Concert Review - Myles Smith - Auckland - 15th May 2025

Presented By Frontier Touring

Myles Smith Live in Auckland - Photo Credit Ginny Cocks

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Review By: Sarah Kidd

Artist/Band: Myles Smith Supported by Will Swinton

Venue/City: Powerstation, Auckland, New Zealand

Date of Event: Thursday 15th May 2025

Kiwi fans have been waiting a while to see Luton’s finest Myles Smith perform live thanks to a couple of postponements due to his lightning speed trajectory to the top of the worldwide charts and the constant reorganization of shows to bigger venues to cater for demand.

But judging by the smiles on people’s faces as they left the Powerstation last night, it was well worth the wait.

For some lucky fans this was actually the second time they were seeing Myles in twenty-four hours, thanks to a fan who was cheeky enough to send the British singer a message asking if he could play for his graduation. Smith who is certainly a man of the people, couldn’t have been happier too, so there he was last night in a grey hoodie, surrounded by his band playing on the little stage outside Spark Arena to graduates and their families.

But every good headliner needs an opening act, and it was clear by how packed out the venue was just after opening that many were there just as much for Aotearoa’s Will Swinton as they were for Smith.

A Tāmaki Makaurau local, Swinton started out like most musicians making music in his bedroom – but then the world turned upside down as Swinton made his way onto a Spotify playlist and caught the eye of people like MGK.

Taking a chance, he sold up everything and flew out to LA to pursue music, the gamble paying off as he was soon signed to 10K Projects/Capitol Records.

And it is easy to see why, as anyone who saw him at his headliner show at Double Whammy back in March could attest to; melodies that will happily take up home in your ears and relatable lyrics cocooned by a fantastically gravelly voice that holds far more maturity than his youthful years.

‘Hold You Again’ immediately had the crowd entranced; accompanied by a solid live band, he moved straight into ‘Need You Now’ which more than fair share of the audience knew every word to, the upbeat chorus filling the room with feel good vibes.

Having recently released his second EP entitled December Swinton moved into ‘Flames’ before closing with ‘Walls’ from the aforementioned latest offering, a track that builds in intensity in a subtle but powerful way.

When Smith and his band arrived, the room erupted, the show having sold out months beforehand meant people were wall to wall and every single one of them were there for Smith, who arrived proudly wearing an All Blacks shirt, his bassist an Auckland FC one – they are English after all…

Kicking it off with ‘Wait For You’ it was a sing-along from the start, which is the key in many ways to Smiths music. Simplistic in nature but with a heartfelt honesty to his lyricism, and a voice that is divine, Smith has created the perfect combo of pop music with the occasional dashes of Americana and folk to keep it interesting.

Speaking of how “gorgeous” it was to finally be here – a wonderful way to describe his feelings – Smith encouraged the fans to clap in time to ‘Behind’, his constant interaction and eye contact with different points in the room making everyone feel as if they were at a far more intimate performance. ‘Whisper’ soon bringing tears to more than a few eyes as he spoke of his Mum and how she told him that she would always be by his side.

It was the theme of the evening really, love found, love lost, the emotions that one goes through and how friends and family and even complete strangers in the right place at the right time can completely change your outlook on life. Love the great connector, and not just the kind that one experiences in a relationship, but the platonic type that is shared with friends and bandmates.

And that was certainly displayed by Smith and his bandmates; despite eighteen months on the road, they were one of the happiest groups of people to ever grace a stage, their vitality and genuine smiles radiating across the room.

Smith often paused throughout the night and spoke of his own personal battles with depression and isolation, ‘3AM’ a track about having his father leave at a very early age and the questions and insecurities that were generated by the situation within himself and his older brother. This coming from a man that before he decided to dive headfirst into a music career by posting songs from his bedroom onto TikTok, had graduated with a Sociology degree and ran his own company, often writing reports at two am in the morning. So, it is no wonder that he has such an interesting outlook on introspection, human interactions and the effect that they can have.

The message overall being one of simply being kind to one another, for it costs nothing, but means everything.

‘Solo’ was given an updated spin as Smith and guitarist Joe Devine changed the tempo throughout, extending the song as Daniel Said on drums kept impeccable rhythm. But it was Elliot Herrington’s incredible keyboard solo beforehand that was far more comprehensive than most would have expected from a pop show that really stole the moment.

Dropping a new EP on May 23rd entitled ‘A Minute, A Moment’, Smith treated those in attendance to a couple of new tracks including ‘Someone New’, ‘All My Life’ and ‘Nice to Meet You’ where those Americana stylings really shone through, reminiscent of the same foot tapping goodness that Mumford & Sons delivered years ago.

‘Gold’ also from the upcoming EP, was particularly catchy, a song about finding new love and the electricity that one feels when it happens guaranteed to be a hit that will dominate charts and Insta reels the world over.

Closing his set on ‘Little by Little’, Smith took the time to ask everyone in the room to hold their phones up and only turn on their torch lights if they answered yes to his set of questions, such as “Have you ever felt lonely”, or “Have you ever battled with mental health”. Soon enough the room was ablaze with tiny lights, Smith pointing out how we all battle demons from time to time and it is nothing to be ashamed of. Instead take strength from knowing that everyone is going through the same thing and to hold your head, and others up high.

The obligatory encore game was played, Smith soon returning to play ‘My Home’ and of course the ultimate earworm of the hour, ‘Stargazing’, the latter not once, but twice.

The first time he was joined by Will Swinton, the intertwining of their vocals quite phenomenal. The second time saw Smith get down into the middle of the audience and just let loose, everyone singing as one collective, the overwhelming joy of the moment palpable.

Ending with a flourish, Myles Smith and his band took much delight in throwing out a few caps and a couple of t-shirts before leaving with just as big of a grin as they walked in with. The audience grinning right on back.

Already signed to tour with Ed Sheeran across the US next year, Myles Smiths star is guaranteed to continue to rise and with it, hopefully, his message of kindness.

Because if the world needs anything right now, it is certainly that.

SET LIST
Wait For You
Behind
Whisper
Betting on Us
3AM
Solo
River
Someone New
All My Life
Nice to Meet You
Gold
Little By Little
My Home – encore
Stargazing – encore

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