Events Centre at 7.00pm

GENERAL ADMISSION $65 per person

It's not called BIG for nothing and this year's line-up features three bands at the very top of the Pacific and international music scene.

Opening the night are The Checks, whose music speaks for itself, as it did when REM booked them as support on a first hearing from a magazine giveaway CD.

From there the only way's been up for the former Takapuna Grammar friends, managed by their former musician dads and crafting great music into big hits.

Next up is OpShop whose singles output in the last few years has made them one of the new millennium's household name bands.

Radio-friendly and still cutting-edge, the band's current line-up ensures a dynamic and explosive set for the capacity crowd.

Describing Evermore is a bit like trying to paint air. It's all around you, you take it in without any effort at all and after a while you wonder how you ever lived without it.

The trio's humble roots in Feilding seem a long way behind now they've got a string of hits behind them, bases in Seattle and Sydney to their name and Nirvana and Foo Fighters producer Barret Jones happily adding their own name to his list of credits. There's nothing more to say, a world-conquering rock act playing Queenstown – there's a wee bit of magic about Festival you know.

Catering by Encore Cuisine.

Spit roast lamb wraps with tabouli, salad and tzatziki sauce OR Crispy falafel ball wraps with tabouli, salad and tzatziki sauce.