Kaylee Bell
14th April 2024
The Town Hall, Auckland, New Zealand
Review by Sarah Kidd with photography by Doug Peters.
Saturday nights were made for country it would seem as the phenomenal Kaylee Bell brought her ‘Nights Like This’ national tour to a close in Tāmaki Makaurau’s beautiful Town Hall.
Kaylee Bell already has a well-established career, having released three albums, appearing on The Voice and supporting the mighty Ed Sheeran. With her latest album Nights Like This, Kaylee has proved that her star is only continuing to rise.
To kick start the night, the absolutely delightful Navvy – who has a smile that is so infectious that she soon had the entire room beaming – brought her own unique brand of pop music to the stage. Wearing an iconic t-shirt printed with images of herself, Navvy soon had the crowd eating out of her hand as they sang along to tracks such as ‘Till You’re Ready’ with relish. If you haven’t already caught Navvy live, do so the very next chance you get as she will leave you feeling on top of the world!
Whoops of delight were soon raising the roof as Kaylee Bell stepped out onto the stage with her band, (who consisted of Trevor Warman on bass, Corbin Kuhtze on drums and the amazing Aaron Prictor on lead guitar) her stunning red and white ensemble with glittering stars down the arms an absolute statement piece that matched perfectly with her white cowboy boots.
‘Take it to the Highway’ began the set in style, fans demonstrating very quickly that they had already embraced her latest album wholeheartedly as they sang along, Bell taking them all back to her 2021 EP The Red with ‘Getting Closer’, before hitting them again with new material with the uplifting ‘Good Things’.
While Bell certainly has oodles of material with which to entertain her fans, she is not afraid to demonstrate that she can also put her own spin on some well-known classics as well, her cover of ‘You Learn’ by Alanis Morissette an absolute hit with the fans.
Moving from acoustic guitar to electric with ease, Bell then dropped ‘Nights Like This’ and the room exploded into one big party, the energy of the title track of her latest album hard to ignore, the song combining elements of country, pop in just the right mix, while the amorous lyrics saw couples in the audience wrap their arms around each other as they danced.
An acoustic set of ‘Fast Car,’ the ethereal ‘Landslide’ by Fleetwood Mac – always guaranteed to bring a tear to the eye – and ‘You’re Still the One’ was handled with aplomb by Bell, her vocals next level as she seamlessly moved from one track to the next, her outfit changes throughout the evening – including a Warriors shirt “Up the Wahs!” – just as impressive.
Stripping it right back, Bell took a seat against an illuminated backdrop of her initials for a cover of Harry Styles ‘Falling’, a monster of a song that not many vocalists would attempt, Kaylee once again bringing her own touch to the song accompanied by nothing more than a piano.
The gorgeous Navvy – having changed into more of a country themed outfit which they rocked – joined Bell for ‘Life is Tough (But So Am I)’, the duo pairing together perfectly, their love and respect for each other coming through loud and clear (the cookies that Navvy had made for the entire crew the day before certainly putting a smile on everyone’s faces – gotta love that family style love!)
Coming into the home straight, and the whole town hall was electric, fans bouncing, dancing and fully invested in each and every song, their eyes glued to the stage as Warman and Prictor flanked Bell and took songs to the next level.
Closing the set with the foot stomping ‘Go Your Own Way’ by Fleetwood Mac and one of Bell’s latest hits in the form of ‘Keith’ again from her latest album and attendees were soon demanding an encore, and what an encore they were given!
A trio of Taylor Swift hits, including ‘Love Story’ was closed out with ‘Boots ‘n All’ which left no one with any doubts that Kaylee Bell is a country star through and through and one that is definitely on the rise.
Kaylee Bell:
NAVVY:
Were you there at The Auckland Town Hall for this high energy country-pop gig? Or have you seen Kaylee Bell perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Setlist:
- Take It To The Highway
- Getting Closer
- Good Things
- That’s The Way It Is [Celine Dion cover]
- Shot In The Dark
- You Learn [Alanis Morissette cover]
- Nights Like This
- Fast Car [Tracy Chapman cover]
- Landslide [Fleetwood Mac cover]
- You’re Still The One [Shania Twain cover]
- Falling [Harry Styles cover]
- Where Were You
- Small Town Friday Nights
- Life is Tough (But So Am I)
- When Summer Rolls Around
- Home
- Same Songs
- Go Your Own Way [Fleetwood Mac cover]
- Keith
- Sparks Fly/Love Story/Red [Taylor Swift cover][encore]
- Boots ‘n All [encore]
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