Live at The Tuning Fork
1 November 2025
Live Review by Music Journalist: Paul Marshall
In The Shallows Dive Deep: Danni Davis and Ensemble Deliver a Cathedral of Sound at The Tuning Fork.
It was a starry Auckland evening when In The Shallows took the intimate stage at The Tuning Fork, and with it they delivered one of those rare live sets that tilts time and transports you. The Wellington-based band, fronted by the magnetic Danni Davis, re-emerged from a recent throat saga (laryngitis forced a July cancellation) to present a fully loaded ensemble and the payoff was potent.
The Warm-Up: Folk roots turned sweetly expansive
Opening warm and earnest was Levi, real name Michael Levin Sesega, who took the stage with a quiet, disarming presence that didn’t stay quiet for long. Beside him, Mema Wilda strummed and sang, her harmonies soft but grounded, giving the set its warmth and emotional lift. This four-piece acoustic lineup, two guitars, guest violinist Jean-Baptiste Jossa, and a percussionist on cajón and cymbals, walked the fine line between restraint and release.
Their songs were rooted in folk with country leanings. “Levi Lights On” glowed like a high-summer dusk, the singer bringing his little sister along to share the ride. The harmonies leaned into the spirit of Mumford & Sons; Levi carried a subdued Jack Black swagger; and their cover of “Whiskey in the Jar” was a truly outstanding rendition that morphed into a perfect two-part-harmony tour de force. The audience sat in quiet awe, every swelling chorus landing like a wave.
Their presence set the tone: acoustic, intimate, but with the promise of escalation. And escalate it did.
In The Shallows: Elevation into Rich Terrain
When the lights dimmed and the eight-piece ensemble of In The Shallows took their places, harp, cello, violin, drums, bass, guitars (one a gleaming Rickenbacker), and keys, all orbiting around front woman Danni Davis, the room collectively inhaled. It wasn’t just anticipation, it was reverence.
According to their own bio, In The Shallows trade in “soaring harmonies and swirling guitars… relatable lyrics about intricate tales of love, loss, connection, redemption, and empowerment.” Tonight, those words weren’t mere PR poetry, they were prophecy fulfilled.
The set ignited with “Walkin’ Away,” its opening bars lifting the crowd into a state of quiet awe. Danni oozed the kind of charisma that channels Stevie Nicks’ mystic edge with a touch of homeland Welsh soul à la Duffy. Her voice, smoky yet supple, rode atop arrangements that shimmered with harp glissandos, cello swells, and violin lines that sliced through the air like sunlight through stained glass.
The rhythm section, tight yet fluid, played as if scoring a film in real time. The drummer’s transitions, from brushes to sticks to mallets, shaped the emotional terrain of each song, at one point launching into mid-song stick-change acrobatics that felt part rock show, part Cirque du Soleil.
Their latest single “Not Normal Behaviour” (released 24 July 2025) hit with both guts and grace, a confident declaration of where this band is heading. It’s a track that glides between lush folk-pop and cinematic drama, and live, it unfolded like a statement of intent. That was followed by “60 Days,” an unreleased number with a haunting melodic hook that felt both familiar and completely new, think Florence + The Machine if reimagined for a windswept Aotearoa coastline.
What truly set this night apart was the interplay, between strings and rhythm, between Danni’s emotive vocals and the band’s orchestral layering. The electric Rickenbacker rang out with luminous clarity against harp and violin, a perfect marriage of modern texture and organic warmth.
And then there were the harmonies, four-part blends that shimmered through the room, voices rising and folding into one another like tides. During the mid-set lull, Danni shared candid, witty stories between songs, about life on the road, about the cancelled July show after she lost her voice. The empathy in the crowd was palpable; the payoff, even more so.
Formed in 2019, In The Shallows have always hinted at greatness with their cinematic approach to folk-pop, but tonight marked their full arrival. This was no longer the intimate duo from their early days, tonight was a full-bodied, fourteen-person spectacle (including a guest barbershop cameo that added rich, vintage flair). The Tuning Fork felt suddenly cathedral-sized, drenched in light, sound, and sincerity.
The closing number, “Remember Me,” was the night’s emotional apex. Danni’s voice, crystalline, unguarded, transcendent, was truth in motion. You could feel the entire audience leaning in, suspended between silence and surrender.
To borrow from their own name, In The Shallows aren’t swimming near the surface anymore, they’ve waded deep into something richer, more vulnerable, more human.
A triumph. One of those rare shows that balances intimacy and ambition, tenderness and power. If you’re tracking the next wave of New Zealand acts unafraid to mix craft with heart, mark this band down.
After tonight, it’s hard not to feel that In The Shallows are destined for deeper waters.
Reviewer: Paul Marshall
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