REVIEW: Alex Warren’s powerfully raw CHCH show came with one surprise request

If Alex Warren’s 'Finding Family on the Road World Tour' is about creating connection wherever he goes, Christchurch definitely got the memo.

From the moment the first images of Alex’s childhood appeared on the screens, the tone of the night was set. Home videos, little nostalgic glimpses into his life played out across the arena before Alex even took to the stage.

And when he did, it felt less like thousands of people had turned up to watch a global superstar and more like we’d all been invited into his world.

It didn’t matter whether you’d been following Alex since his Hype House days (guilty), had discovered him through 'Ordinary', or were one of the people who had been “dragged along by their partner”. In my case, it was my mum, who had only heard a handful of his biggest hits on More FM.

By the end of the night, she was just as invested as I was.

Alex kicked off the show with a run of tracks including ‘Troubled Waters’, 'Bloodline', 'The Outside', 'First Time on Earth’ and ‘Before You Leave Me’ - And with those opening songs it was already clear we were in for much more than just a run of his biggest hits.

Don’t get me wrong, the theatrics were there. I mean, fireworks burst across the stage within the first 5 minutes, but none of that took away from the rawness that makes Alex’s music so relatable.

I’ve been a fan of Alex since his days as part of the hugely popular TikTok group Hype House, so I was already familiar with much of his story - something he has never shied away from sharing with his fans.

But hearing him talk about it in real time while standing in front of thousands of people was a completely different experience. One that I sat in awe of. His honesty and authenticity is truly inspiring.

Alex spoke candidly about losing his father when he was just nine years old.

“I didn’t understand what that meant; I just knew I didn’t have a dad anymore,” he said.

He explained that, because he found it so difficult to talk about his grief, he pushed those feelings away. Eventually, he began to forget the little details - what his dad looked like, what he smelled like and what it felt like to hug him.

I forgot my dad. It broke me all over again.

Then he asked the crowd to raise their hands if they had ever lost someone.

At first, there were just a few hands. Then more... And suddenly, almost the entire arena was filled with raised arms.

He said that people die two deaths: “They die when they die, and they die when you stop telling their story.”

And with that, he encouraged everyone to keep their lost loved ones in their thoughts as he continued the show.

It was one of those moments where you could physically feel the shift in the room. Despite everyone coming from all corners of the city, different lifestyles and upbringings, the familiarity of grief is what brought thousands together. 

And I know that sounds incredibly sad, but it was a beautiful moment more than anything. 

It was a pretty powerful and raw way to introduce ‘Same Stars’, an unreleased track expected to feature on his upcoming album ‘WILDCHILD’, which is due to be released on August 28.

Before he started, Alex asked the crowd to do something that felt almost impossible to achieve at a concert in 2026 - put the phones away.

No one recording. No one trying to capture the perfect 15-second clip for TikTok. Not even a singular flashlight interrupting our moment, just us and Alex.

I was in genuine disbelief, scanning every row I could see just to catch someone in the act - but nope. The respect shown was something I’d never witnessed at a live show before.

And for those few minutes, Wolfbrook Arena went dark, other than the spotlights beaming down on Alex as he sung. Just thousands of Cantabrians standing together and watching Alex perform a song they were hearing for the first time.

As the night went on, Alex worked his way through ‘You’ll Be Alright, Kid', 'Passenger’, 'Never Be Far’, ’Eternity’, and ‘Catch My Breath’, with more childhood footage appearing throughout the show.

Hearing his late dad’s voice in those old videos made hearing the likes of ‘Eternity’ hit so much harder - it was hard to avoid feeling the lump in your throat as he sang about the passing of time.

It wasn’t all heavy though. Of course, it wouldn’t be an Alex Warren show without his classic - and sometimes dark - humour spread out across the show.

At one point, he asked a young fan if they had lost anyone in their life. The fan mentioned a grandparent who had passed away.

“It’s not a competition,” Alex replied with his sarcastic tone as the crowd burst into laughter.

Alex wasn’t trying to keep the audience on an emotional high the entire night. He let us, ahem, encouraged us to laugh, cry, scream, sing and, occasionally, just stand there and take it all in.

Now, it wouldn’t be a fair review without mentioning one of the downsides.

Unfortunately, not everyone in the stadium had the best view.

Those sitting in the centre stands - particularly sections L and M - had parts of their view blocked by the speakers positioned in front of the big screens. It meant some of the visuals were difficult to see, and there were plenty of moments where you couldn’t quite catch Alex’s facial expressions or reactions. 

Thankfully, he more than made up for it as the show went on.

Halfway through the show, he appeared on a smaller stage in the middle of Wolfbrook Arena.

And suddenly, everyone at the back of the room had a much better view.

As he made his way through the crowd towards the stage, high-fiving fans along the way, a video of his wife, Kouvr, appeared on the screens.

She was shown painting a beautiful picture of two pelicans onto an acoustic guitar - a tribute to Alex’s father.

Kouvr has painted all of Alex’s guitars, including the ones he brought to Christchurch. One of his guitars featured a beautiful sunflower, painted in memory of his late mum, who Alex lost when he was just 21.

Standing on the smaller stage, close enough that even people towards the back of the arena could see his face, Alex launched into a tribute to his wife, playing ‘Catch My Breath’.

Then came one of the sweetest moments of the entire night.

While chatting to the crowd, Alex spotted a young fan named Peyton holding a sign that read: “Alex, you are my first love. I see you in my Fever Dreams.”

Naturally, Alex had to find out more.

It turned out Peyton was celebrating her ninth birthday at the concert.

So Alex did what any reasonable pop star would do and gave her the most crucial job of the night - pushing the button for, yep, ‘FEVER DREAM’!

Alex then made his way back through the crowd towards the main stage, stopping for high fives, hugs and interactions with fans along the way.

And while those moments might seem small, they were a huge part of what made the night feel so genuine. He didn’t treat the crowd like a sea of faces.

Throughout the night, Alex kept coming back to the idea that he wanted his shows to be a place where people could laugh and cry.

And remember my mum? The woman who had only heard a few Alex Warren songs before walking into Wolfbrook Arena?

It was at this point that she turned to me and admitted she was getting teary.

She’s been to plenty of concerts in her time, but she told me this was the first time she’d been to Wolfbrook Arena and genuinely felt like “everyone was united”.

As it became apparent the show was coming to an end, it was hard to disagree.

Peyton returned to the stage to join hands with Alex and press the button, and suddenly cannons exploded across the arena, quite literally drowning the floor seats and GA section in confetti.

It was a moment that felt bigger than just the celebration of a great concert. For a start, it was Peyton’s ninth birthday, duh! But it was also the celebration of a room full of people singing the same songs, feeling the same highs and lows. It was appreciating that one person, Alex, had brought thousands of us all together for those couple of hours.

It was unity.

He made an arena full of strangers feel like family.

And as he ended the night with an explosive performance of ‘Ordinary’, it was obvious Alex Warren didn’t just come to Christchurch and perform… 

He built a family here.

Images provided by Todd Fisher.