raglan and the Kaikoura
Kaikoura

Kaikoura is a town on the east coast of the South Island, New Zealand of New Zealand. It is located on New Zealand State Highway network 180 km north of Christchurch, New Zealand....
 Roots Festival, and local reggae artists are an integral part of the live music scene. A strong collection of 'soundsystems' exist, groups putting on parties and events with DJs and MCs. also includes annual 'Raggamuffin' concert celebrating Bob Marley's birthday, on the 6th of March.

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