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Iconic New Zealand artist Bic Runga makes her long-awaited return.

One of Aotearoa/New Zealand’s most awarded and iconic artists, Bic Runga, makes her long-awaited return to Melbourne in an exclusive show with her full band to perform her much loved eleven-time platinum, best-selling album Beautiful Collision.

The record was the follow-up to her blockbuster debut, Drive (1997), which brought a then 19-year-old Runga (Ngāti Kahungunu, Rongomaiwahine) to the world.

You might be familiar with that story.

Drive’s second single, ‘Sway’, made it onto the American Pie soundtrack. In turn, ‘Sway’ became the soundtrack of teenage longing for a generation. Then came the expectations for Bic’s second album, which became Beautiful Collision after three years of production.

While reflections on that fame briefly pass through Beautiful Collision (Union Square reappears in ‘Get Some Sleep’) the album’s not trapped in its afterglow. Rather, Beautiful Collision sketches the romance of everyday New Zealand, like chasing love on aimless drives around town (Counting the Days), furtive glances in darkened cinemas (Election Night), and listless supermarket checkouts (Listening for the Weather).

On Beautiful Collision, Runga’s multi-award-winning musicianship is on full show – playing credits include the harmonica, a 12-string acoustic guitar, drums, and piano in addition to vocals. Never mind her being the album’s producer, arranger, and composer.

If Drive went on to become a symbol of Runga’s catapult into the public eye, Beautiful Collision then encapsulates the warmth and wisdom that accompanies a return home – and creative control. Twenty-years from that moment, join Runga in the Elisabeth Murdoch Hall on Friday 18 August 2023.

‘Beautiful Collision was my favourite album to make, and still means a lot to me after twenty years. I hope that if these songs hold a special place for anyone, that they will enjoy celebrating the anniversary of this album with me as a complete concert performance.’ – Bic Runga

With Special Guest

Bic Runga be supported by Fred Leone.

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