Here’s something you might not know: New Zealand is John Splithoff’s second biggest listening audience in the world. Which makes it somewhat overdue that he’s finally making his Aotearoa live debut, and The Tuning Fork on June 21 is going to be a very good night for anyone who gets a ticket.
Splithoff grew up in the suburbs of Chicago in a household full of music — Stevie Wonder, Pink Floyd, Earth, Wind & Fire and Fleetwood Mac were the cornerstones, the kind of influences that tend to produce a particular kind of musician: technically accomplished, emotionally direct and completely uninterested in making anything disposable. He got his first guitar at 13, taught himself by obsessively working through the music of the 60s, 70s and 80s, and eventually earned a degree in Jazz Performance from the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami.
He moved to New York, built an audience the hard way — private lessons, weddings, commercial jingles — and then released ‘Sing to You’, which changed everything. The track amassed over 150 million streams, climbed to the top of AC Radio and opened doors to international headline slots and festival stages. He’s since performed alongside Sting and David Foster, supported Teddy Swims, Andy Grammer and Toro y Moi, and built a reputation as a live performer that goes well beyond what the streaming numbers alone suggest. His latest album Far From Here is out now via Virgin Records and is exactly the kind of record that sounds even better in a room like The Tuning Fork — intimate, warm and beautifully made.
For Auckland audiences this is a rare one. An artist with a genuine, organic fanbase here finally making the trip over. Don’t sleep on it.
Tuning Fork presale opens Thursday April 16 at 12pm NZ time. General sale follows Friday April 17 at 12pm.