Invercargill gets the first night of one of the year's most anticipated New Zealand music tours when Che Fu and The Kratez take the Civic Theatre stage on Wednesday.
The show opens a 10-date national run marking 25 years since the release of Navigator, the 2001 album that cemented Che Fu's place in New Zealand music.
He will perform the album from start to finish before a second set spanning the rest of his career. The tour is built for theatres, with fully reserved seating and an interval, and brings three guests: soul and R&B singer Aaradhna, Ardijah vocalist Betty-Anne and hip hop pioneer King Kapisi.
From Invercargill the tour heads to Dunedin on Thursday, Christchurch on Friday and Nelson on Saturday before working north through Wellington, Palmerston North, Napier, Auckland and Rotorua to a final show in Hamilton on 18 October.
An album that defined an era
Navigator debuted at number one on the New Zealand album chart and went on to multi-platinum sales. Its mix of soul, reggae, hip hop and Pacific influences produced the singles Misty Frequencies, Fade Away and Waka.
The record collected five Tūī and the People's Choice award at the New Zealand music awards, and Misty Frequencies won the 2002 APRA Silver Scroll.
Che Fu, who is of Niuean and Māori descent, first found fame as a teenager fronting the funk band Supergroove, whose hits included Can't Get Enough and Scorpio Girls. He went solo at 21, and his early single Chains became one of the biggest New Zealand songs of its era.
Hall of Fame, twice over
The tour comes in a year of recognition. At the Aotearoa Music Awards earlier in 2026 Che Fu was inducted into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame, his second induction after Supergroove was honoured in 2014. He joins a class that includes Don McGlashan, Annie Crummer, Dame Hinewehi Mohi and The Warratahs.
Tickets went on sale in early August. The Civic Theatre show is the only Southland date on the tour.
It gives Invercargill audiences the chance to hear a landmark album played in full by the band that has backed Che Fu on stage for many years, in a venue built for listening rather than standing-room shows.
Remaining tickets are available through the tour's ticketing agents.
