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The Wiggles will perform in Christchurch next week as part of their 11-show tour of New Zealand.
The Live in Concert shows will mark the group’s 35th anniversary and include a full live band and stage effects.
After three and a half decades in the industry and despite the increasing competition in the children's entertainment business, the Australian group is still drawing big crowds to their concerts.
Fresh off their North American tour in August, The Wiggles are set to play the Christchurch Town Hall on Wednesday, October 14 (sold out), and Thursday, October 14 (new shows added at 10am and 1pm), before they start their tour of Australia.
They are promising a “fun intimate live concert experience that will have the whole family singing, dancing, and laughing along”.
The Wiggles are also playing in Hamilton on October 10, Auckland on October 11, and Wellington on October 12.
Anthony, Simon, Lachy, Tsehay, John, Lucia, Caterina and Evie will lead the concert with appearances from friends such as Dorothy the Dinosaur, Wags the Dog, Henry the Octopus, Captain Feathersword, and the Tree of Wisdom.
The set list is reported to contain classic hits like Rock-A-Bye Your Bear, Fruit Salad Yummy Yummy, Do the Propellor and Hot Potato – and brand-new tracks like Wiggle Up Giddy Up and Irish Stew.
Dorothy the Dinosaur and Henry the Octopus will also join the expanded Wiggles line-up for some never-before-performed songs, plenty of inflatables and possibly even pyrotechnics at their upcoming shows.
“Children are going to love it. We've practised a lot and it's a very exciting show,” secondary Blue Wiggle Lucia Field told RNZ’s Morning Report.
Evie Ferris, the first Indigenous Australian Wiggle who joined in 2021, said the group can perform up to three shows a day.
Purple Wiggle John Pearce said “there's eight Wiggles now, so we break it up”.
“We work together all day, every day, bringing that magic,” Ferris says. “But there are so many incredible crew members, more cast members to bring the show to life.”
Keeping up with audiences wherever they are, The Wiggles are also posting videos on YouTube.
“I think it's also a good opportunity for us to keep our message and our kind of values and everything and create a really positive kind of platform and keep our channel really loving and positive and family friendly.”
Lucia, daughter of founding Blue Wiggle Anthony Field, believes the group's enduring success comes from evolving to reflect its diverse audience while staying true to its universal messages. Fans now follow them everywhere from Brazil to Japan.
“We have an Indigenous First Nations woman, Filipino, Greek. We also have Italian, Ethiopian, and you see that reflected in the children and they love it so much because if you can see it, you can be it. And I think that's why it's been going for 35 years.
“The ethos has always been the same, but we just look a little different now.”
Anthony Field, who “lives and breathes music”, continues to inspire the group by exposing them to different instruments and genres, Lucia says.
“We had a song called Bin Night come out a couple of years ago about saying, don't forget it's bin night tonight.”
“Anything can be a song, really,” Pearce adds. “If you can make a jingle out of something, the more ridiculous, the better.”
Pearce has also helped attract a new audience.
“John has brought a new sector of audience, which has been mums. They just love John,” Ferris says.
“It's important to communicate, you know, we speak to the parents and we can really relate to them as people as well as Wiggles,” Pearce says.
Pearce says performing for families around the world is rewarding, especially seeing children’s faces light up at their first concert experience.
“Those memories last a long time … like the children are pretty young, so they might not remember, but for the families and the parents, the joy that you can see that connection, it's such a beautiful thing. Being a parent myself… it's priceless.”
Lachlan Gillespie told The New York Post in an exclusive interview they still love entertaining youngsters.
“We have always said the show is for all ages, though we say 0-5 year olds are the key audience,” Gillespie told The Post.
“However, with the new generation of Wiggles fans, we are finding that children are staying longer.
“Our show is a sparkly colourful, fun-filled hour and ten minutes of interactive joy for both the children and their parents and carers,” Gillespie said.
“It’s a massive show, filled with Wiggles hits, nursery rhymes and inflatable animals that walk out through the crowd and laughs along the way.
“This is your chance to bring your children along to a concert where you can experience it with them.
“Sing and dance with them and create a lasting memory the whole family will enjoy. Oh, and, you get to wake me up when I fall asleep by shouting ‘Wake up Lachy!’”
-Allied Media and RNZ