Alex Warren is one of the most exciting artists going around, exploding onto the scene with smash hits and an earnestness that has really resonated with audiences. It was only last year that he was playing at the Hordern Pavilion in Moore Park (although demand definitely outstripped supply there) and within a year, he has returned for three back-to-back sold-out nights at the newly named Afterpay Arena as part of his world tour for his sophomore album. 

Warren has been coming off a nasty bout of the flu, which resulted in the cancellation of his Auckland show. When he took to the stage, he warned the audience, saying, “Your boy has the flu but we’re going to have fun tonight”, which was immediately followed by a hacking cough amplified by the microphone that almost felt like a bit of extra proof. However, this mattered little to the crowd, who had filled the stadium and were also watching live on TikTok as Warren streamed the concert for his global audience on the platform that initially brought him fame. 

Before Warren took to the stage, the audience were privileged to hear Alyssa Grace who is building quite a name for herself with an ever-increasing following. Her cover of “Creep” was rich and powerful, really showing off the beauty in her voice, while her hit “Bloodstream” also resonated well with the audience. Her songwriting was introspective but also felt powerful and poignant and Grace’s voice filled the arena, which was nearly at capacity for her set an hour before Warren took to the stage. There is no doubt that Grace has a bright future ahead and it was a pleasure to hear her live.

Warren took to the stage dressed in a Harry Styles-esque red jacket which really popped against the background of his set as the audience screamed around him. With Warren suffering from the flu, his band and backing vocalists really had to step up and they were up to the challenge putting on an impressive show as they traversed a number of genres, and Warren’s male backing vocalist doubled him at quite a few points in the show, ensuring that his illness was not too obvious. Warren also did an exceptional job of covering any vocal malaise, although he was clearly self-conscious about it, warning the audience at multiple points that he was about to suffer a voice crack which ultimately never came.

“It’s great to be back in Australia,” he said to huge cheers. 

His set was a nice mix of songs from throughout his discography, with the powerful “Bloodline” and rich “First Time on Earth” being highlights of the first part of the show, before he moved into a really beautiful performance of “You’ll Be Alright, Kid” that showed both his passion and his grit. While the number of dark humour-tinged posters about death and loss were perhaps a little off-putting before the show, their context became clear as Warren moved through the set, with much of his songwriting dedicated to the loss of his parents. His dad passed away when he was very young, while his mum died from cancer somewhat recently. This gave his songwriting an extra edge and dimension, and really allowed the audience to connect with Warren, who was extremely open in sharing his struggles with the crowd and engaging with them as they told their own stories.

“I’m a two-trick pony, I write songs about my dead parents and I write songs about my wife”, said Warren. 

And indeed, in amongst the songs about loss, Warren also had some beautiful love songs, with one of the highlights of the night came when Warren took to the B stage for an acoustic set of love songs, with “Catch My Breath” and the gorgeous “Heaven Without You” among the highlights. They showed the quality of Warren’s writing and showed the singer really in his element, even in spite of his vocal fragility with the flu. 

It was also at this point that he had the opportunity to play some songs from his new album, WILDCHILD (released on the night of the show) with “Same Stars” and “Fine Place To Die”, connecting strongly with the audience. There was frequent audience engagement, with Warren noticing a family dressed as Loraxes near the B stage and inviting them back onto the stage for his encore, which was in keeping with his open attitude towards the crowd for the entire show. 

It was interesting that the show was being live streamed on TikTok and Warren made quite a point of announcing this at various points in a way that occasionally felt off-putting, veering towards product placement at times, with at least 10 mentions of TikTok (or a variant like Booktok) throughout the night. While this was apt, given that TikTok is where Warren made his start and was discovered, it ran the risk of making the audience feel like an afterthought in a performance that was partly geared towards the online crowd. Perhaps it would have made more sense to have an exclusive intimate gig for Warren’s closest fans that was filmed for TikTok, perhaps at the aptly named TikTok Entertainment Centre, rather than a gig that occasionally felt caught between catering to the audience in the arena and those watching online.

Warren returned to the main stage for some of his biggest hits before closing with a powerful rendition of “Ordinary”, which was a great way to finish the night. Keeping to his form of pointing out everyone in the audience from those at the very back to those in the mosh pit, he eschewed the typical perfunctory wave before leaving the stage and instead did a lap of the mosh pit to the B-stage and back, thanking everyone in the crowd. It was a nice touch to end the night.

Overall, this was a strong show, with Warren showing off his discography and delighting a fanbase whose numbers are only continuing to grow. While he was still clearly suffering from illness, he and his band covered this extremely well and minimised it as a potential issue as much as possible. The only thing that stood out was the feeling that this was at times more of a TikTok concert than an in-person concert but those in the audience did not seem to mind too much, as they were grateful to see the singer in person. A wonderful night at Afterpay Arena.

Rating: ★★★★

Alex Warren – Afterpay Arena – 28 August 2026

All photo credits: Iain McGregor