Live Review: Holly Hebe @ The Tuning Fork, Auckland

Holly Hebe debuted at Auckland’s Tuning Fork last night (29 July), her recently released EP Mood Ring bringing forth an evening of colour and melody.

The venue was softly lit and dotted with cocktail tables, each table adorned with small square stickers that featured a QR code for Hebe’s new album and a colour palette of a mood ring, a thoughtful touch that set the tone for the night of divine feminine energy.

To begin the evening, Melbourne-based vocalist Sammi Heaney opened with nothing more than an acoustic guitar. Dressed in a dusky pink jacket, she began with Your Baby, a number that brimmed with emotion and held those present in quiet awe.

Thanking everyone for making the effort to arrive early for her set, Heaney moved into her personal favourite entitled Anything At All, a heartbreaking song written about someone she loved who she would have moved worlds for, but who did not feel the same way. The song was not only touching but relatable; the lyricism, in particular, was one of its standout features, Heaney delivering it with poise.

Using the opportunity to drop some new music, Heaney soon had the audience chuckling as she introduced the song with a story of how she had met a new crush and had fallen down the rabbit hole of social media investigation, finding both their parents’ Facebook pages and other associated family members, right down to their workplaces.

A cover of her current favourite song by Olivia Rodrigo entitled the cure, which was only released back in May, had those in attendance smitten, many of them softly singing along, Heaney smiling as she watched them.

She then gently shifted into a piece entitled Lie, which she wrote for her best friend; a friend who, after five years with their partner, realised that they just did not love them anymore, and how, despite them doing nothing wrong, she had to end the relationship as much as it broke her to do so.

Heaney spoke of how her friend came to her, torn by the conflicting emotions they were feeling. Not knowing what to say, Heaney instead wrote the song for them, a song that to this day their best friend loves and hates simultaneously. Listening to Heaney speak, it was evident that her songs truly do come from the heart, and they speak to the maturity of her lyricism.

While Heaney does not currently have any music on streaming services at the moment, she is about to drop her track Guilty, a song that she wrote in tears on her bedroom floor. The room was silent as her breathtaking falsetto filled the air, some of those in the front row gently swaying as Heaney gently plucked the notes from the guitar strings as if picking wildflowers in a quiet field.

Closing her set with Blue Again, Heaney moved to a keyboard, explaining as she did that her last song was about being in a good place in life but still feeling a little sad at the same time, once again a concept that many of those present could relate to.

Demonstrating that she is just as proficient on the keys as she is with the strings, Heaney finished with a simple thank you and a gentle nod, the applause letting her know that her set was not only well received but genuinely appreciated.

A brief intermission made way for a complete change of tempo as Lucy Gray took to the stage accompanied by her DJ, Tom.

Soft lighting was replaced by piercing strobes and punchy beats, Gray dressed in black and grey tie-dyed pants and a black top, owned the stage completely as she punched the air to G-R-O-U-P-I-E, released earlier this year, the front rows immediately breaking out their own dance moves.

Originally from Ōtautahi (Christchurch), Gray made her debut in 2022; a climate activist, her song Rise Up was played at student climate strikes, her earlier music style deeply rooted in pop with a touch of country.

But in four years a definitive evolution has occurred, Gray informing everyone that her set would include many unreleased tracks that would be featuring on her new EP that she has only just finished this week, and which will be released early next year. Giving credit where credit is due, Gray advised that her DJ Tom produced many of the tracks and that she would point out which ones throughout the set so that everyone could give him a round of well-deserved applause.

Inspired by artists such as Oklou, underscores, Brakence and Jane Remover, Gray has morphed into the realms of hyperpop, her track Phone Song being their self-proclaimed “pivot point.” A far cry from her earlier work such as Your Name and Pretty, released back in 2023.

But it is a shift that suits her; watching her live, there would be no question that this is the genre that she embraces and thrives in, the pure joy emanating from her during her performance infectious and igniting the room while simultaneously transforming the venue into a club night.

Toning it down just a touch, Gray delivers a more pop-inspired song that showcases her voice before once again changing gears and tearing up the stage with an original that will, with no doubt, be blowing up club speakers upon its release.

You and I, quickly followed on its heels, yet another club banger that was impossible not to move to, Gray feeding off the symbiotic energy that had been created between her and the audience, as she bounced across the stage. Tom pointed out that Gray was far too humble to mention that she herself had produced the track.

Like a Star edged itself back into the pop world, however, it still held the fans with its hooks, a song that could easily be a favourite on morning radio during the long commute to work in order to brighten up the day.

Produced by Tom, Gray dropped her favourite that she advised will more than likely be the next track released, once again the distortion and pitch-shifted vocals combined with rather honest lyrics perfectly balanced to create what is sure to be an instant hit.

Gray’s set almost flew by, the energy and vibe it created turning the Tuning Fork into a nightclub where one was free to express themselves as they wish. Gray enquired as to whether there were any Lorde fans present, her choice of cover to end her set rather interesting yet executed well as she delivered 400 Lux from her 2013 debut album Pure Heroine.

With two very different and yet both spectacular opening acts, the scene was set for Holly Hebe to make her New Zealand debut.

With those down front settling into prime viewing positions, their faces expectantly lifted towards the stage, Hebe made her entrance accompanied by drummer Ben, who took up position behind the kit just off to the left.

Soft purples and pinks lit the stage as Hebe, wearing her signature hairclips and a black ensemble, stepped forward and began to play the opening notes to Mood Ring on the keyboard, before traversing the stage much to the fans' delight.

The addition of a live drummer elevated the set as Hebe shifted into Swimsuit, a song for long days on the beach, as its pop gilded hooks reminded us that fleeting summer romances are never “just a kiss.”

After thanking those standing before her, as well as her drummer Ben, Hebe graciously requested everyone to clap extra hard for him as he had to return to Australia first thing in the morning, which meant that he had to leave the hotel at 2 am, which was only a few hours away. The collective groan that rose from those present conveyed that they all could feel that pain.

Delivering one of her older tracks from 2025, Billboards is a quintessential road trip song. Hebe’s vocals, which are buttery soft, float in between the notes with each breath like silk. Changing tack and illustrating that their work is rather versatile, Hebe moved into Don’t Come Crying, which usually she would play with her “big set up” but that tonight she would “pretend” on the keyboard that she had; Hebe still able to pull from it wonderful soundscapes that framed the song as only she could.

“Thank you to Lucy for letting me use her keyboard for this tour,” Hebe beamed, the girl code between the three friends evident and quite frankly uplifting in artists so young.

Strobe Lights were accompanied by exactly that, strobe lights, Hebe silhouetted against the backdrop of her name as she danced across the stage, hyping up the crowd as she did so, her self-assurance in her own abilities palpable.

Explaining that this was their third show together, Hebe giggled as she spoke of how lucky she was to be travelling and performing with her best friends and that when overtired, there is no grumpiness, just tears of laughter instead.

Based in Naarm, Hebe is pushing into new territory with her EP Mood Ring, as she explores heartbreak and superstition, the emotions that accompany the different scenarios one’s life often finds themselves in and the sounds and colours that Hebe experiences during these moments.

Maybe I’m Growing, originally performed on a guitar, was instead delivered via the keys, a touching coming-of-age song. Ben came in at just the right moment with atmospheric symbols which embodied the emotions that Hebe is exploring within her music.

Breaking their set into colours, there was a pink section and a green, Hebe herself wearing a mood ring and exclaiming with delight that it was currently dark blue, which was exactly the colour that matched the track she was about to perform, entitled Baby Pick Your Phone Up. Building to a crescendo, that colour palette indeed suited it well.

“I was in the pit of despair when I wrote this song,” Hebe solemnly told the crowd, going on to speak of how grateful she was to her producer Rob, who let her sit at the piano for as long as she needed to work out that engulfing emotion on the piano. The result was Nineteen, a song that Hebe stated was a “thank God” for her, so it was rather appropriate that just at that moment the stage was lit with hues of green, a healing colour, those attention to detail only adding to the overall ambience of her set.

It is certainly not hard to see why Hebe has recently been selected as one of Live Nation’s Next On artists, with songs such as Crying Your Eyes Out, which encompasses her self-described “soft DnB”, sweeping attendees off their feet. Do not be surprised to hear this song being remixed at summer festivals, Ben’s impressive up-tempo drumming adorning it with the cherry on top that it deserved.

Snap Out of It gave the fans the opportunity to participate as Hebe invited them to join in on a little call and response during the chorus, Hebe illustrating that she knows just how to create that connection. Leading into Hot and Ultra Love, it ensured that the audience were vibing with her, and while some of them may not have been familiar with the melodies, they could still embrace them as they saw fit, whether that be by quietly nodding along to that DnB beat or waving their arms in the air to the anthemic overtones of Hot.

Conveying that this was “the pink song” Hebe shifted into Birthmark released this year which she views as a collaborative effort between herself and her fans as she had requested that they send her voice notes from which the foundation of the song was built from. And that while she was back in Melbourne tomorrow, Hebe had thoroughly enjoyed her time in Auckland and was deeply inspired by the framed posters lining the walls of Tuning Fork from the shows of many of her favourite artists.

Closing her set with Bottle Blonde and Hat Hair, the former was a well-executed layering of pop that knew instinctively just when to peel it back to deliver the knockout acapella line, Hebe’s vocal talents ensuring that it was indeed a showstopper.

Hat Hair finished the set on a high, the upbeat number another cleverly layered composition with heavy drum flourishes that punctuated it in all the right places.

Not a single person left the Tuning Fork without a smile on their face; three very different sets from three very talented artists; Holly Hebe leading the way forward to those big stages that will, without a doubt, be calling her soon.