Tahini Bikini & Sig Wilder – Big Fan: March 6, 2026 (13th Floor Concert Review)
The Country’s “danciest “ band Tahini Bikini is in town again with their genre-splicing funk, musical chops and biting lyrics. Hand in hand with fellow Wellingtonians, Sig Wilder and Friends on their Funk Up the Country Tour and delivering a night of combustible energy.
Sig Wilder
If Tahini Bikini deliver sunshine and sweat, Sig Wilder & Friends bring dusk‑light introspection. Wellington‑based but American‑born songwriter Matthew Campbell performs under the persona Sig Wilder, crafting what he describes as Aotearoa Americana, he is joined by Tessa Dillon (bass) Sofia Machray (guitar) and Mads Taylor (drums).
Touring the debut album Cowboy Practice – a slow‑burn journey through homesickness, resilience, identity, and becoming — drawing from years spent between Missouri, Austin, Melbourne, and Aotearoa. Live, the ensemble offers intimate storytelling with well aligned music and exquisite harmonies. Tracks like Bad News, Hell Bent and Cigarette rock along while others like Warm and Slow Time wash over the room with a calm, meditative quality,
Tahini Bikini
Singer, Mads Taylor is the centripetal force behind Tahini Bikini. The Wellington seven‑piece are purveyors of brass-bright, genre-splicing salad‑funk and are building a reputation of groove, warmth, and a palpable sense of camaraderie.
Live, they are operating like a well‑oiled unit. No room this time for songs from the excellent debut album Fever Dream (just one song makes the set list), as the focus is on the more recent and more poignant releases from 2025 which feature the current lineup, together with introducing new songs planned for their next album. Their sound blends soul, disco, surf rock, hip‑hop and funk into something immediately infectious and very very Kiwi.
The line up has evolved over the last few years and for this tour is: Mads Taylor (Lead Vocals), Eric Sebastian (drums) . Cameron Robertson (trumpet) . Alex Scott-Billing (guitar) , Aidan McCulloch (keys/sax), Darcy Monteath (bass ) and Matthew Campbell (percussion).
The musicians are part of the wider Wellington creative collective and are involved across multiple genres and performing entities. It reflects the resilient nature of the Capital City scene where artists have been battling challenges like the loss of venues, the struggling economy and a lack of centralized identity by forming into a DIY driven, suburban focused, genre fluid sub communities.
They kick tonight off with rousing versions of the crowd favorites Money and Breakdown Service before introducing the first new song People Pleaser. The most recent single release Waste My Time is next, followed by Drive Slow before the next new song Phone Crack. Major singalong dance tracks Flakey, Electric Ladies and Reality take us to the compelling social commentary of Mother. A new song Erection Rejection caps the evening off with the band having a bit of a wig out.
The evening is a statement from Wellington, the Culture Capital, we have a whole pile of talented musicians down here who just need exposure and support.
This double‑bill works because of contrast, Tahini Bikini bring the dance‑floor heat with brass-forward funk‑soul exuberance. Sig Wilder & Friends counter with alt‑country poetry. Together they create a night that leaves you hopeful. Expect to listen then to dance and to leave with a fuller heart. These songs will be playing in your head on repeat for the days ahead.
You can catch them this week in Leigh, The Mount, Ohope and Gizzy.
Tahini Bikini have the vibe of a band ready to transition to a bigger and wider audience and would look absolutely perfect on the large stage for next summer’s festival circuit.
John Hastings
Click on any image to view a gallery by Branwen Hastings:
Tahini Bikini:
Sig Wilder:
