Two Kiwi bands hand-picked by Ed Sheeran are busy preparing to open for his New Zealand shows next month.
But, while Six60 are a household name these days, for Wellington band 'Drax Project' this is their big break.
The four piece band already has thousands of fans, including the flame haired brit.
Both had similar beginnings busking in their retrospective country’s capitals, and come March, they’ll be sharing a stage.
"We'll try and treat it as any other gig," says guitarist Ben O’Leary.
But, the band admits that's easier said than done, especially for O'Leary who is a long-time fan of Sheeran.
"Ben won't say this but Ben used to upload Ed Sheeran covers onto YouTube," says drummer Matt Beachen.
Sheeran will be pulling in crowds of 45,000 people each night, which is something Drax Project are still wrapping their heads around.
"It's literally like 10 times more people than we've played to compared to our other biggest gig and then we've got to do that three times," says Beachen.
But while the numbers may not come as easily, they're confident the music will.
"Could be three people going real hard and you're just loving it or it could be 3000 people but it's the same feeling it's just different context," says Saxophonist Shaan Singh.
For a group often defined as "Wellington cool," they're hoping they'll be able to keep that reputation intact when they come face to face with the four-time Grammy winner.
"We'll leave him alone though we won’t be knocking on his green room like 'Ed'," says O’Leary.
SHARE ME