Pan Amsterdam – Tuning Fork: January 25, 2026 (13th Floor Concert Review)
On a whim, thanks to the wonder of the web, Pan Amsterdam turned out to be a musical odyssey. Pan Amsterdam is a construct, an alter ego for Houston born, NYC trained, Jazz trumpeter Leron Thomas, whose resume includes collaborations with Erykah Badu, Mos Def, Robert Glasper, and yes, Iggy Pop.
Pan Amsterdam came, as a means to earn a bigger crust, to supplement his luminous Jazz efforts and collaborations in NYC York and Paris. Revisiting the Hip Hop jazz fusions of the 1990’s, in 2018 he started to create unrestrained by genre expectations. A lucky six degrees of separation situation saw an early effort, a song called Plus One, shared with Iggy Pop, who loved it, played it on his BBC 6 Music show, they did a collab 7” – Mobile (as Pan Amsterdam) A connection that saw him play on Iggy’s 2019 Jazz album Free, and become part of Iggy Pop’s touring band.
2026 four albums on, the latest one Confines, out in 2025, Pan Amsterdam is in Aotearoa as part of Iggy Pop’s tour, and opportunity knocks as tonight, on a holiday weekend Sunday, at the Tuning Fork, we are fortuitously all together.
Geneva AM
I have to drag Jessica along, my plus tahi, stopping her regaling story to security guards on our discovery that Geneva AM is opening tonight, she is her biggest fan. But I need to get inside, as she has already started, we had no idea that Geneva AM was opening, nothing was shared to the world wide web, and WTF’s and Fuck Yeah’s intermingle.
Geneva AM (Geneva Alexander-Marsters), adorned in a swishing headpiece, is onstage with DJ, already, filling the whare with beats based waiata, the frugally filled whare has the folk focussed to the front of the stage, some perplexed, but many already catching her rhythms and vibes. Geneva AM released her widely loved and upped album Pikipiki last year, and it became a firm favourite amongst the discerning. Tonight, songs from it feature proficuously, and her flawless (to this ear) singing (mostly) in Te Reo Maori sit harmonically, harmoniously aloft the predominantly electro beats, house melodies and occasional emo-guitar riffs being managed, manipulated from behind.
But Geneva AM is not content, contrived to just let her waiata korero for her. The swishing headpiece, cloak almost has purpose, as she uses it and her figure to create visual moving montages during the performance, in tandem her hands and arms become messengers to the audience, together her motions belay the sparsity of others on the stage. As tangata came closer, the infectious beats, and her vocal interactions with the audience, gained more movement, as many in the crowd gained confidence. Songs like Tutira Mai Ngā Iwi and Toitū Te Tiriti connected to many in the whare, in song and familiarity, but as a performer, triumphs came in infectious compositions like Purea Nei, as they really worked the room.
Pan Amsterdam
The DJ is earning his cash money tonight, as he continues beyond Geneva AM, playing a selection of house and Jazz infused hip hop (likely circa 1990s) and staying to mahi with Pan Amsterdam as he arrives. There are two mikes standing, and quickly Pan Amsterdam is darting between them, vocals vs trumpet, grinning infectiously, and in between songs as he regales the audience about life, his music and being onstage tonight.
He exudes confidence, as his nga kupu (words) flow over the fused beats and rhythms, unabashedly 90s hip hop influenced, the timing sometimes switches between the flow of kupu and waiata. But it is the addition of his Jazz trumpeting that expands his compositions, his vorticity and candor in skill and style are impressive, and adds a sense of authenticity to his creativity. Many of the songs tonight feature from Confines, his 2025 album, but as the night flows, Pan Amsterdam digs into his kete and pulls out songs from the start, including, late in the set, Plus One, the song that started his connection with Iggy (sadly no surprise guest), so it’s not the re-envisioned version with him guesting, that appears on Confines.
Food features fundamentally, as songs played on the theme, Carrot Cake, Rigatoni and Kun G Chicken, leading into them with cracked jokes and occasional audience interactions. We get the vibe, and grab kai from the bar (Popcorn Prawns) for a moment. White Ninja and NYC Town (another colab, this time with UK electronic dance outfit Metronomy) showcase the shift on Confines, a slight hat tip to electronica that has started to pervade Pan Amsterdam‘s newer compositions.
Tonight, as Pan Amsterdam he himself states, the room is filled with the hardcore, it matters not, as he delivered a delicious night of Jazz, 90’s Hip hop and trances of electronica, and a Beat-Poet like assemble of nga kupu (words). Tonight, he held attention, precipice-like, attending with the beat and moving the folk. As both exit stage left, the exiting music continued, there were calls for an encore, but none came, perhaps Pan Amsterdam had had his fill, I know, we, Jessica and I felt sated.
Simon Coffey
Pan Amsterdam:
Geneva AM:
