Auckland teenage band Humble Souls has been invited to perform at the Halberg Awards in Christchurch on 19 February. It's a fitting choice as members of the Lynfield College-based group are keen sportsmen as well as talented musicians.

All six have performed well on the sports field, showing talent in rugby, league, touch, tag, sevens and kilikiti. And their 'slow jam' music style has captivated audiences in the 18 months they've been performing publicly.Auckland teenage band Humble Souls has been invited to perform at the Halberg Awards in Christchurch on 19 February. It's a fitting choice as members of the Lynfield College-based group are keen sportsmen as well as talented musicians.

All six have performed well on the sports field, showing talent in rugby, league, touch, tag, sevens and kilikiti. And their 'slow jam' music style has captivated audiences in the 18 months they've been performing publicly.Front man and songwriter Matthew Nana'i is "the most multi-talented student I've ever seen," according to Lynfield's guidance counsellor and band mentor Brian Tonks.

He introduced the 16-year-old to Mike Chunn who encouraged him to enter for the Play it Strange song writing competition in mid-2006. Matthew reached the top 20 with "Forever Love" and performed with the band at the Play it Strange concert, followed by the trust's
"Night with Strange Friends" fundraiser and a top 40 placing with "Happy Birthday" in 2007.

Mike Chunn says the band's style is "infectiously enthusiastic".

"They're very comfortable with performing and their sum is more than their parts - pretty rare in a high school band."

06/02/08