Bic Runga is Kiwi pop royalty, with a career spanning many decades and captivating millions of fans around the world. With a wonderful, clear and crisp voice, it is no surprise that Runga chose the City Recital Hall, with its fabulous acoustics, for her return to Australia to promote her new album, Red Sunset, which is her first full-length release in 15 years.

The crowd at the venue was quite low-key but they were excited for Runga’s return as she walked out onto the stage with her three-piece band to a very understated set behind her, with some light visuals to accompany the performance. Runga began the show with “Paris in the Rain”, which was an inviting start to the night and immediately showed off the lightness and beauty of her vocals while showcasing her new album.

For the majority of the rest of the set, Runga played with guitar in hand, demonstrating some incredible musicality alongside percussionist Kody Nielson (also known as Silicon), pianist Karl Benton and bassist Cass Basil, which gave life to the tracks throughout the set. The set was heavily driven by her new work, with “It’s Like Summertime” and “Escape from Planet Earth” being particularly well received. But it was some of her older tracks that received the biggest reaction, with “Get Some Sleep” being one of the highlights of the night, as Runga showed off the pure beauty and warmth of her voice on guitar.

“I hope you’re not just waiting for Sway,” said Runga to laughter from the audience.

Runga did not interact too much with the audience aside from briefly contextualising the songs and this meant that the set was quite short at just over an hour in length despite Runga playing 16 songs. But the breadth of Runga’s discography meant that this was not felt too much and the audience clearly appreciated the opportunity to experience some high-quality music in a beautiful venue.

As Runga moved through her setlist, she stayed fairly true to the album versions, with “Something Good” delighting the crowd before she closed out the night with some of her older tracks. “Listening for the Weather” was executed exceptionally well before a beautiful solo rendition of “Drive” took the audience’s breath away. Runga then closed with “Sway” which was the song that everyone in the room was waiting for. She performed it true to the record, showing off her beautiful voice and giving the audience a great closer to the night.

Overall, this was a great night of music, with Runga showcasing her beautiful voice and some great new tracks from her latest album. While the set was quite short, the crowd got everything they wanted, with some beautiful renditions of her older work and of course “Sway”, which felt as beautiful as when it was first released. Runga’s voice shone in the City Recital Hall and the audience left very happy with the gorgeous performance.

Rating: ★★★★

Bic Runga – City Recital Hall – 12 April 2026