Mission concert finale to pay tribute to Jackson

By BERNARD CARPINTER - The Dominion Post



A mass tribute to Michael Jackson will be the finale to the Mission Concert in Napier tonight.


The concert celebrates 50 years of Motown music and features Motown acts including the Four Tops, the Temptations, the Miracles and Martha and the Vandellas.

At the end of the show these groups will get together with the other headline acts - Mary Wilson from the Supremes, Joan Osborne, and Australians Jimmy Barnes and Ian Moss - to perform Jackson's song I'll Be There.


Jackson, the "prince of pop" who died in June last year, began his career as part of the Jackson Five, a Motown act.

The weather for the big night is looking far better than for last year's event, when Lionel Richie's concert was cancelled because of rain. MetService is predicting a hot, sunny day with a high of 28 degrees celsius and an overnight low of 17C.

Tickets are still available, starting at $105, but promoter Garry Craft of Sports & Entertainment Ltd said the concert had a good chance of reaching its 25,000 limit.

Concertgoers may bring two bottles of wine each, or equivalent amounts of other alcohol.

An alcohol ban is in force in Church Rd and police have warned they will be out in force taking a zero-tolerance approach to drunken and aggressive behaviour.


The first support act, starting at 3.45pm, is Daniela Young and Friends, a group of past and present pupils of Woodford House girls' school in Havelock North.

Young, 18, said she was preparing to go to Victoria University this year to study classical voice, aiming for a career in opera.

"I love singing everything," she said. "For the Mission concert we'll do a more soulful R'n'B style. We'll do Fallin' by Alicia Keys and Impossible by Christina Aguilera."

Stagefright would not be an issue, she said: "The more people you can make happy with your music, the better."

Other support acts are Mick Charles and Mike Garner, the Darcy Perry Band and the Revival Corporation.

Kiri Te Kanawa launched the Mission series in 1993. Other previous artists include Ray Charles, the Beach Boys, Cliff Richard, Rod Stewart and Eric Clapton.

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P/S: I found this somewhere in Youtube and wishes to share with all of you, MJ lovers.
       I bet, we'll miss you MJ!

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