Violet Hirst — Auckland Old Folks Association: February 1, 2026 (13th Floor Concert Review)

Violet Hirst’s Sunday night performance at the Auckland Old Folks Association affirmed her standing as one of Aotearoa’s most quietly distinctive contemporary songwriters.

The small central-city venue— known for its intimate acoustics and community warmth—proved an ideal setting for a set built on nuance, space, and emotional precision. Hirst’s reputation for layered vocals, familiar melodies, and theatrical subtlety has been well-documented ahead of this tour, and her Auckland appearance demonstrated exactly why. This was the final night of a tour of small halls across both Islands of Aotearoa.

Jude Kelly

Jude Kelly opened the evening with a magnetic set that immediately drew the room in. Performing solo her stunning voice was centre stage with a vocal delivery that shifted between tender and steely, depending on the emotional weight of each song. This is the third time I have seen Kelly in the past year; the other times were at the Tuning Fork opening for first Amble then Freak Slug. The intimate setting of a loved but broken-down hall on the edge of K’Rd proved to be an ideal place for Kelly to remind us of what a rich and powerful instrument her voice is.

Her songs were drawn from her 2025 release The Seven Spirits of Her, opening with the delightful Siren Song before hitting us with one superb song after another each arriving as fully formed gems – Lucky, Like You and Clarence, all delivered with a calm intensity that held the audience in stillness. Her final song was a new one If You Love Me Let Me Go showcasing a continued maturing in her songwriting. Kelly’s stage presence remains assured, an artist and her guitar and she tonight offered the ideal tonal prelude, setting an emotional baseline the evening would build upon. A pleasure.

Violet Hirst

Violet Hirst’s growth has been evolving rather than sudden, shaped by a creative upbringing in Tāhuna/Queenstown and early immersion in music and performance. Her 2023 debut album Donegal remains her artistic milestone, having topped the SRN and Radioscope alternative charts and earned a Student Radio nomination for Best Album. Those studio achievements translated strongly on stage with Hirst leaning into quiet gestures, elongated phrasing, and a command of silence and stillness that kept the audience firmly engaged.

On this brief Aotearoa tour, she has been joined by Canadian, Madeleine Dove on vocals and keys, Hirst opened her set with songs from Donegal with Oh Honey, the contemplative Alternative Ways To Pray and melodic Brave Me. These songs, already fan favourites, felt markedly more intimate live thanks to Hirst’s fingerpicked guitar technique, her ability to thread emotional depth through sparse arrangements and the gentle harmony provided by Dove.

She then introduced a new song As It’s Ever Been displaying gentler textures and evocative of the isolation of living in the deep south. This was followed with a pleasing rendition of Alison Krause’s New Favourite.

For the second part of the set, she moved to the keys to deliver a change in tempo with Someone Watching and a soaring new song The Thief. The late set highlight was For You, her 2024 single, delivered with a stronger vocal presence than the recorded version, yet retaining its ethereal heart. The audience’s recognition was immediate, with many visibly leaning forward as the chorus arrived.

My Body unfolded slowly, anchored by looping vocal motifs and extended harmonies, signaling a shift toward more experimental and atmospheric writing. The quiet and flowing Only One was delivered by Hirst solo before she closed the night with a full audience participation singalong of Alphaville’s early 80’s synth pop Forever Young

An impromptu encore and massive audience request was an unplugged Lay with Me in Barns. She then finished with her planned encore part classic pop song, part torch song to cap the night.

Sunday night’ audience was very attentive, often sitting in near-complete silence, broken only by the occasional creak of chairs. Such stillness is not a given at small-venue gigs, but Hirst’s command of dynamics and pacing created an atmosphere where every breath and phrase felt accounted for. That is not to suggest that they were not engaged, in fact they were highly supportive, responsive and deeply affected by the performance.

Hirst’s Auckland show confirmed that her current artistic trajectory is both deliberate and promising. She remains a songwriter capable of crafting intimate emotional landscapes, and her recent shift into more layered and experimental territory suggests a confidence in expanding the boundaries of her sound.

Dove’s harmonies added considerable texture, often elevating the emotional weight of a track without drawing attention away from Hirst’s lead. Their collaborative interplay—developed specifically for this tour—proved one of the night’s defining strengths. It would have added texture to the evening if Dove had shared some of her own work.

For an artist who has recently toured the US with Auckland’s rowdy three-piece Office Dog and played some sold out shows following Donegal’s success, this return to small local venues seems like a recalibration—a chance to refine material in front of caring audiences who listen as closely as she performs. Sometimes it is the unexpected performances that resonate longest and the small things that connect us as a people.

Overall, the impression of the evening was one of sharing, of commonality, a community joining together to celebrate and support their own. An appreciation for the talent and resilience of the artists to keep building and sharing their gifts. A perfect cozy Sunday evening filled with music and aroha in the little lost suburb of Newton.

John Hastings

Click on any image to view a photo gallery by Azrie Azizi:

Violet Hirst:

Jude Kelly:

 

John Hastings
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