Gig Review: Bic Runga with the NZSO @ Michael Fowler Centre, Wellington – 2/04/2026

Across six studio albums, Bic Runga’s recording career charts an unusually graceful arc, following Drive there was Beautiful Collision (2002) and Birds (2005), both of which also debuted at number one on the local charts and collectively sold millions – Beautiful Collision reached ten times platinum. Later releases Belle (2011) and Close Your Eyes (2016) reflected a quieter phase both creatively and commercially, and Red Sunset (2026), released after a 10 year hiatus, marks a reflective return rather than a bid for chart dominance. Alongside these albums are various collabs, one-off concert events, work with orchestras and even the opera. And then there’s Together in Concert: Live (2000), made with Tim Finn and Dave Dobbyn, which reached number two, went triple platinum, and became a near universal fixture in parents’ car CD collections, soundtracking family road trips while cementing Bic’s songs alongside those of two songwriting legends in the national consciousness. There was a time when Bic Runga was everywhere, all the time.

Life, however, shifted. She married Kody Nielson, and together they have three children. By her own admission, family life kept her largely offstage for much of the 2010’s. She deliberately stepped back from the demands of constant touring and promotion, choosing instead to prioritise home. That withdrawal was never framed as a loss of interest in music, but rather as a recognition that songwriting requires uninterrupted mental space. For a long time, that space simply wasn’t available. Until now.

Written after years focused on family life and recorded in Paris during the winter of 2025, Red Sunset is slower, more spacious and more inward-looking. Bic has spoken openly about this period in interviews, describing how the change in setting and the return of creative headspace shaped the record.

Her return, if we should even call it that, has been gradual, then increasingly confident. Over the past few years she has re-emerged onto major stages, done anniversary shows, worked with variety shows and collaborated with orchestras. Touring Red Sunset should not be viewed as some nostalgic revival with a few token new songs, but a quiet reclaiming of creative ground. Sound-wise, it feels, at least on wax, new and fresh. Several tracks appear to be built primarily around synths rather than the guitar‑based arrangements of her earlier work. I was intrigued to see how they were brought to life and how they stacked up against the classics that had gone before.

Tonight’s show was different from the others on her current tour, because, apart from the venue size, it featured the country’s largest covers band: The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. I guess that’s a sign you’ve made it when you get them in. When I was a kid, we used to get dragged along to watch the NZSO playing Star Wars themes and Bee Gees hits of the day. It was interesting to see a largely classical crew take on disco and pop, a novelty. But nowadays the NZSO don’t just cover songs, they collaborate, work with the band and write really engaging interpretations of not only the well-known hits but the unknown, too. That’s why bands want to work with the NZSO and that’s why we want to go and see them do it.

On this tour, in other locations, the evening usually started with Silicon, the electronic project helmed by Kody Nielson (The Mint Chicks, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, etc). Featuring Bic on drums, too (shame I missed that). But not tonight. First out was Kody, who slid into the stool at cut-down drum kit at the front of the stage. Actually, it looked like a child’s with him hunched over while he played. But boy, did it kick out the jams! He did a pretty good job as bandleader, working almost flawlessly between the small band – Carl Bennett on keyboards, Cass Basil (Tiny Ruins) on bass and keys, and Bic, with guitars – the NZSO’s conductor, and his troops.

Each part of the show opened with the orchestra and two tracks from Kody’s Birthday Suite Albums Vols I & II, starting with Bic’s Birthday and Bonny’s Birthday, two very pleasant, nifty pieces. After halftime, they’ll repeat the trick with two more – Frida’s Birthday and Erica’s Birthday. I particularly enjoyed the clarinets on Frida’s Birthday. With all of them there’s a really lovely contrast between Kody’s clipped, maraca style percussion work and the voluptuousness of the string section.

When Bic Runga stepped onto the MFC stage, the welcome was unmistakably warm. Nau mai anō. It was the kind of reception reserved not just for a beloved artist, but for someone returning after a long creative absence with something genuine to offer. Judging by recent performances in Christchurch, Auckland and Hamilton, this response has become the norm: audiences still love her, still feel a personal stake in her songs, and are ready to listen closely to what she is doing now.

It has been 15 years since she released an album of new original music. What will it sound like? Her first tunes are from the new album, Red Sunset. With the orchestra’s lilting tones hovering in the back Glass Atrium and Paris In The Rain could easily have been about Vietnam or Hong Kong instead of her time living in the French capital. The man in the seat next to me certainly thought that. There were more new ones including the lush, velvet tribute to a lover or friend, It’s Like Summertime, which appears in the second half. To me it sounds even more opulent impressionist portrait with the orchestra.

There were a couple of family moments, with a quiet nod to husband Kody and her kids, who were in the audience. Bic is a gentle supporter, we learn. And she’d dedicated a tender song, Hey Little One, about her children. It’s an encouraging ballad of growing up and hope for better. On the album, I don’t think this one really stuck out. So, live, with all the strings and brass and woodwinds, it really got its time (or their time) to shine.

“This was going to be the album’s title, but it sounded too annalistic,” Bic says, introducing her song about breaking free from everyday limits. Escape From Planet Earth was given a subtle sci-fi theme makeover, especially towards the end when it rounds up on a single shrill alien-esque note. As in other songs the melodies are delicate and layered, sometimes the hooks are clear, other times subliminal. Why am I humming still?

Ghost In Your Bed (another contender for album cover) and (the title) Red Sunset were the lushest tonight, with the orchestral arrangements leaning well into James Bond/Shirley Bassey territory. Both of these worked really well with the full 60’s Spector wall of sound applied.

One song I didn’t think quite worked was Precious Things. That sounded a bit rushed. It seemed a bit too fast and chaotic. It didn’t really gel to my ears.

If you’re wondering where the hits were, don’t worry, there were plenty. Something Good and Listening For The Weather were joyous. I’m pretty sure I heard people singing along, too. And in the intro to Birds, the woodwind section provided a delightful bed of avian calls and twitters to transport us into the first verses. Another song from that album, Say After Me, appeared earlier. That one was even more beautiful and lush with the string section and piano than the original.

Resisting the temptation to overload, they leave Bic and her guitar to do most of the work on Drive, save for a very quiet bed of strings. And she sings so perfectly it could almost be that original recording. It’s then that I realise her voice really hasn’t aged at all. How does she do that?

Covering the bases, she snatches Gravity from 2002’s Beautiful Collision, and that sounds wonderful, too. The original is a quiet ballad, which is how it starts tonight but rolls into a fully orchestrated 70’s power ballad (think of those James Last albums your Granny had), showing off its mighty potential. It’s a cinematic expansion in full, vivid colour. And as with the other concerts, the night finishes on a high with a very upbeat, rapturous rendition of Sway which left everybody very happy. They jumped to their feet, clapping and cheering with genuine praise and joy. Usually reserved and quiet, I think Bic and her team were a bit overwhelmed, maybe lost for words. But it was well earned.

Plenty of praise should also go to the orchestra and their arrangers. Never once was the music too loud or suffocating, allowing Bic plenty of space for Bic’s delicate vocals so that we could truly hear every note, phrase and consonant. When they did speak up, the solos all seemed to fit in with the original album arrangements.

Helping out tonight Carl Bennett on keyboards pulled off a few tricks of his own straddling his stool to play both a grand piano and his keyboards a number of times. Cass Basil took the role of interloping keys but mostly was on bass. I love watching her play, barely a whisper on stage, hardly moving. Yet her bass is strong, reliable and confident. Never overpowering. Never showy.

And speaking of confident, with a 15-year gap in material, it’d be understandable if Bic was nervous about bringing new work out into the light. It’s true, not all these new songs are radio-friendly bangers. But so what? Do they have to be? I think she wrote this album for her, not the marketers, and watching her perform them, she should be proud of that. Bic told us that tonight was in her “top 5 shows” – playing with an orchestra, to a full house standing in support and congratulations. She deserves that. For her legacy now and into the future.

As I got up to leave, I chatted to the others around me, asking what they thought. The new material was unique to them, they said, not like what they were expecting. Yet, they still loved it and wanted to explore more. That was the vibe I got in the wider foyer, too. The massive queue to get autographs and selfies told me everything I needed to know. She was still their hero.

I think Red Sunset sounds different from Bic’s earlier albums because she’s different. But that’s OK. As an artist you need to keep moving and exploring. It’s necessary for everyone. And I think tonight’s audience got that. We’ve been spoiled this summer, what with the Aotearoa New Zealand Arts Festival, Newtown Festival, Cuba Dupa. We’re open to anything and everything. Watching tonight it felt like another opening, a launch into a new land. Seeing this performed live and re-shaped each time, it’s a privilege. She was genuine, sharing what she’d made with us. And with the NZSO, it was extra special. We take it as a gift and receive it warmly. These songs like all her material will find their way into our hearts. So, tonight we treasure the moment, as we watch the red sunset start to rise.

Photo Credit: Andy Russell for Muzic.NZ
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