Live at Whammy
27 August 2026
Live Review by Music Journalist: Paul Marshall
Going Global 2026: Auckland’s Next Wave Takes the World Stage at Whammy.
There are nights in Auckland when you go to a gig to see a band. Then there are nights when you go because you know you might be watching the beginning of something much bigger.
Tonight was the latter.
Kicking off at Whammy on Auckland’s Karangahape Road, the 2026 Going Global Music Summit & Festival turned the interconnected Whammy, Double Whammy and Triple Whammy spaces into a revolving door of Aotearoa talent, with twelve artists each given just 20 minutes to convince a room packed with music industry eyes that they have what it takes to travel beyond these shores.
And that is the beauty and brutality, of the showcase format. Twenty minutes. No excuses. No long introductions. No time to warm up. You get on stage and show the world exactly who you are.
Going Global, presented by Independent Music New Zealand in partnership with the New Zealand Music Commission, exists precisely for this purpose: connecting Aotearoa artists with international A&R, booking agents, festival programmers, labels, publishers, managers and media. Previous artists associated with the showcase include Tami Neilson, Tiny Ruins, Troy Kingi, Alien Weaponry, Fazerdaze and Nadia Reid.
Tonight, the future was already walking through the door.
TYRAN
First out of the blocks at precisely 7pm was Tyran, armed with little more than an acoustic guitar, a microphone and a collection of songs that didn't need a wall of sound to make their point.
There was an immediate intimacy to the performance. His smooth vocal delivery sat comfortably over the acoustic arrangements, while the songwriting leaned towards the ballad end of the spectrum without becoming overly sentimental.
The audience responded enthusiastically after each song, and there was a genuine sense that Tyran had established a connection with the room rather than simply performing at it.
"I've got one more in the chamber. I can't see you, but I'm sure you're out there."
It was the kind of line that captures the challenge of these showcases perfectly. Somewhere in the room could be the person who changes everything.
Tyran's Going Global appearance also puts him in distinguished company: the official 2026 lineup describes him as an Auckland R&B/soul artist, one of 23 acts selected to showcase across the two nights.
TUSEKAH
Then the temperature changed.
Eight musicians hit the stage behind Tusekah, and suddenly Whammy had the feel of a much larger venue.
Fronted by a vocalist with serious presence, Tusekah delivered a performance steeped in gospel, soul and R&B, supported by backing singers who added considerable depth to the sound. This was a band that understood the power of voices working together.
And frankly, it was a little surprising that the room wasn't fuller.
Because the talent on stage was world class.
Tusekah's latest release, Lay It Down, brought a more pronounced pop sensibility into the mix, with a chorus designed to stick. There are moments where you need a point of reference to explain an artist to someone who hasn't heard them before, and while comparisons can sometimes be lazy, there was enough in Tusekah's soulful delivery and rhythmic confidence to evoke the spirit of someone like Macy Gray.
But Tusekah is very much her own artist.
Originally from South Africa and now based in Aotearoa, Tuseka Njoko began performing live in 2021 and has since shared stages with artists including Niko Walters, Deva Mahal, PJ Morton, Olivia Dean and JessB. Her music has also received international airplay from BBC Radio 1 and Australia's Triple J.
Lay It Down is a particularly accessible introduction to what she does, groove-heavy, soulful and built around a chorus that refuses to leave quietly.
If international delegates were looking for an artist with crossover potential, Tusekah gave them plenty to consider.
KEITH PEREIRA
From soul to country, the musical compass swung hard in another direction.
Keith Pereira arrived with a five-piece band, including Nick Jones on fiddle, and immediately established the territory: drinking, heartbreak, good times and the eternal complications of being human.
Country music has always understood that sometimes the oldest stories are the best ones.
Pereira has the voice for it, too. Warm, rounded and unmistakably country, his vocal sits comfortably inside the genre without sounding forced. The fiddle added exactly the right amount of Nashville flavour while the rhythm section kept everything moving.
By the third song, phones were being held aloft across the audience as Pereira delivered a country ballad that clearly struck a chord.
Then came the finale.
"Yee haa!"
The audience responded, bodies began moving, smiles appeared across the room and suddenly the showcase had become a party.
That's a useful reminder that a great live country artist doesn't necessarily need to reinvent the wheel. Sometimes you just need to know how to drive it.
Pereira has already built considerable experience around that wheel. His career includes appearances at major New Zealand country events, multiple awards, international performances in Canada and India, and sold-out Auckland shows with The Trail Benders. His 2026 release schedule includes Goosebumps and Drinkin' Buddies.
And tonight, he demonstrated why the live room remains his natural habitat.
RAY LESLIE
Then came Ray Leslie, and suddenly we were somewhere else entirely.
A four-piece configuration of drums, bass, laptop and Leslie's vocals created one of the most intriguing sonic combinations of the evening so far.
This wasn't simply rap over a backing track.
There was an actual band pushing the music from underneath.
The second song was where things really clicked. The drummer locked into reggae offbeats while the bass player dropped deep into a funk infused groove. Meanwhile, the laptop introduced jazz-inflected chords, creating an unusual collision of styles underneath Leslie's confident rap delivery.
It shouldn't necessarily have worked.
It absolutely did.
The drummer was particularly solid, providing the rhythmic foundation that allowed everything else to breathe, while Leslie sat comfortably above the sound, delivering the lyrics with the assurance of an artist who knows exactly where she belongs.
And this is where Going Global becomes particularly interesting.
Ray Leslie, the performing name of Philippine-born Auckland artist Marie Gaabucayan, has already established herself as an adventurous alt-rap artist. Her 2024 Fantasy & Future EP was accompanied by a film project, with support from NZ On Air and Big Pop Studios, demonstrating that her ambitions extend beyond simply releasing songs.
Tonight's performance reinforced that sense of experimentation.
There was hip-hop. There was reggae. There was jazz. There was live instrumentation. There was electronic production.
And somehow, in the middle of it all, there was Ray Leslie.
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Four artists in and the point of Going Global was already becoming obvious.
This isn't about finding one particular sound.
It's about demonstrating that Aotearoa has many sounds.
Tyran brought intimacy and songwriting. Tusekah brought soul and vocal power. Keith Pereira brought country swagger. Ray Leslie brought genre-bending hip-hop.
Four completely different artists. Four different potential international markets.
And that's exactly what a showcase like this should be.
The 2026 Going Global festival features short 20-minute performances across connected inner-city venues, deliberately putting artists in front of international delegates and the public. The event has a proven track record of creating opportunities beyond New Zealand, with previous showcases helping artists secure international bookings, management, festival appearances and label opportunities.
For the artists, twenty minutes can feel brutally short.
For the people watching, it's enough.
Enough to make a first impression.
Enough to make someone reach for their phone.
Enough to make an industry executive scribble a name in a notebook.
And perhaps, somewhere tonight inside Whammy, Double Whammy or Triple Whammy, someone just discovered their next international signing.
That's the gamble.
That's the excitement.
And that's why nights like Going Global matter.
The world may have come to Auckland tonight looking for its next big thing.
Judging by what was happening on stage, it may not have to look very far.
Reviewer: Paul Marshall
Photography by Paul Marshall
WATCH THE LIVE VIDEO at Paul Was There -