American soul singer Macy Gray will headline the opening night of this year’s Tauranga Arts Festival.

The Grammy-winning artist will perform at Baycourt on Thursday, October 22 at 8pm, marking one of six New Zealand shows during her upcoming tour.

Tauranga Arts Festival artistic director Megan Brown said securing Gray was a major coup.

“We will be opening our festival with an absolute bang,” Brown said in a media release.

Known for her distinctive raspy voice, Gray rose to global fame with hits such as I Try, Still, Do Something, Sexual Revolution and Sweet Baby.

She is also set to perform new material, including her latest single I’m Too Sexy from her upcoming album The Trouble with the Truth.

Gray has sold more than 25 million records worldwide, won a Grammy Award, and released 10 studio albums. She has also received two Brit Award nominations.

New Zealand was among her earliest strong markets, with I Try reaching No 1 locally and her debut album On How Life Is spending 44 weeks on the New Zealand Albums Chart. She last performed in the country in 2016.

In addition to Tauranga, Gray will perform in Wellington, Auckland, Hamilton, Christchurch and Hawke’s Bay.

Tickets for the Tauranga show go on sale to the general public on Thursday, June 4, at 9am via Eventfinda, the Baycourt Box Office and the Tauranga Arts Festival website.