Six60 will be playing in Ōamaru.

New Zealand’s biggest band is going back to its roots touring regional venues across the country in April and May.

They will be at the Ōamaru Opera House on May 9, and also at Waimate’s Regent Theatre on May 11.

In a first for the band, they will bring Six60 Sessions - The Grassroots Tour exclusively to small towns and venues across Aotearoa, sharing their biggest hits, but stripped back into acoustic, unplugged versions.

Each show will also be recorded to compile a Best of Grassroots Tour album.

Ōamaru Opera House ticket and sales manager Gabby Roney said there are 470 tickets available for the concert here, and she is sure they will sell quickly.

A pre-sale is being held on Thursday (February 29) at midday, and will run for 24 hours. If there are any tickets left, general sale begins midday the following Monday (March 4). 

Tickets are around $90, and will be the same price for adults and children.

Online sales are limited to 10 tickets per transaction, and the Opera House box office will also be open for sales, but will close at 4pm.

Gabby said Opera House staff were excited when they heard the concert was a possibility, but had to “keep it under our hats” until it was fully confirmed. 

“It’s definitely really exciting knowing that there’ll be so many people that will be keen to come see them. 

“And just excitement knowing that they're coming to a small town, not ever thinking that they'd do a smaller venue now that they've done like the big Western Springs Stadium and, you know, they're so, so big.

“So, it's quite intimate - it's cool.”

Eccles Entertainment booking agent Dave Munro said when the band first came to them about doing an intimate tour, he was thinking stadiums and arenas.

“It then became clear that the boys meant proper intimate - Piha Surf Club, Stewart Island, Te Puka Tavern … so going from 50,000 people in a stadium, to literally 150-capacity venues . . . but we know what greatness this band are capable of, and here they are pushing themselves once again,” he said.

The 23-concert tour begins at the marae of lead singer Matiu Walters - Pōtahi Marae in Te Kao, Northland, and finishes in the Stewart Island Community Hall.

Echoing the sentiments of one of their most beloved songs, Kia Mau Ki Tō Ūkaipō / Don't Forget Your Roots, the tour embodies the band's commitment to their roots and the profound bond they share with their fans, a media statement said.

The Best Of Grassroots Tour album is expected to be released later this year, with the aim of offering fans a tangible piece of New Zealand music history.

For years on social media, fans have been asking the band to record acoustic versions of their songs, for weddings, funerals and everything in between, the band said.

“We felt that if we were ever going to do it, we wanted to do it with our fans, that’s what excites us, bringing the people that made us the band we are, made the songs into the hits they are, along for the ride. We can’t wait to visit these special pockets of Aotearoa and bring these songs to life in a way we have never done before.”

The stage set will mirror a recording studio, inviting the audience into the band’s world of creativity, and creating the feeling of being a fly on the wall in the studio with them.

Opening each show is up and coming artist Makayla (Ngāti Kahungungu ki Heretaunga, Te Whakatōhea). 

Born in Boston and raised in the Hawke’s Bay, Makayla is the most recent signing to Six60’s record label Massive, joining a growing group of talent Six60 have mentored such as Drax Project, Coterie and Mitch James.

With more than 1.6million likes on TikTok, Makayla came to the attention of Six60, covering their song Pepeha and last year she joined them on stage at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin to sing it live.

This will be the band’s first tour without founding member and drummer Eli Paewai, who announced he was leaving earlier this year, and played his last gig at Christchurch’s Electric Avenue at the weekend.