Atomic! 2.0 Stellar Line-up Announced

This International Women’s Day, we’re thrilled to announce that award-winning artist Vera Allen will be joining the powerhouse line-up for the Atomic! 2.0 Tour this May.

The reigning 2024 Taite Music Award winner and Best Alternative Artist at the Aotearoa Music Awards, Vera has earned critical acclaim for her chart-topping albums It's Your Birthday and Ideal Home Noise. She now joins an all-star cast of Julia Deans, Boh Runga, Diane Swann, and Jazmine Mary to pay homage to rock’s greatest female trailblazers.

As we celebrate International Women’s Day this Saturday, we’re proud to reveal that every aspect of the Atomic! 2.0 Tour will be powered by an all-femme team—from the artists on stage to the producers behind the scenes.

This unforgettable night will feature electrifying performances of iconic hits from Blondie, Eurythmics, Pretenders, Patti Smith, Garbage, Alanis Morissette, Hole, Joan Jett, and more. The stellar vocalists will be backed by an equally incredible band, featuring:

Ilayda Tunali (Ladyhawke) – Keys

Rebel Reid – Lead Guitar

Mareea Paterson – Bass

Karen Hu – Drums

Expect a night of high-energy rock, fearless storytelling, and the undeniable power of women in music. As Debbie Harry once declared, “The only place left for rock to go is toward more girl stars. There's nothing left for men to do.”

Don’t miss this electrifying celebration of rock’s female pioneers and modern-day icons!

Tickets from $99 + booking fees. Secure yours now!

OUR AWESOME LINE-UP

Julia Deans
Having first come to the fore as the sassy and beguiling front woman for Fur Patrol at the turn of the century, the past decade has seen Julia Deans transition from iconic rock chick to glorious songbird.

Deans’ critically acclaimed solo albums Modern Fables (2010) and We Light Fire (2018) both earned her a swag of nominations for coveted musical accolades the Taite Music Prize, the APRA Silver Scroll, and the NZ Music Awards, and this year marks the 20th anniversary of Fur Patrol’s much-loved album Pet, which brought us the now classic kiwi number one ‘Lydia’.
 
Never shy to add another string to her bow, Deans has delved into a long list of other musical projects over the years. She’s worked with acts like The Adults, SJD, and Neil Finn; performed in an impressive array of arts festival shows; stretched her dramatic chops in musical theatre; worked with the Auckland Philharmonia and Christchurch Symphony Orchestras. In 2020 she was invited to be the Musical Director of the prestigious The Silver Scroll Awards show.
 
 “This is a singer/songwriter at the height of their craft.” – Sunday Star Times
 “Yep, she can sing, and when she soars it’s a spine-tingling thing, because it’s all real.” – Metro
 
Boh Runga
As the front woman for Stellar* Boh became a multi-platinum artist with the release of their debut album, Mix. After the release of a solo album, she was back to writing new music, this time in an all-girl group with Anika Moa & Hollie Smith. While jewellery is her main gig now, Boh most recently returned to the recording studio to celebrate 15 Years of Boh Runga Jewellery with her rendition of Aretha Franklin’s, ‘Rock Steady’ co-produced with P Money.
 
Dianne Swann
Playing live to 100,000 people. Signing to two international labels.
Recording with Radiohead. Having a track chosen as NME single of the week.
These are just some of the highlights of Dianne’s career as a vocalist, songwriter, and performer.

Dianne’s career began when she fronted the band Everything that Flies in the mid-80s, the group disbanding not long after winning Best Music Video at the 1986 Aotearoa Music Awards.

She followed this by linking up with Margaret Urlich, Annie Crummer, Kim Willoughby and Debbie Harwood as When The Cat’s Away which proved staggering successful with a gold album, number 1 song and two years of sell-out national tours; also finding time to release the solo single ‘Something Good’ in 1989.

Demand for Dianne’s musical talents soared, touring and performing with the likes of Tim Finn, Opshop as well as fellow Hall of Famers, Dave McArtney and Straitjacket Fits.
After a career of music released under band names, Dianne released her first solo album, The War on Peace of Mind, to critical acclaim in April 2021. 
 
Vera Allen
Aotearoa Music Award winning and Taite Award winning artist Vera Ellen was born and raised in Naenae in Te Whanganui-A-Tara/Wellington. She spent her younger years playing and writing music, her first song written at age 8.

Whilst living in Aotearoa, she played in bands such as grunge 4-piece Maple Syrup and Sweater. Vera relocated to Los Angeles, where she started the band Girl Friday, whose music debuted on indie giant Sub Pop’s sub-label, Hardly Art.

In early 2020, Vera moved back to Aotearoa, leading to her finishing her solo album, It’s Your Birthday —released on Flying Nun Records in October 2021. This album saw Vera named ‘Best Alternative Artist’ at the 2022 Aotearoa Music Awards.

The 2023 follow-up album, Ideal Home Noise was a record unearthed from much introspection and an attempt to find some comedy and lightness in an otherwise dark period for Vera Ellen. With two "voices” battling throughout the album, the instrumentation is sometimes light — featuring synths and electronic drums — and sometimes heavy — with ballad-like piano and raw vocals. Vera’s momentum was unstoppable with her last 13 track album reaching all corners of the world. “If It's Your Birthday was about relationships and love and strife between myself and others; then Ideal Home Noise is about love and strife between myself and myself.“

Vera has had multiple tracks featured in the NZ Official Alt Charts, with her single ‘Carpenter’ spending 4 weeks in the charts, peaking at #1 and 2022’s standalone single ‘Homewrecker’, spending 14 weeks in the charts, peaking at #8. Upon release, 2023’s Ideal Home Noise reached #7 on the Official NZ Top 20 Album Charts. With both a feature article and review in New Zealand national newspaper, The Herald (VIVA), and an in depth interview and album feature from award-winning journalist Tony Stamp for Radio New Zealand, the good word has spread far and wide with Vera’s latest piece of work.
Internationally, Vera’s music has reached as far as Australia, France, USA and the UK, with a write-up in France’s national newspaper Le Monde, a feature in Loud & Quiet Magazine (UK), Ideal Home Noise was also named #3 in Rolling Stone’s “Top NZ albums of 2023”. In the USA, Vera’s 2023 album charted #55 on the NACC Radio 200 Chart, and scored Top 30 Support from nearly 30 stations & picked support from 26 other stations.

‘Enders’, due for release in 2025, is Vera Ellen’s third album with Flying Nun Records, following the grass roots success of her partnership with the label and their release of It’s Your Birthday in 2021, and Ideal Home Noise in early 2023. The new album explores the nuances of unconventional love and finding meaning and joy in community and nature. Deep philosophical ponderings are sprinkled throughout the record and are thinly disguised under bright synth lines and cheeky lyricism.

Having been granted the much sought-after NZ Pacific Studio Singer Songwriter Residency in mid-2023, Vera got to work on writing and recording 13 demos for her next album. The rural community focus of the residency played a major part in informing the themes of Vera’s new tracks.
 
Jazmine Mary
Captivating Noir Folk artist Jazmine Mary is “rising into our collective consciousness as a star, as an artist to be reckoned with, as a creative force”. They crack open the beauty and ugliness of the world with a voice that critics are calling “truly a wonder”. Recently opened for Kurt Vile, Billy Bragg. Jazmine Mary has just completed a national Tour of their Critically acclaimed sophomore Album DOG. An award-winning gig for melancholy and exultation.
"manages to be funny, erotic, off-putting and touching all at once." - RNZ 
 
Llayda Tunali, Ladyhawke
A classically trained pianist, had been an active musician for over a decade in her two hometowns New York and Istanbul before moving to Aotearoa in 2023. Since her move, she has performed at the Silver Scrolls and has been the keys player of legendary Kiwi artist Ladyhawke.
 
Rebel Reid – Valkyrie  - Lead Guitar
Born to be a rockstar, and it's no surprise considering her mother named her after two of the greatest icons of the genre: Billy Idol and David Bowie. From the moment she entered the world, Rebel's destiny was set in stone.
She is the embodiment of rock and roll.
Music runs through her veins like an electric current on her Flying V, and every note she plays is infused with raw and untamed energy.
The songwriter, producer, and guitarist, puts her heart and soul into every project she's a part of. Her music is like a punch to the gut, a visceral experience that leaves listeners feeling alive and invigorated. Rebel Reid is a true rockstar, a force of nature whose music is like nothing else out there.

Mareea Paterson – Bass
She has enjoyed success in her music career from the late 90s to present day. A renowned bass player to the stars and in demand session player/songwriter, Paterson has toured internationally throughout the 00’s as a member of American indie rockers Veruca Salt and recently completed recording on Louise Post’s first solo album with Matt Drenik (Producer) and drummer Matt Walker (Smashing Pumpkins). A member of both Tim Finn and Sir Dave Dobbyn’s band for years adding up to a decade, she has also played and recorded with Brooke Fraser and Gin Wigmore, Aussie talents End of Fashion and Alex Lloyd and Kiwi icon Jordan Luck. She is currently part of a songwriting/production team alongside Tom Bailey (Thompson Twins) and Andrew Maclaren (stellar*)
 
Karen Hu – Drums
A drummer, cellist and composer based in Tāmaki Makaurau. She performs in a variety of settings and has played with various artists, including Bic Runga and members of Supergroove among others. Karen studied at the University of Auckland Jazz School under Chris O'Connor and Ron Samsom

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