Our favourite riverboat chic rock-n-roller Pokey LaFarge is back in New Zealand this May, this time with his band and ready to share his latest offering, Rhumba Country, serving up flavours of mambo, Tropicália, rocksteady, and mid-century American rock-and-roll. It’s been six years since the Illinois-born singer songwriter embraced our southern shores. After crisscrossing and rambling around the USA looking for a home, Pokey LaFarge found himself in Mid-Coast Maine ready to pursue a major life change. Pokey’s time of working 12-hour days on a local farm catalysed an extraordinary burst of creativity and redefined his sense of purpose as an artist. And now he has recorded and birthed his boldest album yet, ready to share with New Zealand fans. Rhumba Country (2024, New West Records) was initially shaped from material that emerged while LaFarge was deep in work on the farm. “I’d be pushing a plow or scattering seeds, and the songs would just come to me,” he recalls. “It was tremendously inspirational and made me realize that apart from singing, farming is perhaps the oldest human art form.” The result is a kaleidoscopic sound informed by LaFarge’s love of music from far-ranging eras and corners of the globe, celebrating life and love. “The songs that naturally come to me are upbeat and make you wanna dance or at least bop your head—they’re all very colourful,” says LaFarge. “I used to think of my music in dark blue, but now I see it in technicolour.” You’ve heard his music, you’ve seen him on the screen and stage, now it’s time to experience Pokey LaFarge and his band live with his rocksteady rhythms, country croon and soulful sounds gracing the stages of New Zealand this May.