Gig Review: Taylah @ OneOneSix, Whangārei – 12/11/2026

Opening the night are the fastest fingers in the north. Human Peeb, AKA George Parker-Brien, does not keep the room waiting and the fast guitar of the song Beaked Babies gets the attention. Whangārei-based and playing for a home crowd, he sure loves the gig from the start. There are plenty of songs on his list as on Bandcamp you can find many hours of his songwriting and composing efforts. He digs, however, into a Tom Waits song. A style that suits him well and lets us hear all the possibilities his voice has. Plenty of applause follows and this energy gets him talking.

The guitar-only setting strips away some of the chaos found on his recordings, but none of the energy disappears. Instead, the songs feel more focused, giving his quick-fire playing and lyrical storytelling room to breathe. Cages sounds more controlled but certainly not slow. His fast fingers roll easily over the strings, hyping the audience up. The punk-rock storytelling fits the evening well. The choice to have Human Peeb opening becomes clear as he is not shy in storytelling between songs. Knowing Taylah for many years and even having been flat mates at some point brings these 2 humans together again.

Punk Rock Playground is next; he warns that if you cannot understand the lyrics, it’s because of his own gibberish. Fast and surely warming up the venue. The song Coding is back in plain English, and a little breather in the room. His last song comes with showing all his voice abilities. A song about being an expert in anything has amazing throat-singing parts to it. His voice and guitar form the music between the faster punk-rock style lyrics. Sure, a name to remember, Human Peeb, Bandcamp, Instagram, all the places he will be a new experience to your ears for sure.

Taylah does not let the crowd wait long and uses the warmth and energy in the room to fill the stage again.

Opening with the new single, Loved, sets her stage. Standing in bright light and with just her guitar, she has the whole room listening with attention. The song, released on the 5^th of November 2026, has already a few humming along. The combination of the personal story told in English and Te Reo Māori is strong and emotional. For her, the scary part is that this is her first song composed and played in Te Reo. The crowd loves it.

This EP tour still has fans getting a bit more than just new songs. Today Is Hard, only released as a single in 2024, shows the range of her voice. Also, the song Graphic is an older song. Laughing banter with some family in the crowd about how social media has moved and changed us. The song, while recorded by a few mobiles in the crowd, tells us about the social media driving our dopamine addictions. In a way a beautiful full circle.

Follow Me, also released just before the new EP, brings some of the fast guitar strums back that the room was filled with before. Her storytelling songs have infectious and easy-to-hum-along-to choruses. Some feet tapping and lips humming as she clearly enjoys the night.

The Māori also does not stay quiet; an adaptation of a hymn is setting off emotions. Her voice shines in the long notes, a sign we will hear more from her. After this highlight, more stories about the new EP follow. How the videos came to life and how the songs on the EP are personal. Soft is a song for the softies under us. An ode to the more timid under us who still have great power. Not Taylah, she is not the soft one, and that confidence shines.

$4 is exactly what we all have right now. About the struggle so many have today, while we still make life happen. A song that describes the situation now, with maybe some positivity hidden in it. We owe more than we have, but survive, and hope for better times. Her guitar shines here, maybe feeling warmed up and feeling the crowd loves it.

Hoping the crowd joins in a singalong, she shows she knows her covers. The intimate set suits this version of Just the Two of Us and after the second chorus, the crowd decides to join in. Taylah, who just last week opened for L.A.B. and Dave Dobbin, will become a bigger voice in Aotearoa. So, knowing the crowd was part of a small intimate gig singing along with her while she could hear all our individual voices must become a great memory. She takes the crowd into a Che Fu song.

Before a song off the EP, Descendant, plays, she warns it’s an emotional song for her tonight. Having whānau in the audience means a lot to her as she performs this song tonight. The small tear and emotion on her face as the last note rolled over the crowd felt honest and real. And after the roaring lyrics about power, the loudest applause broke loose.

She gets it back together, with even more energy. The song Okay closes the evening. She gives the message to support local artists and to enjoy as much music as you can. The final applause is well deserved.

A voice that will make it further. The +60k streams on many of her songs and more gigs planned mean you should make sure you get to know her. There is a different feeling around an EP release show. These are songs that have often lived quietly on a phone, in notebooks or rehearsal rooms before finally finding an audience. Tonight felt less like a performance and more like an invitation into that journey.

Photo Credit: Coen Cramer for Muzic.NZ
Taylah Photo Gallery
Human Peeb Photo Gallery