Andrew Tosh

A series of New Zealand hastily-arranged performances by visiting reggae star Andrew Tosh have been announced. Tosh will be backed by NZ band David Grace & Injustice.

2012 is an auspicious year for the Jamaican singer, marking the 50th anniversary of Jamaica as an independent nation and the formation of the Wailers, the group his father Peter formed with Bob Marley and Bunny Livingstone. 2012 also marks the 25th anniversary of Peter Tosh's tragic death in Jamaica during a home invasion for extortion.

Andrew Tosh was 20 years old when he father died on 1 September 1987 - he sang two songs at the funeral service. His career had yet to take off but that changed the following year with the release of his debut album, Original Man; the follow-up, Make Place For The Youth, garnered a Grammy nomination.

Five more albums have followed, two of them paying tribute to his father - Andrew Sings Tosh: He Never Died (2004) and Legacy: An Acoustic Tribute To Peter Tosh (which earned a second Grammy nomination in 2010). With no shortage of his own material, Andrew Tosh continues to honour that legacy in performance, his repertoire divided between his own material and his father's.

Andrew Tosh will fly to France for a European tour directly from New Zealand in July, following five weeks in the country.

David Grace's career harks back to Wellington band Chaos in the late 1970s and the renowned Dread Beat & Blood in the 1980's. More recently, he has fronted bands under his own moniker. David Grace & Injustice have an album in the can, released later this year. Tickets for the Andrew Tosh and David Grace & Injustice shows are available from the venues and from www.eventfinder.co.nz.