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Tribute to Carole King – Ali Harper
May 18, 2023 @ 7:30 pm – 10:30 pm
You’ve seen the coronation, but tributes to Kings will continue at Toitoi next week, when Christchurch-based singer Ali Harper transforms Toitoi – Hawke’s Bay Arts & Events Centre’s Opera House into her living room, with the familiar warmth and comfort of Carole King’s music.
To celebrate 50 years since the release of the iconic, bestselling album Tapestry, Ali Harper has created ‘A Natural Woman’, a performance which not only showcases Carole King’s well-loved songs but also introduces the woman behind the music.
King is widely regarded as a significant and influential musician. She was the most successful female songwriter of the latter half of the 20th century in the United States, having written or co-written 118 pop hits on the Billboard Hot 100, and won four Grammy Awards.
Hailed as a ‘national treasure’ by Theatreview, Harper is a performer who knows how to host an audience and leave each person feeling embraced like long-lost friends, as she flirts with and offers fascinating titbits of King’s life to the crowd, in between epic vocal tributes.
Harper told Radio New Zealand that her pull to perform King’s music is due to its timeless themes and familiar comfort.
“It is so delicious, her music. I love the fact that she writes in such a conversational way about subjects and life stories that we can all relate to,” she says.
“They are a tonic for forgetting what’s going on in our world… and that’s the joy I hope to share.”
Harper helped organise fundraising concert Arohanui – From Christchurch with Love, which raised over $17,500 for those affected by Cyclone Gabrielle, and she looks forward to sharing more of that love with our region come May 18.
“Hawkes Bay is a special place for me. My husband and I got married at the beautiful Ormlie Lodge 14 years ago and have family living all over the region,” Harper says.
“We’re looking forward to spending time here with our family, as well as bringing ‘A Natural Woman’ to the very special Toitoi Opera House, which is one of our favourite venues to tour!”
- A Natural Woman performed by Ali Harper and her band is at Toitoi’s Opera House on Thursday, May 18, at 7.30pm. Tickets from $34.30. Buy yours at the Hastings isite or at toitoivenues.co.nz.