After nearly two decades away from our shores, John Cale is heading to Auckland.
Last time he rocked New Zealand, he paid a visit to Ponsonby.
This time, the man who helped build the Velvet Underground, will be living it up on the North Shore in just a few weeks' time.
For over four decades, John Cale has remained at the vanguard of innovation.
From his early - 60s internships with classical revolutionaries John Cage and La Monte Young to his contributions as a member of the Velvet Underground; his landmark production duties for The Stooges, Patti Smith, and the Happy Mondays to his abundant soundtrack, ballet and orchestral detours and his 16-album strong solo canon, the one constant in his work is a characteristic unconventionality.
Cale's last performance in Auckland was in the mid-1980s at the Gluepot in Ponsonby, and though 20 years have gone by, there are no signs that John Cale has inched any closer to the mainstream nor become an artefact preserved from days gone by.
Cale has also done extensive work as a producer, benefitting many bands as well as releasing over 30 of his own albums through the past 37 years.
So it's fair to say that if you miss out on this show at the Bruce Mason Centre in Takapuna, you'll be disappointed. This is going to be something truly special and unique.