Chaka Khan serves nostalgic dance party for one night in Auckland
Someone in the Auckland audience yelled a lifelong truth to Chaka Khan: “You were the reason I put heels on!” She replied in signature sass: “Yeah, that’s me, that’s what I am”.
Blustery autumnal, pre-storm weather blew people into soul legend Chaka Khan's electric one New Zealand show at The Civic in Auckland last night.
The diverse crowd started singing and chanting every lyric to her songs before she even appeared on stage. And she has a few - more than 2000 spanning her 50-year career.
The show opened with a video montage of her life’s work – genre-defying and defining music dating back to 1979 when it all began for the 10-time Grammy-winning queen. I wasn't even born when she had her first hit, but I grew up in Goa, south India, on a staple diet of Chaka on cassette and radio.
At 72, Chaka Khan still commands the stage of Auckland's The Civic theatre.
Kadambari Raghukumar
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The audience rose to its feet in anticipation before Khan hit the stage - and stayed that way for nearly the whole 90-minute set.
Chaka Khan gets ready to touch down in Auckland
When she appeared the crowd roared in unison, cheering out of respect and absolute love for the woman who has provided the soundtrack to life for a lot of us – clubs, birthdays, school dances, teenage afternoon discos, mixtapes gifted and rough and ready radio recordings on cassette.
At 72, Khan is still a powerhouse. She sashayed across the stage in black faux leather tasseled pants, with her massive mane of curly auburn hair and signature red lips. She beamed youthful energy and her full vocal prowess was on display – she did not disappoint, start to finish.
I mean, when Chaka Khan says "I’m Every Woman", it is hereby decreed to be true, sisters and brothers.
At the first cue of 'Tell Me Something Good' the crowd roared, captivated by her voice and sass.
She went from 'What You Gonna Do For Me?' seamlessly into 'Sweet Thing' and had us roaring in awe at her solid vocal prowess.
The band backed her, taking us from 'Everlasting Love' to 'I Feel For You' - fans raised placards and declarations of "We love you Chaka" filled the gaps in between.
From her conga player in a cowboy hat, to her backing singers with their perfect harmonies, the whole ensemble was that full display of Chaka Khan-ness you’d expect and no less.
Hearing her voice, though it had understandably changed with age, still reminded me of all life’s junctures, from flipping cassettes with teenage best friends on some beat-up Sony tape player in the 80s to a stranger's Spotify list at a house party in Auckland in 2025. Thanks Chaka, for making my teenage dreams come true.
