PollyHill Announced As Kae Tempest Tour Support

With less than a month to go before Mercury Prize-nominee Kae Tempest graces the ears and eyes of Aotearoa fans, the UK poet / rapper / spoken word artist has shared news of local act PollyHill stepping up to open their North Island shows. A familiar voice in these parts, PollyHill aka Paloma Schneideman is a rapper, producer and filmmaker based between Tāmaki Makaurau and Pōneke, and they'll be warming up the stage with sharp bars and floor-filler beats come February 24th and 26th. Attendees can look forward to tunes from PollyHill's stunner back catalogue, from recent student radio hits 'Pulse' and 'Static' to the chillingly sick cuts from EP Post Humorous. It's not too late yet to get your mitts around a Kae Tempest ticket, so find your nearest gig below and lock in your spot...

Kae Tempest

Friday 24th February - The Powerstation, Auckland
Sunday 26th February - St James Theatre, Wellington

General public tickets available via Ticketmaster

Step into the weird and wonderful video for PollyHill banger 'Pulse'...

Press release:

Award winning Tāmaki Makaurau rapper, producer, filmmaker, and all-round creative powerhouse, PollyHill is confirmed as Kae Tempest’s special guest at their headline Auckland and Wellington shows this month. PollyHill is a multi-hyphenate artist, her music sits somewhere in the intersections between trip-hop, soundscape, and ethereal rap. As a producer, she gravitates towards lo-fi cinematic frequencies, as a wordsmith, she’s known for her intricate word play and abstract flow.

Thriving in the underground scene, Polly has played some of the country's biggest festivals including Splore, The Others Way, Laneway (with Filth AKL) and opened for NY underground legend WIKI. She cites BBYmutha, MFDOOM, Bjork and Arca as core influences, which may be evident in her otherworldly and unconventional style. “If you haven't listened to PollyHill's music, expect weird and wonderful beats packed with hyper lyricism. Get ready to hear something cinematic merged with deep and dark secrets. As a crowd favourite, she's connected with those who don't conform to the rules. Taking back space as a female rapper is something that's important to her ... “ - Ones to Watch, Max Tetlow

Kae Tempest is one of the most unique, thought-provoking and overwhelmingly critically acclaimed voices of our times. Described by many as a polymath genius musician, songwriter, rapper, poet and playwright, they are truly an artist of a generation.

In support of their most emotionally resonant and compelling release to date, their fourth album The Line Is A Curve, Kae Tempest will perform at Auckland’s Powerstation on Friday February 24th and Wellington’s St James Theatre on Sunday February 26th.

“It was a performance that will be talked about all year, and on from there, as a new gold standard… It was - yes - among the very best things I've ever heard and seen and felt." Wellington Bodega review stuff.co.nz

Kae Tempest’s first two solo albums Everybody Down (2014) and Let Them Eat Chaos(2017) were nominated for the Mercury Prize. Their third, The Book of Traps and Lessons(2019) was shortlisted for an Ivor Novello, Best Album. Alongside music, they have released several poetry collections, a Sunday Times-bestselling novel The Bricks That Built the Houses (2017) and the book length essay On Connection (2020). Their play Paradise (2021) premiered at the National Theatre in London.

Kae Tempest is an artist whose work comes to life when it’s performed live. When speaking with the New York Times about upcoming touring, they described the feeling of a good gig as being like “going to space…when it’s all happening, it’s like we’re all breathing the same rhythm.” This shared moment in time and collective experience is the essence of what makes their live performances such special nights.

“When Kae Tempest speaks – or raps, or sermonises, or very nearly sings – you listen. You listen and you laugh, and you love and you sweep tears of joy from your face; tears of being almost overwhelmed by the breath-taking focus and force and craft and heart and humanity.” - Simon Sweetman Off the Tracks.

“It was clear from the response that every single person in attendance was hanging on Tempest’s every word and took a little bit of the message home with them.”⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆ - Evening Standard

“Kae Tempest’s Music Defies Boundaries.” - The New York Times

Kae Tempest is a truly extraordinary and exceptional performer. Grab this chance to see this very special artist in two very special shows that will burn long into the memory.