Marlon Williams
The Civic, Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland
Thursday, May 21st
On the first night of his Tā te Manawa tour of Aotearoa and Te Waipounamu, famously billed as his final performances before a period of rest, Marlon Williams walked alone onto the stage at The Civic in Tāmaki Makaurau.
Dressed in a tucked-in white tee, jeans, and boots, he exuded humility and gratitude as he stepped into the spotlight, waving to the audience with a shy smile. After taking a moment to compose himself, he sang “E Mawehe Ana Au”, the existentially-slanted a capella introduction to his most recent album, 2025’s Te Whare Tīwekaweka.
Over the next 45 minutes, the Māori singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor, who took the spirit of Ōhinehou Lyttelton to the world, serenaded the audience with his signature, sonorous voice.
Credit: Rosa Nevison
What followed was a mixture of stripped-back versions of songs from his catalogue, arranged for guitar or piano. After effortlessly working through “Arahura”, “Lonely Side of Her”, “Pānaki”, “Beautiful Dress”, “Love Is a Terrible Thing”, and “Kāhore He Manu E”, he brought the house lights up and took requests from the audience.
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With promotional duties for Te Whare Tīwekaweka well out of the way, he’s having fun and taking risks. Not everything the audience asked for translated to a solo setting, so not all requests were honoured. Nevertheless, we got “Princes Walk” and “Promises” (originally penned by Barry and Robin Gibb for Barbra Streisand) from 2022’s My Boy, and a sublime version of the late Dr Hirini Melbourne’s comet waiata “Rongomai”, among other gems, before a brief intermission.
Credit: Rosa Nevison
Following a costume change, Williams returned in a snappy suit. He was joined by his equally well-dressed backing band, The Yarra Benders: multi-instrumentalist Dave Khan, bassist Ben Woolley, and drummer Gus Agars. A
couple of songs into the second half, Dan Luscombe of The Drones, who seems to weave his way in and out of Williams world, made his way on stage to play keyboards and guitars. They’re a rock-solid team with a studied fluency in the conventions of country, folk, and bluegrass, but they also know exactly how to expand Williams’ original songs and loved covers into invigorating rock and roll shapes.
Credit: Rosa Nevison
In the same spirit as the first half, Williams and his band smashed through fan favourites and deep cuts, before taking requests.
“Hello Miss Lonesome” sounded suitably forlorn and haunted. In contrast, “Me Uaua Kē”, a song about frolicking around Banks Peninsula, felt positively pastoral. Song by song, Williams and The Yarra Benders built in intensity until the energy on stage peaked with “I Didn’t Make a Plan”, from his breakout album, 2018’s Make Way for Love.
Credit: Rosa Nevison
Between the purity of his voice, the type you have to be born with, banter, and showmanship honed over a lifetime spent on stages around the world, not to mention a rare level of commitment to the craft, Williams and co. effortlessly carried the audience through the night. During the second request session, he sang “Bird on the Wire” by the late Leonard Cohen while slow dancing with the woman who had requested it. It was an extraordinarily sweet moment that spoke volumes about his relationship with the audience.
From there, Williams lifted the room with more classics and deep cuts before closing with an epic encore, culminating in a shimmering, lounge-leaning version of “Portrait of a Man” by the spellbinding Ohio singer-songwriter Screamin’ Jay Hawkins.
Afterwards, as the theatre cleared, the mystical tones of the First Nations musician Keanu Nelson drifted through the in-house sound system. It felt like an intentional choice: an artist at the height of his powers reaching out to an emerging talent from across the Tasman. Maybe we’ll see them on stage together one day.
Find ticket information for Marlon Williams’ remaining NZ tour dates here.
