Concert Review - Iona Zajac - Hawke's Bay - 15th April 2026
Presented by The Small Hall Sessions
Review By: Rob Harbers
Event: Iona Zajac - A Small Hall Session
Venue/City: Te Awanga Hall, Hastings, New Zealand
Date of Event: Wednesday 15th April 2026
From helming The Pogues in front of a crowd of thousands, to three nights later performing for 104 people in the Te Awanga Hall, such is the contrast for Iona Zajac, the star attraction of the current run of Small Hall Sessions. Through a fortuitous connection, backed up by the sheer magnetism of the Small Halls experience, the current lead singer of The Pogues is performing just two solo side shows alongside the band’s trek through the Antipodes, and both of them are Small Hall Sessions. Fine praise indeed for what has become an institution of the live music scene of Te-Matau-A-Māui.
The sidebar to this pair of sidebars is the support act for this brace of appearances, our very own Sarah Wiig. Performing an original set that served to reinforce the region’s slogan of ‘Great Things Grow Here’, this formed the perfect complement to the main act. Songs drawn from true lives – that don’t, due to Sarah’s otherwise busy life, get as much of an airing as they deserve. Sarah commented that she felt something akin to coming out of retirement, playing this set tonight! Well, Sarah, any time you feel like extending the experience, I’m sure you’ll find a welcoming audience, based on this showing and the reaction it received.
After such a grand introduction, it fell to Iona to draw in the audience, a task achieved effortlessly with an acapella rendition of the traditional Skipping Barefoot Through The Heather. This captured attention from the start, the audio enhanced by the sound of crashing waves not 10 metres away. Sticking with the traditionals, she picked up the guitar to perform Geordie, the fateful tale of a man doomed to death for the act of trying to feed his family. Moving into original material, in Iona’s words getting to experience the ‘inner workings of my own mind’, Red Corn Poppies told a tale inspired by cold November rain (where nothing lasts forever, according to other singers) and vitamin deprivation – the joys of student life, indeed!
Having thus far relied on her acoustic guitar for accompaniment, Bang, the title track of her recently released debut album, saw her taking up the glorious silver electric that she’d borrowed from the previous night’s dinner host (a long story). This added an extra level of depth to the sonic palette, apposite for the lyrical content of the songs. The silver beast accompanied four songs, up till Is That A Koala?, a tale of displacement, confusion, and confrontation at SXSW (guess you had to be there – more on this anon!)
Summer, a song of hope that transcends the message of the Emily Dickinson poem it’s inspired by, was dedicated to all those in the world suffering the consequences of conflicts beyond their making, particularly those subject to genocidal actions – a very timely reminder of the privileged position in which we find ourselves. There but for the grace, and all that…
Returning to the traditionals, the first of a duality of songs about Mary (some say There’s Something About her, after all!) was Four Marys, the woeful tale of the fate of one of Mary Queen of Scots’ ladies-in-waiting, followed by the very upbeat – in more than one sense – Mary Mac. One could have been excused for wondering if they had wandered into some kind of Catholic scene, given all the Marys – in the current political climate, in a development no-one saw coming, maybe not the worst side to be on! But I digress…
Chicken Supermarket, which followed, put meat on the bones of the earlier promise to explore the mind’s inner workings – a recounting of surreal subconscious landscapes and experiences. But then it was time for a real treat, with the tinkling of the ivories of Jamie’s venerable organ – not only Iona’s first ever stage performance on piano, but also the world premiere of a brand new song. This number, which I unfortunately failed to catch the name of, is deeply atmospheric, reminding me strongly of Angelo Badalamenti’s soundscapes that accompanied Julee Cruise (remember her, anyone?) Very promising indeed!
Iona’s lyrical inspiration often derives from real life, exemplified by next song Dilute, an ‘angry song for young men’ that channels the rage engendered (no pun intended) by toxic masculinity and overgrown boys in general. Lads, she’s had enough of your shit, OK? Counterpointing this outburst was the penultimate Murder Mystery, in spite of the title an upbeat celebration of girl power, through the lens of Scandi Noir – an interesting take.
After earlier apologising to anyone in the audience who may have come along expecting a show comprised of Pogues songs, the finale was a sop to such expectations, the song originally sung by Cait O’Riordan some 40-odd years back, I’m A Man you Don’t Meet Every Day, showing how she got the gig (as if anybody was still wondering, that is!). And with that, it was done, and a hugely satisfied audience left with an experience they’ll treasure for some time.
An experience still open to a select few, with a few tickets left for Thursday night in Maraekakaho – go to smallhallsessions.co.nz to be in!
Small Hall Sessions
Iona Zajac Small Hall Session 2026