bReview: Black Country, New Road

Tuesday 3 March 2026 at the Powerstation
Photography by Calum Dewsnap
Written by Alex Fox

Black Country, New Road are, just 5 years after the release of their first album, legends. A sextet, the band covers all the instruments you could want. Guitar (Luke Mark), keys and accordion (May Kershaw), bass (Tyler Hyde), drums (Charlie Wayne), saxophone (Lewis Evans) and of course, either the mandolin or violin (Georgia Ellery). Vocals, currently, are shared between Kershaw, Hyde, and Ellery. One of the most established groups in the indie scene of the 2020s, they’re touring last year’s album, Forever Howlong. It’s their second time touring here, and the first in support of a studio album. It’s also my second time seeing them, and I wouldn’t miss it for the world. That is both because they’re exceptional performers, and they just might have been my favourite band for the last 3 and a half years.

BC,NR are supported by Ringlets. Local stars, and no strangers to 95bFM’s rotation, Ringlets are always phenomenal. A tight set, they play a collection of songs from their album released last year, The Lord is My German Shepard (Time For Walkies), and some others. The floor is already packed, as you would expect for hometown heroes, who are responsible for some of the best rock-adjacent music to come out of Tāmaki Makaurau in a couple years. From ‘I Used to Paint’ to ‘Ancient Gays’, the band have guitar licks that scratch my brain, and their vocalist, Leith Towers, has an almost sardonic yet emphatic approach that feels undeniably grounded in Aotearoa. But unfortunately, their set only goes on for so long, as they leave the stage to make way for the main act.

(Ringlets at the Powerstation / Photo: Calum Dewsnap)

(Ringlets at the Powerstation / Photo: Calum Dewsnap)

The lights go out, and Petula Clark’s ‘Downtown’ begins to play. The sextet take to the stage, and don't wait too long before launching into their first song. Happy Birthday, the second single from the album, which was coincidentally released exactly a year ago, starts us off. It’s a fantastic introduction, allowing each member of the band to shine. Hyde takes the vocals for this one, while Ellery and Kershaw use their talents to bring the baroque sound that found its home in the album right out the gate. There is ample room for the other three to shine also, with well placed guitar riffs, thudding drums, and the glorious saxophone accenting the melodies. Oh, and of course, there’s the most beautiful harmonies you’ll likely hear between the vocalists. Their second song, ‘The Big Spin’ sees guitarist Mark switch to the acoustic for Kershaw's first track of the night. One of their shorter tracks, it's not without theatrical highs and technical brilliance. They segue it into their third, Salem Sisters, which they end with an almost marching drum from Wayne.

They take a moment, now, and Wayne addresses the crowd. “Yo, what’s up,” and “it’s awesome to be back” are always sure to get an audience going, and tonight is no exception. According to him, it's “crowd work like that” that keeps a band on stage and touring. The next song they play is special. It’s a song that’s technically not on the record, as by the time it made it there, it had changed substantially. But this is the original version, written here, in Tāmaki Makaurau, two years ago. What would become ‘Mary’ was instead ‘Auckland,’ and what better place to return to that version is there. Performed live, the gentle plucking of guitar strings almost takes a discordant, out of tune tone, for what feels like it should be an unsettling song. It’s their most stripped back of the night, with Wayne abandoning the drums for a banjo, and Kershaw picking up the accordion. The real star of the track is the vocal trios harmonies through the entire song, singing each part in unison. It’s haunting, despite the lyrics speaking of being at the beach. Of course, instruments still get a time to shine, with Lewis taking the lead for a flute solo, joined by ellery plucking the violin. “Wish we could stay longer here but we’ve got to get back home” - a great line to perform a song about the city you’re in.

(Black Country, New Road at the Powerstation / Photo: Calum Dewsnap)

Song 6, ‘Nancy Tries to Take the Night’, picks the energy up. A longer song, once more were treated with effortless weaving of responsibilities on stage throughout. Hyde and Mark start the track, before Lewis comes in with an intense and hasty sax line, followed by Wayne with my favourite piece of drums of the night. There is a panic to the song, a hurriedness, yet the band is calm and in control. Hyde is using a string instrument bow on the bass. The echoing refrain of “do you want it” serves as the emotional climax of the song, capping already heart-wrenching lyricism, before the band, and the room, quietens down with a somber end.

Of course, it’s never good to stay in one place mood wise for too long. Song 6, ‘Besties’, the first single from the album, is undeniably chipper. If you ignore the lyrics about being torn over feelings for a friend. It’s the most ‘baroque’ of the album, at least at face value, with Ellery wielding a mandolin, and Kershaw replicating a harpsichord.

The announcement that they’d play a new song was met with the simple heckle of “bring it on”. Lewis takes keyboard duties, and I realise that, until now, Mark has spent a lot of time with the acoustic guitar rather than the electric. A soft, key and harmony driven beginning, accompanied by a soft guitar line, makes it so easy to get lost in this performance. Wayne’s passionate drumming kicks in, and Ellery starts with the strings, before what was a serene start becomes an emotive and loud banger. It's always a nice surprise to hear a new track at a gig, and this was certainly no different. It matches the tone of the rest of the concert, but offers a slightly new flavour for just a minute.

Song 8, ‘Socks’, is followed by another surprise. The song, ‘Dancers’, is a relic from their last tour here, as a part of their material that made it onto their Live at Bush Hall live album. Hyde takes centre (more accurately, right) stage, holding solo vocal duties and control of the keys, in a far sparser arrangement than here than in the recorded version. Hyde sings “it was a great piece, but i wanted to rip my ears out”, and while half of that rings true, the latter half certainly does not.

(Black Country, New Road at the Powerstation / Photo: Calum Dewsnap)

The 10th song of the night is a cover. Big Star, Hyde tells us, is "one of the best bands to have ever existed”. For ‘The Ballad of El Goodo,’ there’s yet another instrument switch up, with Ellery taking the acoustic guitar, Hyde and Ellery switching vocals between higher and lower melodies, and Evans providing the main backing vocals. Song 11 is Two Horses, a western(ish) track that sees Ellery lead the way on the mandolin and vocals. Initially starting out calm and gentle, the track soon builds into a simultaneously chaotic and controlled build that, in the venue, manages to capture the speed and energy of galloping horses, thanks to the almost erratic keys and quick and unrelenting drums.

The third to last song, title track ‘Forever Howlong’, features the band, sans Kershaw, on recorders. It was always going to be the most interesting to hear live. An already bizarre concept for a song, on stage it feels even more so. But it works. The room is silent, with a slight roll of laughter, as what should feel like a gimmick track plays out. But Kershaw commands the stage, hands conducting the rest of the band in their recorder chorus, before she spares one hand to man the accordion. The song isn’t without its hilarity; when Kershaw sings of a “hesitating silence” the powerstation falls silent, for just long enough that you can hear the crowd start to get uncertain. It's a track that feels unserious in a serious way, a performance that would belong in a comedic context, but the band on stage makes work through sheer discipline and teamwork.

The penultimate track is either the appropriately or inappropriately named ‘Goodbye (Don’t tell me)’. As an (almost) send-off, it’s perfect. As a performance, it embodies the band’s willingness to go from zero to one hundred at the drop of a hat, with a beautiful co-ordination that knows how to fill the ears. To begin, the left half of the stage, Ellery, Mark, and Hyde, are the only band members playing. The song is the final track on the album, but it's not the end here.

This is the moment that the band addresses the flag thats adorned Kershaw’s keys for the duration of the show. “For the love of god Free Palestine, and hands off Iran”. And into their final song they went. To tell the absolute truth, for their final song, I forgot about reviewing entirely. The track, ‘For the Cold Country,’ is my favourite of theirs. With a flair that can only be described as medieval, the band takes the audience on a journey through the band's most serene melodies, most vulnerable lyrics, and loudest moments. The final throes of the song see the band playing their heart out, each member giving their all to deliver on their role. The end result is captivating and dramatic, before being silenced in favour of, in keeping with the rest of the show, some slow and calm melodies from the ever-enchanting vocal trio. And that’s that. There is no encore; there is no need. Instead, the band take their time leaving the stage, thanking the audience to raucous applause. Their job was certainly done.

Watching a band like Black Country, New Road perform is the kind of experience that makes you remember why you love music. There can be absolutely no doubt that each of those musicians on stage are extraordinarily talented, and every intentional second of their performance is a reminder of that, yet they never overpower. There is never a feeling that one member is less or more, and their individual sparkles never dull each other. This is a band in their prime, United through a radiating passion for the music they’re performing. There’s no limit to the bands creativity, but that never gets in the way of their co-operation. Maybe in exactly two years again, they’ll be performing here once more. But until then, it's unlikely that anyone here is going to see a more unified, and dare I say perfect, band and performance.