The music and beer/cider line-up for the fifth MarchFest is now finalised!

There is a distinct British flavour to the entertainment line up with name act Alabama 3 and stand-up poet John Cooper Clarke both featuring. Alabama 3 Acoustic and Unplugged (the 4-piece version of Alabama 3) will be doing only four shows in New Zealand and Marchfest is their only South Island gig. The band is famous for its soulful, high-energy live performances and also for the song "Woke Up This Morning" which plays over the opening credits of the hit US TV series ‘The Sopranos’.

Also on the bill is punk poet John Cooper Clarke, who rose to fame during the punk rock era of the 1970s when he gigged with The Sex Pistols, Joy Division and other punk icons. More recently, Clarke has been the inspiration for many of the lyrics of songwriter Alex Turner of the Arctic Monkeys.

MarchFest’s strongest music line-up yet also features rising Kiwi stars, The Drab Doo Riffs, the Auckland 5-piece fronted by ex-SuperGroover Karl Steven, local DJ Grant Smithies, The Immigrants and The Ukes of Hazard.

Meanwhile on the beer and cider front, 13 of the region’s craft brewers and cider makers have already accepted the MarchFest challenge – this year, the theme for the event is “Special Ingredient”. Brewers have been asked to temporarily throw the famous Bavarian Beer Purity Law* out of the window, by choosing a secret added ingredient (other than water, hops, yeast or barley) for their Marchfest brew. On the day of the festival, attendees will be asked to guess what the secret ingredients are to win great prizes.

Already in the mash for the 2012 MarchFest are Upper Moutere’s Townshends Brewery with an ale called ‘Wynne Fall’, Onekaka’s The Mussel Inn with a breakfast beer called ‘Paddington Bear’, Riwaka’s Monkey Wizard with ‘Soma’ and a new brewery to MarchFest, WestCoast Brewing of Westport who are co-brewing a lager with Dead Good Beer, called Greasing Mongrels.

On the cider front, Upper Moutere cider makers Peckham’s and Redwood Cellars are in with ‘Aphrodite's Choice’ and ‘Old Mout Pinger’ respectively. Other brews in the pipeline include Muscle Stout from Moa, Envy of the Empire from Founders, Touties Tootie Fruitie from Lighthouse, Asylum from Golden Bear, Sauvin from Totara, Bluegrass Bounty from Sprig and Fern and Kumar Batata from McCashin’s.