Live at Homegrown, Claudelands Oval
14 March 2026
Live Review by Music Journalist: Paul Marshall
The Jordan Luck band Turns Claudelands Oval Into One Giant Kiwi Singalong at Homegrown.
There are certain voices in New Zealand music that feel less like performers and more like permanent fixtures of the cultural landscape. The moment Jordan Luck steps onto a stage, you’re reminded that some rock stars don’t just play gigs, they carry decades of collective memory with them.
At this year’s Jim Beam Homegrown in Hamilton, the The Jordan Luck Band arrived like a familiar storm rolling across the Claudelands Oval crowd, loud, joyous and impossible not to sing along with.
Of course, depending on who you ask, this band might also be known as The Exponents… but I’ll stop right there before we wander into complicated legal territory. What matters is the songs, and those songs remain some of the most beloved anthems ever written in Aotearoa.
Luck himself is one of the great characters of New Zealand rock, a songwriter, raconteur, party survivor and instigator of a generation. I’ve known Jordan for more than 30 years, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that this man is built differently. He’s a machine.
These days he’s looking after himself better, famously giving up the booze, but the swagger? The grit? The mischievous glint in the eye? All still fully intact.
Luck strolls onstage wearing a T-shirt that reads “Kiss My Black Sabbath”, and the crowd instantly roars its approval. It’s classic Jordan: equal parts humour, rock ‘n’ roll irreverence, and a reminder that the spirit of the ’70s and ’80s never really left him.
When the band launches into Sink Like a Stone, the field begins to sway in that uniquely Kiwi way, thousands of fans singing like they’ve known the lyrics their entire lives. Then comes Who Loves Who the Most, and suddenly the entire oval is bouncing in the afternoon sun, turning Claudelands into one giant backyard party.
And that’s the magic of Jordan Luck’s songwriting. These aren’t just songs, they’re memories. Anthems that stick in your head like your first taste of chocolate… or your first ever beer.
Backing Luck is a band of seasoned pros who have been with him long enough to operate like a musical family. Guitarist Bryan Bell, drummer Beaver, bassist Rich Mixture and guitarist Joe Walsh play with the tightness that only comes from years on the road together. Onstage they look less like hired guns and more like brothers on a shared mission and that mission is simple: spread joy, nostalgia and some of the greatest rock songs New Zealand has ever produced.
Mid-set, Walsh steps forward to take lead vocals for a surprise cover of Don't Change by INXS. It’s a brave choice, that song carries serious weight, but the band absolutely nails it. Walsh’s voice soars, the band locks in behind him, and for a moment you could swear you’d slipped back into the 1980s, listening to the real thing.
Moments like that are what make a festival set memorable. Not just nostalgia, but respect for the era that shaped so much of the music we still love today.
Through it all, Luck commands the stage like a man who knows exactly who he is. No gimmicks. No pretence. Just great songs, delivered with heart and that unmistakable gravel-and-honey voice that has soundtracked countless New Zealand summers.
And as the crowd sings every word back to him, it becomes obvious that Jordan Luck isn’t just surviving the decades, he’s still owning them.
Some rock stars slow down with time.
Jordan Luck, it seems, is still getting warmed up.
Reviewer: Paul Marshall
Photography by Paul Marshall
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