Macy Gray – The Civic Theatre Auckland, 17 October 2026: Review & Photo Gallery

18th October 2026

What a night with Macy Gray at the Civic Theatre! With her beautiful presence and that unique raspy voice, she owned the stage, and every song was a story from a chapter of her life. Her huge smile melted hearts and the whole audience was captivated. She was funny, down to earth, and got everyone singing along.

Emi Secrest

Before Macy Gray took the stage at Auckland’s Civic Theatre last night, the room belonged to Emi Secrest, and only to her. The Memphis-born R&B singer came out alone, with no band beside her, just her backing tracks and a microphone. In a floor-length gown covered in large sequins that caught the light whenever she moved, her dreadlocks falling almost to her waist, she made that big stage feel close and personal.

There was a quiet confidence in how she worked through her set, riding the grooves of her tracks and letting each phrase breathe, drawing the crowd in instead of reaching out for them. She left the Civic warmed up and paying attention, and plenty of people walked out knowing a new name.

Macy Gray

Tonight Macy Gray unfolded a performance so wonderful and with so much soul.

She wore vibrant colours that reflected her personality. Nothing Glitzy, 60’s style long dresses. She held the audience in the palm of her hand, with her beautiful presence and unique raspy voice.

She owned the stage delivering her stories of jazz, funk, and blues with typical Macy Gray confidence.

Each song a story from chapters of her life. She was not only interesting and down to earth, her huge smile melted hearts, and the audience was encapsulated by her presence. Everyone loved her and sang along. Her abilities as a writer are outstanding.

She celebrated David Hopkins, her tour manager, bringing him out on stage and pouring him a glass of red wine, telling the audience he doesn’t drink. Then sang Somewhere Over The Rainbow. She was funny and got the audience to take part in several songs. 10 out of 10 for entertainment.

With over 25 million records sold worldwide, a Grammy Award, two BRIT Awards, and 10 studio albums spanning more than two decades, Macy Gray is one of the greatest R&B and soul artists of her generation.

She gave a fantastic Rendition of her chart-topping hits including – I Try, Still, Sexual Revolution, Do Something, and so much more, plus her single — the classic I’m Too Sexy from the album The Trouble with the Truth.

I was truly honoured to be attending one of her incredible shows. And it was a wonderful reminder of why her stage performances continue to captivate audiences after all these years.

Natalie Renée McIntyre born on the 6th September 1967. Known professionally as Macy Gray. As the result of a childhood bicycle accident, she noticed the name ‘Macy Gray’ on someone’s letterbox. She was so drawn to it, she used the name for some characters in her stories she wrote and later decided it would be her stage name.

In 1995 she agreed to write songs for a friend. A demo session had been secured for the songs to be recorded by another singer, but the vocalist never turned up, so Macy recorded them herself. She met writer-producer Joe Solo who signed her to record new songs, written based on her life experiences. This was a new sound that was attractive to record labels.

Albums

On How Life Is (1999)
The Id (2001)
The Trouble with Being Myself (2003)
Big (2007)
The Sellout (2010)
Covered (2012)
Talking Book (2012)
The Way (2014)
Stripped (2016)
Ruby (2018)