Too Many Chiefs

‘Mates on the road rolling out top quality songwriting and musicianship with lashings of irony and humour’

Too Many Chiefs are four of New Zealand’s busiest singer/songwriters: Rob Joass, Andrew London, Wayne Mason and Charlotte Yates. All tour their own respective shows, sometimes internationally, but occasionally come together in Too Many Chiefs to share songs and stories from the road. Their individual influences and performing styles range from blues and jazz to country and folk, often with an element of social commentary, personal reflection and occasional satire.

A founder member of Hot Club Sandwich and The Cattlestops, and now playing and recording mostly under his own name, Andrew London’s reputation stands mostly on his satirical and comedic songs which lampoon many of New Zealand society’s obsessions, foibles and taboos. Songs like Middle-Aged Man in Lycra, Country’s Buggered and I Hugged My Mate have elicited chuckles from audiences all over Australasia and have contributed to a Correspondence School English Syllabus, several feature films, and 20 recorded albums.

Rob Joass is well known throughout New Zealand through his work with Hobnail, The Shot Band, and The Hard Core Troubadours. He writes compulsively, tours incessantly, teaches guitar and produces albums for other artists. His songs have been covered by artists both in NZ and abroad, and he is a three-time finalist at the NZ Music Awards.

Patriarch of the group Wayne Mason has been instrumental (ha) in the formation and success of some of the most revered names in Kiwi music history. Rocking Horse, the Fourmyula and the Warratahs all owe their inception to Mason, who shows no signs of slowing the pace, or lowering the standard he set back in 1969 when he penned the song ‘Nature’, named by APRA in 2004 as ‘Best Kiwi Song of the Century

Charlotte Yates is an independent singer/songwriter & recording artist. She has released seven of her own solo albums, alongside extensive collaborative and compilation work. Her first album Queen Charlotte Sounds was released in 1991 and the single Red Letter was an APRA Silver Scroll finalist. Charlotte directed and produced Baxter, a compilation CD of James K Baxter's poetry set to music by twelve NZ recording artists, and has since completed similar projects honouring Hone Tuwhare, Witi Ihimaera and Katherine Mansfield.