TUAWAHINE, Auckland NZ, 2021

TUAWAHINE

2nd July 2021
The Civic Theatre, Auckland, New Zealand.

Review by Courtney Tabener. Photography by Doug Peters.

It was a typical winters evening; the temperature had dropped and everyone was wrapped up and huddling together, keeping warm. Until you stepped foot inside Auckland’s Civic Theatre – the place was bustling with friends, couples and families exploring the nooks and magic that is cabaret season.

We had to pull ourselves away from the temptations of having a personalised poem or having our fortune told and find our seats for the celebration that was Tuawahine. And what a celebration it was. A dynamic group of women, performing together, in celebration of Matariki and all that is the power of wāhine toa. And we can’t think of a more perfect setting than the spectacular starry ceiling and the dramatic pillars of the Civic Theatre.

The opening performance, Language, was led by Annie Crummer and supported by artists Anika Moa, Georgia Lines, Paige, and Tami Neilson. They really set the mood for what was to be a magical evening of music and performance.

Anika Moa was the first solo artist to take the stage, with her safety net of printed lyrics and a bag full of nerves. She thanked everyone for coming out the celebrate Tuawahine and told the crowd about having spent the last ten days at home with a sick child. Despite feeling so nervous that she could spew (her words!), she absolutely smashed her cover of Emma Paki’s Greenstone. Who, fun fact, apparently dated her father for a couple of years.

Georgia Lines reminisced on being a part of the school choir when growing up and how this influenced her choice of cover song; Hine e Hine, which featured Georgia giving a beautiful performance on the piano and showing off her incredible vocal range. Honestly, that girl has so much power. We were both blown away.

In between each set, we were treated to anecdotes about how each of them were inspired by other artists or moments in life that influenced their choice of cover songs for the evening and their own original songs that were performed.

Not only did they perform covers, we were treated to some incredible originals. The popular and powerful Anika Moa made reference to writing one her songs ‘My Old Man’ for her father during a time when his health was deteriorating, which definitely pulled on a few heartstrings. Those lyrics just hit harder when you hear the story behind them.

The absolute queen that is Tami Neilson, with her tinsel cape and beehive, belted out ‘Walk (Back to Your Arms)’. Full of humour and confidence, our Can-Iwi (Canadian-Kiwi) just owns the stage like no other.

Georgia covered an all-favourite classic, ‘Don’t Dream It’s Over’, which had everyone swaying and singing along. She just had this warming stage presence; perhaps it was her chatty and slightly demanding demeanour that had everyone feeling warm and fuzzy, that teacher stage presence.

Annie Crummer was on next singing Hina Ki Tai, the te reo Maori version of her waiata, Ocean Moon. Annie shared her love of the Cook Islands and the memories of moonlight stroking the ocean and how it influenced this powerful and moving song.

Honestly, one of the artists we were really looking forward to seeing was up and coming singer-songwriter Paige. After seeing Paige’s performance live at the Aotearoa Music Awards we were stoked to hear that she would be performing ’Waves’ and it definitely did not disappoint.

The second to last performance featured a surprising set of skills. With a little bit of beat boxing from Bella Kalolo, some rapping from Tami Neilson and a lot of energy and bouncing from Annie Crummer, we couldn’t resist bopping along to ’98 Til Now’.

The soon to be mama, Ria Hall, really did a wonderful job of creating such an empowering musical experience.

If you have the opportunity to see any of these incredible women perform, do it. You will not regret it.

Were you there at The Civic Theatre for this brilliant celebration of New Zealand Mana Wāhine ? Or have you seen any of the artists who performed live at Tuawahine somewhere else? Tell us about it in the comments below!

Set List:

1. Language (Annie Crummer, Anika Moa, Paige, Georgia Lines, Tami Neilson)
2. Greenstone (Anika Moa) [Emma Paki cover]
3. Albertine (Paige) [Brook Fraser cover]
4. Hine E Hine (Georgia Lines) [Fanny Howie cover]
5. My Old Man (Anika Moa)
6. Walk (Tami Neilson)
7. Drive (Anika Moa & Paige) [Bic Runga cover]
8. Don’t Dream It’s Over (Georgia Lines) [Crowded House cover]
9. Hina Ki Tai (Annie Crummer)
10. Roimata (Tami Neilson, Annie Crummer, Anika Moa)
11. Waves (Paige)
12. Made For Loving (Georgia Lines)
13. 98 Til Now (Tami Neilson) [Ladi6 cover]
14. See What Love Can Do (Annie Crummer, Anika Moa, Paige, Georgia Lines, Tami Neilson) [encore]

Note: Auckland Live provided passes to Ambient Light to review and photograph this concert. As always, this has not influenced the review in any way and the opinions expressed are those of Ambient Light’s only. This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase a product using an affiliate link, Ambient Light will automatically receive a small commission at no cost to you.

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