SIX60, courtesy.

NAPA — As music fans in the U.S. face a reemerging music industry—with some rescheduled concerts taking place but others postponed yet again due to artists or their team members testing positive—the reality is different a half a world away. No better example of this is New Zealand’s SIX60.

SIX60 performs one of several stadium shows in early 2021 in New Zealand. Courtesy.

Earlier in 2021, when New Zealand had beat back the novel coronavirus and life there had resumed to close to normal while the rest of the world was still paused, the band took the country by storm.

Billboard reported the New Zealand band sold an eye-popping 168,000 tickets across seven shows, earning more than USD $13 million, making them the biggest touring success of the first half of the year. These weren’t just any shows. They were full-capacity stadium concerts, some of the earliest post-pandemic shows in the world. The largest of these was a concert attended by more than 50,000. The craziest part of it all is the bizarre role reversal that almost kept the band from making it to the Bay Area to play BottleRock Napa Valley over Labor Day weekend.

“It was so difficult, New Zealand was in lockdown,” frontman Matiu Walters said shortly after the band’ performance at the festival. “We managed to find a way here because we really wanted to play this festival.”

By the first week of September, it was New Zealand that was reentering lockdowns with rising Delta variant cases and hospitalizations. The efforts of SIX60’s management paid off at the last minute, tour manager John Reilly said, and the band and traveling crew were allowed to leave the country.

“The boys’ visas weren’t able to be processed at the U.S. Embassy, so we didn’t know we would be able to board the flight until the evening before the flight when we got a visa exceptions from the U.S.,” Reilly said.

But it worked out and SIX60 will be be able to perform a handful of shows here before mounting an Australian tour in October and a European tour from November to December, playing songs from its 2019 self-titled debut album.

“Our experiences have been so different, we haven’t experienced the pandemic in the same way,” Walters said.

Coming off the massive success in its home country, SIX60 was excited to get to Napa for good reason. In addition to finding new fans, Walters, drummer Eli Paewai, bassist Chris Mac, guitarist Ji Fraser and keyboardist Marlon Gerbes also wanted to escape the COVID-19 doldrums that artists in the U.S. felt for much of 2020.

Matiu Walters of SIX60, courtesy.

“COVID is difficult from a creative standpoint. It’s tough to feel very inspired,” Walters said. “Music is so in line with your life experiences, and if you’re locked down at home, you don’t get to make life experiences. Then you just don’t have anything to write about.”

Sitting in their small but well-equipped room at BottleRock’s artist compounds behind the main stage, the members of SIX60 finally had a moment to take in the sights and sounds of the moment, with the hectic travel and performance behind them. From their limited time in Napa Valley, they said it reminded them of home, which is also wine country. The goal was to enjoy the warm day while also finding a local establishment to watch New Zealand’s rugby match that day.

Walters’ excitement for playing in front of fans, especially to new audiences, seemed palpable. Given the band’s success back home, it’s possible that SIX60 will find not only American fans, but others on the others side of the Atlantic.

“Give us a bit of time and a good stage and it’s just a matter of time,” Walters said, smiling widely.

Follow writer Mike DeWald at Twitter.com/mike_dewald.