Live at Spark Arena
4 February 2025
Live Review by Music Journalist: Paul Marshall
From Jet Lag to Stardom: Freya Ridings Shines in First Stadium Show.
Spark Arena on a humid Auckland Wednesday felt like a holding pen for anticipation, thousands of young faces, phones already itching to be raised, with a supporting cast of parents clocking a paid night shift of cultural relevance. This was OneRepublic territory, sure, but the night opened with a reminder that stadium pop, when done right, can still feel intimate, fragile, and quietly monumental.
Freya Ridings walked on stage in a flowing black skirt and matching top, instantly projecting quiet rock-star energy. Minimal theatrics, no unnecessary bombast, just presence. And the moment she opened her mouth, it was clear we weren’t merely watching a support act warm-up set. We were witnessing something closer to greatness.
Backed by an acoustic guitarist, male and female backing vocalists, and a restrained pre-recorded track (not a single cheat vocal in sight), Ridings let her voice do the heavy lifting. And it did. The lighting was minimal, perhaps too minimal but it suited the raw, exposed emotion of the set. Though not always intentionally: at one point the spotlight lingered unhelpfully on the guitarist standing idle while Ridings sat at the piano in near darkness performing her heart out. In an arena show, missing your lead artist with the lights is a cardinal sin, and it briefly broke the spell.
Still, Ridings powered on. Her new song “Undefeated” was a standout, rich, swelling, emotionally weathered. The three backing singers somehow sounded like a small choir, lifting the choruses into something almost spiritual.
Her forthcoming album, due in May, sounds like one to watch closely. Ridings spoke candidly about its creation, strange emotional swings, heartbreaks, personal rebuilding and that vulnerability translated beautifully onstage.
Between songs, Ridings revealed she’d flown in direct from London just the day before, jet lag very much in tow and yet she delivered with poise and power the performance somehow became even more impressive.. “This is my first stadium tour,” she told the crowd, before adding, with quiet confidence, “but it won’t be my last.” No argument there. Few statements on a night like this felt more believable. This is an artist who sings heartbreak like she’s already survived it.
“Lost Without You” became a slow-burn crowd moment. Around ten fans at the barrier swaying their phones side to side. Like a slow-burn fuse, the movement spread. By the final chorus, several hundred lights were in motion, the arena gently rocking as one. A human wave of quiet connection.
The guitar work shimmered subtly throughout, never fighting the vocals, a musician’s musician. And when Ridings asked, “Will you sing and clap with me for this final song?” Spark Arena obliged. “Castles” turned the venue into a rhythmic organism, clapping in time through the middle eight, most of the stadium locked into the rhythm, voices rising, bodies finally loosening.
As she left the stage, Ridings blew three kisses into the crowd, a small gesture, but one that landed big.
Freya Ridings didn’t just warm up Spark Arena. She claimed it. If this really was her first stadium tour, then New Zealand bore witness to the start of something much larger. Come May, when that new album drops, don’t be surprised if she’s no longer opening the night, but owning it outright.
This won’t be the last time we see her in rooms this size. Next time, she may well be the headline name on the ticket.
Reviewer: Paul Marshall
Photography by Paul Marshall
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