Gig Review: Georgia Knight @ San Fran, Wellington – 15/05/2026

Georgia Knight may be Naarm/Melbourne–born, but she often calls Aotearoa home, too. She has connections here. Her work sits between dark pop, trip hop, and experimental, folk-rooted songwriting. If I had to give an elevator pitch, then I’d say she’s a bit like a female version of The Veils. With strong ties here, she frequently performs across the country, and she’s been building a following on both sides of the Tasman. Her music is often centred around autoharp, dusty loops, layered synth textures, and a low-lit, cinematic atmosphere that has drawn comparisons to artists working in similarly shadowy, minimal pop spaces.

She first emerged with her EP Hell on Bent Street (2023), which led to appearances at festivals including Dark Mofo, Rising, and Camp A Low Hum. Her independently released debut album Beanpole (2025), recorded with Andrew ‘Idge’ Hehir, marked a significant step forward in both scale and ambition, with standout tracks such as Desire, Mingle, and Everybody Knows My Business Now, all of which have received international airplay on major stations like BBC Radio 6 Music and KCRW. And over the past year, Knight’s built a strong international profile, appearing at UK’s The Great Escape and Golden Plains festivals, Phoenix Central Park (Australia), as well as The Others Way and Port Noise. She’s also shared stages with Blonde Redhead, Mogwai, Angie McMahon, and Maple Glider.

Her recent New Zealand tour was gathering momentum just before being abruptly interrupted following the Christchurch show, when our crazy weather intervened with a storm that washed out bridges, flooded roads, and grounded many flights. That disruption forced a pause in the tour. So, tonight was a reset as the tour now resumes and Knight gets another chance to reconnect with audiences and play material from her latest drop, Beanpole.

Opening the Wellington show is Mystery Waitress, a Pōneke-based indie-pop group fronted by Tessa de Lyon. Their music blends dreamy melancholy with jangly indie textures, moving between slow-burning introspection and hook-driven brightness. They all shuffle on quietly and start up as the room starts to fill up. Although, unfortunately, it never really gets too crowded. Possibly, many couldn’t make the rescheduled show.

de Lyon’s melodic vocals are sweet and haunting. Their set of mainly smoky minimalist numbers gently warms us up. Sadly, not once does de Lyon or any of the band engage with the audience or announce any of their songs. I made the best efforts to pre-listen to their material but now I come to write this, I’m left wondering exactly what I was listening to. However, I’m fairly sure the last track was In A Shell, from 2024’s Bright Black Night. A shame in a way. Because despite that, I found their performance intimate and quietly theatrical, set against tight, minimal instrumentation. If you get a chance check out their music – it speaks louder and more confidently than they do, themselves.

One that’s less shy about audience engagement is the headliner. “Hope you’re having a Georgia Knight!”, she quips in a dry, deadpan drawl. “That’s a $50 joke right there!” Backed by a non-assuming ‘rag-tag band’ – Knight’s term – James Bennet (bass), Jamie Larking (drums) and Haawi Whaitiri (keys, synths, etc) they slink quietly onto the stage. Plucking signature autoharp, she begins in an ironic tone with a twang and plodding rendition of He Needs Me, which I believe is an old Harry Nilsson song.

Things lighten up a bit with an extended version of Mingle, from the Beanpole album. This is a bit of a stripped-back variant, partially thanks to some wonky moments with Whaitiri’s tech and partially because it’s lacking the obvious studio polish. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed it.

“I dedicate this song to New Zealand” – a nod to the two degrees of separation thing we have going on here. That’s the introduction to the dramatic mind-brawl of Everybody Knows My Business Now. As a song it’s a perfect little kitchen sink ‘soapie’ ballad which works well live.

The drums kick up a notch for Desire, which like on the album, wakes up the ears. Knight’s voice is more urgent. Live, it’s not quite as forceful. If the budget will allow next time, I think it wouldn’t hurt to get a few BV’s involved, just to flesh out the ambience on this deliciously dark pop.

“And now I’m gonna play you a horrible little song”, Knight announces before launching into Not Bad At All (also on Beanpole). There’s a connection, you see. She once lived in a “very wet flat, with crazy neighbours in the front,” we’re told. The woman who lives in front was a “Sex Clown”. “What’s a Sex Clown?”, someone yells. “You’re looking at her, babe!” comes the reply. On the album, the effects make her vocals otherworldly, a bit grungy. This is a straight version, lacking, perhaps a bit of necessary edginess.

But what’s on the mark is the wonderfully minimalist, folky City Gone To Seed. It reminds me a little bit of what Amanda Palmer does – an honest, emotive, stream of consciousness.

The snares and bass kick in for the album’s biggest moment, as Knight straps on a guitar, and grunges through the grooves of Rockerbilly, my favourite. But just as we’re really getting into it, the plug gets pulled. “One more”, Knight says, but it’s a doozy. She picks up an amplified old phone handset, and juggling that with her autoharp, winds into Cut You Loose. On wax it’s like she’s singing to a music box. But this time the song has a larger sound. More flavourful. More gravitas. And I think that’s an improvement.

I’m so glad Georgia Knight managed to reschedule her tour. Sure, there were a few conspicuous omissions tonight, such as the rocker Visualiser and the very fabulous Hell On Bent Street. But that aside, this short but sweet set was a great introduction to a very talented artist. Georgia Knight is very capable, and I hope she’ll continue to tour and grow her stage presence, get a bigger band and fulfil the ambitions of her sound. Watch this space, I reckon.

Photo Credit: Tim Gruar for Muzic.NZ
Georgia Knight Photo Gallery
Mystery Waitress Photo Gallery