Gig Review: Georgia Lines @ Hollywood Cinema, Avondale, Auckland – 30/08/2025

My sister and I were first in line outside Avondale’s Hollywood Cinema, huddled together against the late August chill. We’d expected a queue but instead found ourselves alone, killing time at the gas station and a slow loop around the dairy. By the time fans trickled in behind us, the crowd had grown into a demographic of young families, teens, thirty-somethings, and older devotees: a multigenerational audience bundled up, chatting, buzzing. The advertised 7pm doors didn’t open until 7.30pm (the same time the website had listed the show as starting). Still, once inside, the atmosphere softened: relaxed, warm, anticipation thick in the air. I grabbed a butter chicken pie for dinner and even bumped into an old friend – the kind of unexpected comfort that already made the night feel communal.

At exactly 8pm, the first openers, Aisha & Bebe, stepped onto stage. Just two microphones, a guitar, and gorgeous harmonies: the perfect act for a beautifully intimate venue like the Hollywood. Their opening song, Blank Space, immediately revealed their strength: two distinct voices that locked together in a perfect blend. They’d even coordinated their outfits, Aisha in white, Bebe in black!

The set was vulnerable, delicate, the kind of performance that felt more like reading a page of someone’s diary aloud. Aisha sang lead, while Bebe accompanied on acoustic guitar, her harmonies sliding in with precision. When Aisha sang, “I wanted you, I did / you held me like water in your hand”, it was enough to draw tears.

A brand-new song followed, its intimacy heightened by a fleeting smile shared between the two just before the second verse. Lyrics like “you hate yourself as much as I love you” and “angels don’t fly / but angels pretty little angels cry” were piercingly raw, cutting deeper with the softness of their delivery.

Each song carried its own weight. Never Have Enough made an impressive use of dynamics with an epic push and pull, almost like waves building and crashing. The refrain “’cause I’ll never have enough until you walk away” hitting like a gut punch. Missing showcased a cool bass line woven into the chords, with Aisha’s voice laced with emotion on every single word. You could see her feel each lyric – “I wish that it were easier with you” – as if she was living it all over again onstage.

Their final number, Violet, which they introduced as their favourite, led Aisha to pull out a light blue electric guitar. The cinematic lighting behind them changed colours, perfectly timed, as Bebe’s harmonies soared between low and high registers. The outro, with Aisha repeating “tell me what I wanna hear / and then I’ll never disappear,” over swelling orchestral backing, was breathtaking.

For such young artists, their ease and confidence was astonishing. As they left the stage, security arrived at the balcony to announce it was being closed for the rest of the night. My sister and I scrambled downstairs, her searching for a seat and me desperate to find a spot that would allow me to actually see the very acts I was writing about.

At 8:38pm sharp, Lou’ana walked out in a bright floral dress and black boots, her pink electric guitar slung over her shoulder. While the beauty of Aisha & Bebe’s set lay in its gentleness and intimacy, the Lou’ana’s was found in its explosive energy.

She began with Daydreams, explaining, “This is about someone haunting your daydreams – well, my daydreams.” Instantly, the intentional contrast between openers was clear. Where Aisha & Bebe were intimate and had us in a still awe, Lou’ana hypnotised us with her raspy voice, wrapping the room in a dance spell.

Love Bind, from her album Moonlight Madness, really let the unique timbre of her voice shine, somehow both soothing and powerful. The lyrical change turning “love bind” into “bye bye” was also genius – though sound from the foyer bled in at moments, frustratingly distracting during quieter sections. Still, her stage presence made up for it.

Lou’ana encouraged the audience to “have a boogie” as she launched into Night Creature. Even stripped back to just guitar and vocals, the disco-funk groove did not sound like it lacked anything at all. Her refrain “all of the loving you need neeeeed” was a masterclass in vocal control. Special mention to the woman beside me singing along to every word, proving just how catchy this track was. I was particularly impressed by Lou’ana’s vocal agility in absolutely nailing the complicated contour of the bridge! Encouraging us to sing along, she grinned as a few scattered voices joined – hesitant, but present.

Don’t Let Me Fall slowed things down, its lyric, “already let go of the place I was before and give you my all / will you catch me, don’t let me fall baby,” carried with stunning vulnerability. Her rasp, her delicateness, her power: each quality emerged at just the right moment.

She paused to admit, “If you’ve seen me before, I’m usually with a band,” before treating us to a brand-new track, Heartbeat, set for release in September. Nothing felt missing at all though. Dancing across the stage, her cowboy-boogie energy brought to some kind of New-Zealand-Dua-Lipa-country-infused-disco. The crowd even began to sing along, despite having never heard it before.

For her closer, Aphrodite, which she released on winter solstice, and set for inclusion on her October 31st album, Lou’ana explained: “It’s about going through the darkness to find our true selves.” Even with just guitar, the disco track was so dynamically powerful, her choruses building and releasing tension perfectly. At the end, she comically shook her guitar for vibrato, earning laughter and cheers, before leaving to loud whoops.

At 9:22 on the dot, house lights dimmed and an instant hush fell over the Hollywood as Georgia Lines emerged, dressed in sleek black alongside her band.

She opened with Wonderful Life, beginning with strings playing on a track, the band layering in gently until drums struck at just the right moment. It’s crazy how she sounds exactly the same live as she does in studio; but the translation of these tracks to their live versions make finer details like little flourishes on the keyboard so much clearer. She danced between verses, clearly at home with her band – with whom it’s very clear she has amazing chemistry. With Julia, the theatre became a dance floor. Projected visualisers bloomed on the cinema screen behind the band as fans in the pit raised their arms, waving in time. Georgia moved like a friend dancing in her bedroom, pacing with the mic in hand, grinning.

The energy dropped delicately for Till the Music Stops, my personal favourite moment of the night. The crowd leaned in, captivated, as her voice – deep, full, heart-wrenching – paired with Nic Manders’ soft keys. Lyrics like “if I stay, if I walk away / we both lose a limb” landed heavily, but the stripped arrangement allowed us to hear them as sharply as Georgia felt them. When the band returned in a swell of sound, the audience reacted viscerally, gasping, cheering and all. You realise the visualiser is more than just a cool addition, but an intentional choice for the live presentation of this body of work: flashes of Georgia’s face flickering like memories.

“This is really exciting and strange,” she confessed between songs. “To work on something for so long and it’s already here.” She laughed: “I’m gonna chat of course – it’s a Georgia Lines show.” Wayside’s percussion drove it forward. Her band were visibly having the time of their lives, and the audience clapped and sang along. Couples swayed arm-in-arm, strangers nodded in rhythm.

Then came The Letter. Which absolutely floored me. As a fairly new fan, I’ll admit I hadn’t heard it before, but it nearly broke me. The visuals shifted from deep blue, as though we were submerged, to harsh red as Georgia belted the outro with astonishing power. Highlight of this song was watching her tech audibly whoop and cheer from the back, beaming with pride.

Georgia paused to acknowledge her openers: Aisha & Bebe, whom she’d met through Rockquest, and Lou’ana, who had to rush off to another gig. End of the World was built on thick synths, with a drop-out-and-back-in moment that yanked us all into place. Even minor feedback issues couldn’t dull its impact. Next, her cover of Elton John’s Yellow Brick Road stunned the room. Just Georgia and keys, it was tender, deliberate, so emotionally charged it could have been her own song. I would stream this version endlessly if it existed on Spotify.

Grow Old Without You saw Georgia move to keys, while Manders moved to a second acoustic guitar. A stunning chord progression, visuals of flowers blooming, orchestral backing blossoming: it was enchanting. Even seated, Georgia was magnetic enough that I put my notes down just to watch.

Between songs, she explained the backstory behind The Guest House EP. Written only months after her debut album, many tracks came from sessions across the world with Matt Hales (Olivia Dean). (She then confessed her next song, Limoncello, was almost left on the cutting room floor. Thank goodness it wasn’t.) In a surprise meeting with Chris Martin from Coldplay, he’d shared with her the poem The Guest House by Rumi, which inspired not only her title track but the themes of humanity, love and letting go threaded throughout the entire project. Georgia described taking eight friends to a farmhouse in Manawatū, shooting visuals among creaky floors and wood fires, before projecting them behind her onstage.

Limoncello lit up the room, spotlights casting yellow-orange light across us, almost like a sunset. The bass rumbled through the floor; her silhouette glowed against the bright visuals as though the very sun she sings about is setting behind her. Then, The Guest House. Having listened to it on repeat since its release 24 hours before the gig, hearing it live with Georgia’s story fresh in my mind brought a whole new perspective. The farmhouse visuals projected behind her, her voice enchanting every single person in the room. For the outro, she turned away, singing to the screen as though we were eavesdropping on her memories.

Georgia paused her train of thought to give a spontaneous word of encouragement, sharing the note she pinned on her fridge while making the EP: a card from a friend that read, “This too shall pass.”

“Now we get to the bangers,” she grinned, launching into Never Had Love, Faith, and Romeo. The crowd danced, hands in the air, laughter when she missed the second verse of Romeo despite lyrics onscreen. She and her band exchanged smiles, feeding off each other’s energy. Drummer Elijah Whyte’s outro in Never Had Love drew applause; Faith became a communal call-and-response, the whole room raising hands in sync.

Georgia then reflected and shared, “I’m moving to Nashville. This is actually my last show in New Zealand for a while.” Her voice trembled as she explained that everyone she loved was here, but it felt like the right time.

The final run of songs – Made for Loving, My Love, and Grand Illusion – became a collective release. Made for Loving had the whole room clapping and singing. I recognised the song, realising I’d added it to my playlist last summer without realising it was by THE Georgia Lines. My Love swayed into catharsis, Whyte standing to hammer the toms. For Grand Illusion, her last song with longtime collaborator Nic Manders, Georgia teared up thanking her parents – her dad even shouting, “Should I find Mum?” from next to me in the crowd. She closed with just vocals, keys, and orchestral track, eyes shut as if singing privately to herself. Not a single phone glowed, every eye glued to the stage. It was reverent, communal, unforgettable.

At the end, Georgia promised to meet fans at the back. The band and crew also took a group photo to capture the night – their last one in Aotearoa for a while.

Georgia Lines may be leaving for Nashville, but Saturday night at the Hollywood proved something: her music has already built a home here, one that people of all ages will keep returning to – guest house, theatre, or wherever she chooses to open her door next.

Photo Credit: Chris Zwaagdyk for Muzic.NZ
Georgia Lines Photo Gallery
Lou’ana Photo Gallery
Aisha & Bebe Photo Gallery