Jolie Holland / Steve Abel —  Pitt St. Methodist Church: March 13, 2026 (13th Floor Concert Review)

On a warm wet night in Tāmaki Makaurau, the high ceiling of Pitt Street Methodist Church opened onto a space where sound behaved differently. Voices rose upward and returned softened but clearer, and even the lightest guitar chord carried further than expected. It proved an ideal setting for the pairing of  Jolie Holland with support from Steve Abel.

American singer songwriter Holland has spent more than two decades crafting a body of work that moves between folk, blues and jazz, most recently on her album Haunted Mountain. Aotearoa songwriter Abel first built his musical reputation through a series of distinctive folk recordings, but in recent years his focus has shifted to his work as a Green Party MP, making live musical appearances relatively rare.

The concert formed part of the Strange Universe: Autumn Edition series, a programme bringing a wide sweep of international artists through venues across Tāmaki Makaurau. Across the series audiences move easily between very different musical worlds, from Ty Segall’s garage rock intensity to the electronic minimalism of Nabihah Iqbal’s DJ set, with the Pitt Street church shows offering a quieter strand within the wider programme.

Steve Abel

Abel opened the night with Sweetheart. His guitar provided both rhythmic grounding and harmonic shape, supporting the vocal lines with steady strumming and gentle picking. Sidewalk Doves and Cinders followed in the same measured spirit, each song unfolding patiently before the next began.

Between songs Abel shared brief stories that drew the audience closer to the music. Introducing one piece he mentioned that it had been sung at his sister’s wedding, and that she was present in the audience tonight. The comment was met with warm applause, a moment that echoed the sense of community already gathering among those present.

Holland and Ben Boye joined Abel during the set, adding violin, piano and vocals that broadened the texture while keeping the intimacy of the performance intact. The musicians moved easily around each other, the additional lines appearing briefly and then folding back into Abel’s voice and guitar.

Between sets host Matthew Crawley drew attention to the venue itself, inviting applause for the church’s wider role. He pointed to the deliberately placed gender neutral bathrooms visible at the entrance and the “Love Thy Neighbour” quilt hanging nearby, describing the church as a place that continues to act as a sanctuary for community and culture.

Jolie Holland

Holland is currently touring smaller venues across Aotearoa that allow the conversational nature of her songs to remain visible. She moved easily between songs and stories, talking about falling in love with an amateur astronomer, the unsettling intensity of a novel by Jane Bowles, and the network of musicians who have shaped her work. Collaborators surfaced naturally through these stories, from songwriter Buck Meek to filmmaker and musician Boots Riley, whose television series I Am a Virgo has featured Holland’s music.

At the piano Boye played with careful attention to the movement of Holland’s voice, placing chords and small melodic figures that coloured the songs without crowding them. His playing shaped the musical space around Holland’s vocal lines and the occasional sparse electric guitar strum. Boye also provides a subtle connection to the wider programme, through his regular role in Ty Segall’s band.

Songs from Haunted Mountain formed the backbone of the set. The title track moved forward on a loose rhythm, Holland’s voice drifting between folk intimacy and blues phrasing. Another moment of connection arrived with My Sister’s Hand In Mine, written by the Aotearoa artist Theia, who Holland noted was sitting in the audience. The song had been written while Theia was staying at Holland’s home in Los Angeles.

Elsewhere the mood widened to global concerns. Introducing Orange Blossom, Holland spoke about pollinators before launching into a song that balanced ecological reflection with dry humour, singing of “bees and moths and gnats, nectar on their faces, pollen on their asses.”

Throughout the night the stage lighting shifted through deep purples, leaf greens and warm ambers. At one point an orange disc of light circled slowly behind the performers like a passing moon, while long shadows repeatedly stretched across the walls.

Late in the set Holland invited Abel back to the stage, bringing all the musicians together again for a final song. The moment captured the collaborative spirit running through the evening. When the music ended the applause was long and enthusiastic. Many audience members lingered afterwards at the well stocked merch desk, chatting with Holland before gradually drifting out into the now cooler night air.

John Bradbury

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Strange Universe Autumn March 2026 – Jolie Holland Aotearoa Shows

Sat Mar 14 – Meeanee Memorial Hall, Napier NZ (Tickets)
Sun Mar 15 – Haumoana Hall, Hastings NZ (Tickets)
Tue Mar 17 – Space Academy, Christchurch NZ (Tickets)
Thur Mar 19 – Ophir Peace Memorial Hall, 55 Swindon Street, Ophir 9393, NZ (Tickets)