Performers will come together in Wellington on Monday night to raise money for the tsunami recovery effort in Samoa.

Performers will come together in Wellington on Monday night to raise money for the tsunami recovery effort in Samoa.

The concert is the last in a series of I love the Islands concerts organised throughout the country to raise money for the victims of the tsunami that devastated Samoa on 30 September. Concerts held in Auckland, Christchurch and Dunedin have raised $250,000.

Scribe, Savage, The Yandall Sisters and the Laughing Samoans are just some of the musicians who will take to the stage at the Michael Fowler Centre for the I love the Islands concert.

Rappers Savage and Scribe, the main drivers behind the event, lost family members in last month’s tsunami.

Members of the Samoan community in New Zealand are overwhelmed at the generosity of New Zealanders.

A member of the concert organising committee, Nari Auelua, says people in Samoa need resources to get on their feet again. “Our people are resilient and will face this challenge but they need our help to be able to do that.”

Many businesses and organisations are supporting the concert by donating their services. The Duxton Hotel and Hotel Grand Chancellor James Cook will accommodate the artists for free, Air New Zealand is flying the performers to Wellington free of charge, and the City Council will supply the venue, security and staff for the event, also for free. Ticketek has also agreed not to take commission from the sale of the concert tickets.

About 2000 people are expected at Monday’s concert.

The I love the Islands concert kicks off at 7pm on Monday 26 October. Tickets cost $20 and are available from Ticketek www.ticketek.co.nz. All money raised from the concert will go to the Samoa Tsumani 2009 appeal - www.samoatsunami2009appeal.org