I sometimes get asked to put on concerts for touring acts coming through Tauranga.

The first thing I always ask, if I don't know the particular band or performer, is ‘what do they do, in as few words as possible?'

And if the answer is something straightforward I usually say yes. By straightforward I mean if the answer is something like ‘they play acoustic blues'. Or ‘jazz piano with a woman singer'. Or ‘Scottish folk music'. Or even ‘the songs of Split Enz played on seven saxophones'.

These may not be things I'm into, or even that 90 per cent of the population of the Bay is into. But that doesn't really matter. What matters is that if you have an easily-describable thing then you can sell it. Because even if 90 per cent of people have no interest there's still the other 10 per cent, and as long as you can describe it and you can reach them they will know immediately that it's something they're interested in.

I firmly believe that you don't need to sell people on the idea of something to promote it, you just need to let them know it's happening. People know what they like and will make up their own minds. Perhaps a few words to emphasise how good it is but, in general, the job of a promoter is mainly to inform people. In these days of the interweb, YouTube and Spotify punters will use their own initiative and can check out pretty much any music before shelling out hard-earned bucks.

Which presents a problem for the band coming to the Art Gallery next week. I must confess, if I were a promoter I'd have thought twice because they're kinda hard to describe. And I'd be guessing they're new to most people.

Before I hoe into that description, let me just say that I'm absolutely fizzing-at-the-bung excited about seeing them - everything about the Ezza Rose Band looks good to me.

They are a four-piece from Portland, Oregon (home of ‘Fight Club' author Chuck Palahniuk, documented in his idiosyncratic guide ‘Fugitives and Refugees: A Walk in Portland, Oregon') and are on an extensive and intensive tour of New Zealand, playing 23 dates in 31 days. I guess you'd call their music Americana.

And that's really the problem. ‘Americana' is a broad spectrum musical drench, showered on everyone from Alison Krauss to Beck. Here's a Wiki description: ‘Americana is an amalgam of roots music formed by the confluence of the shared and varied traditions that make up the American musical ethos; specifically those sounds that are merged from folk, country, blues, rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and other external influences.'

Yeah.

Told you it was hard to describe!

OK. The Ezza Rose band are fronted by Ezza. She grew up in a small Southern Californian mining town and moved to Portland after graduating from the American Music and Dance Academy in 2007. Since then she's recorded four album - one made live in an abandoned indoor swimming pool! The most recent offering ‘When the Water's Hot' was launched in January this year at Portland's evocatively-named Mississippi Studio.

Ezza has an extraordinary voice, at once whispery and ethereal, but with some serious power and range. An iron fist in a velvet glove. Her songs are terrific. The band (upright bass, drums, banjo/guitar) are really good too and provide sympathetic dynamic accompaniment.

And the music? Yes there's a bit of folk, a bit of country, a bit of rock ‘n' roll even, but it has an indefinable modern indie touch. I like it a lot.

If it's any help, Ezza cites the following amongst her influences: Patsy Cline, Joan Baez, Sigur Ros, Justin Towns Earle, Paul Simon, Leonard Cohen, Bon Iver, Billie Holiday, Bob Dylan...

They're coming to the Art Gallery next Saturday, March 14 with support from the wonderful Reb Fountain who was here recently with The Eastern. Tickets are $25 and things kick off at 7.30pm.

And, after that intro, I'm still not sure I've described them very well at all.

What the hell – check them out.yourself at ezzarose.com - I'll see you at the gallery!