Kaylee Bell
23rd March 2024
Black Barn Amphitheater, Havelock North, New Zealand
Review by Rob Harbers, with photography by Andrew Caldwell.
With a level of showmanship reflecting a career now in to its second decade, Kaylee Bell had her audience eating from her hand in a rousing appearance at Havelock North’s Black Barn amphitheater.
With the greatest concentration of cowboy hats ever seen in this venue, it was clear that this crowd knew what they were here for – a night of pop-country delivered by an artist whose star is in the ascendancy. What was also noticeable about the crowd was the age range – the difference encompassing at least three generations, demonstrating the breadth of Kaylee’s appeal.
After an enjoyable set from the support act Frankie Venter, followed by Navvy’s set of break-up heavy material, Kaylee and her band took to the stage in dramatic style, hyping the already hugely expectant teens almost to breaking point! From that moment on, she held them in the palm of her hand for the next 90-odd minutes. This was done through skilful crowd work and a repertoire that spanned generations, with a surprisingly high amount of covers thrown in for an artist at this point in a career. An artist who is very clearly the star of this show, band members often relatively obscured by a lighting scheme designed to focus very much on the one people were there to see. But all’s fair in music, and this is a reflection of where the pulling power lies, and at the same time an upending of patriarchal history, in which it’s usually the contribution of women to the package that gets sidelined. More of this please music industry!
Unlike myself, not being within the target demographic, the audience were clearly familiar with the original material and responded enthusiastically to every note, often singing along, and recognising the songs from the opening bars – these were definitely her people! And they followed her every move, enraptured by her. And that’s definitely not a bad thing – with her messages of female empowerment and being independent, there are a lot worse role models to be had. The choice of cover material no doubt has something to do with her wide appeal, ranging from Fleetwood Mac, through Alanis Morissette, Shania Twain and Celine Dion, giving it very much a “something for everyone” feel across the set.
She mentioned that she is now resident in Nashville, and this shows in the polish and professionalism of her presentation. But at the same time, it makes for a slightly more clinical feel to proceedings – while it’s obvious that this is someone who could go far, this may be at the expense of a degree of reality. Her spontaneously uttered “Holy Shit!”, reacting to the volume of a crowd cheer, felt like one of the most natural moments of the night. But this is a minor quibble indeed, mere curmudgeonly mitherings in the face of a committed performance that was obviously massively appreciated by the audience, so don’t let me put you off! There are still another seven dates in this tour, including a double-header in hometown Waimate – if you’re after a night to entertain all the generations, get yourself along!
Kaylee Bell:
Navvy:
Frankie Venter:
Were you there at Black Barn Vineyards for this magnificent outdoor Country gig? Or have you seen Kaylee Bell perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Setlist:
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