International breakout band Drax Project are set to light up the 2019 HSBC New Zealand Sevens in Hamilton in January ensuring the action is as hot off the field as on it during the two-day festival.
HSBC Sevens organisers have unveiled Drax Project as one of the tournament’s major attractions in the same week the alternative pop/hip-hop sensations were named as finalists for four major gongs at the 2018 Vodafone Music Awards.
They are currently making a splash in the United States playing at music festivals in the same line-up as global superstars like Justin Timberlake.
Drax Project band member Shaan Singh said playing at the HSBC New Zealand Sevens was a unique and exciting prospect for a group of mates who grew up watching the tournament in Wellington.
"Our best nights busking in Wellington were after the Sevens, where the street party was always a highlight of the year. Now it’s creating the same buzz and excitement in Hamilton,” he said. “We've never played in Hamilton before either, so we can’t wait to be a part of it!”
The band will play in the R18 Entertainment Zone off Mill Street on Saturday, 26 January, Day 1 of a HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series tournament which offers far more than just the world class rugby on display at FMG Stadium Waikato.
Drax Project have proven to be one of New Zealand’s favourite bands in 2018 with string of popular hits including Woke up Late, which has been nominated for Single of the Year at the 2018 Vodafone Music Awards.
HSBC New Zealand Sevens General Manager Steve Dunbar said Drax Project were an extra bonus for the thousands of people who had already purchased tickets, and a huge drawcard for anyone considering attending the event.
“When you throw a major act like this into an event that already features two days of world class rugby it becomes much more than a sports event,” Dunbar said. “There really will be something for everyone at the 2019 HSBC New Zealand Sevens and Drax Project will only add to what's shaping as one of the most exciting events of the year.”
Drax Project are on a roll after being named as finalists for the 2018 Vodafone Music Awards in four categories – Single of the Year, Best Group, Breakthrough Artist and Edge Best Pop Artist.
Drax Project Bio:
In the space of a few years, Drax Project has grown from being music students busking on the streets of Wellington (Drums + Sax) into one of the most watched groups to come out of New Zealand.
Building on their hometown's tradition of killer live acts, Drax Project have honed their music as much on stage as in the studio - both through their own two-year run of sold out shows and opening for live acts including Ed Sheeran, Lorde, Brian McKnight and Six60 in New Zealand and Camila Cabello on her recent European tour.
Highlights of their first US tour saw them play to 15,000 people in Milwaukee and sell out the ultra-hip ‘Baby’s Alright’ in NYC.
Beyond releasing the critically acclaimed EP ‘T/W/OO’ on Universal NZ in 2016, which yielded the local underground hit ‘Cold’, they released another 3 singles on the label, culminating in the surprise number 1 radio hit of the NZ summer ‘Woke Up Late’.
This success saw them signed to a global recording deal with American independent juggernaut 300 Entertainment. With ‘Woke Up Late’ starting to take off in other territories, a new Ep ‘Noon’, a collaboration with Top 40 rapper Famous Dex and a run of singles and remixes scheduled in the coming months, Drax Project look well set to take on the world in 2019.
