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BIC RUNGA
announces new album
RED SUNSET
& AOTEAROA
New Zealand and
Australia Tour
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Photo – Tom Grut
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RED SUNSET: Stream HERE
Presave HERE | Watch HERE | Pre-Order HERE
New Zealand music icon Bic Runga announces the release date of her much-anticipated new album, Red Sunset, and an Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia national tour.
Red Sunset will be released on Friday, February 13.
Recorded in Paris during the winter of 2025, the album is now available for pre-order and is Bic’s first collection of all-original material since 2011’s Belle, marking a radiant new chapter for one of Aotearoa’s most beloved artists.
The album’s lead single and title track, “Red Sunset,” is out now. A powerful torch song of longing and desire, it evokes the tumultuous emotions of being the one left behind. The song and album are co-produced by Bic Runga and Kody Nielson.
This new single follows previously released tracks:
“It’s Like Summertime” a nostalgic yet forward-looking anthem that fondly recalls carefree days with childhood friends, harnessing those memories to imagine a better future.
“Paris in the Rain” a cinematic soundscape inspired by the image of Paris, beautiful, yet flooding. Written on the last night of a winter trip, the song came to life watching torrential rain on the Louvre Pyramid. Its distinctive sound was captured on an historic 1807 French Pleyel piano.
The Red Sunset Tour kicks off at Black Barn in Hawkes Bay on Saturday, March 7, before heading to new venues in Hamilton and Auckland: the Waikato Regional Theatre on Saturday, March 21, and the NZICC Theatre, Auckland on Friday, March 27. Bic will return home to Christchurch to play the Isaac Theatre Royal on Sunday, March 29, followed by a very special show with the NZSO at the Michael Fowler Centre in Wellington on Thursday, April 2.
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The tour then heads to Australia to play the Northcote Theatre in Melbourne on Thursday, April 9; the Princess Theatre, Brisbane on Saturday, April 11; Sydney’s City Recital Hall on Sunday, April 12; Canberra Theatre in Canberra on Tuesday, April 14; with the final show at Freo.Social, Fremantle on Thursday, April 16.
The tour will see her performing songs from the new album alongside beloved classics from her celebrated catalogue — from “Drive” and “Sway” to “Beautiful Collision” and beyond.
Eligible Westpac New Zealand customers with a Westpac New Zealand Mastercard have special access to presale tickets starting from Monday, November 24 at 10am until Tuesday, November 25 at 10am (local time). Westpac hotpoints® Mastercard cardholders also have access to exclusive preferred tickets from Tuesday, November 25 at 11am (local time). For more information visit here
Mastercard cardholders have special access to presale tickets in Australia. Mastercard Presale starts Monday, November 24 at 10am and ends Tuesday, November 25 at 10am local time. Plus, Preferred ticket access to some of the best tickets are available from Tuesday, November 25 at 11am local time.
Spotify Presale starts Monday, November 24 at 12pm until Tuesday, November 25 at 10am local time or until allocation is exhausted.
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Bic Runga is one of New Zealand’s most treasured musicians — a songwriter and performer whose voice is woven into the soundtrack of Kiwi life. Known for her crystalline vocals and timeless melodies, she has spent more than two decades creating songs that feel both intimate and universal.
Born in Christchurch to a Chinese-Malaysian mother and a Māori father, Bic grew up in a home filled with music, teaching herself drums, guitar, and piano. This curiosity and independence shaped her into an artist who not only writes and sings her own songs but often produces and arranges them too.
Her 1997 debut album Drive changed the face of New Zealand pop. Songs like Sway and Drive captured complex emotions with simplicity and grace. The album went multi-platinum at home, and Sway found its way onto Hollywood film soundtracks, carrying her songs far beyond Aotearoa.
If Drive announced her talent, Beautiful Collision in 2002 confirmed it. With hits like Get Some Sleep and Listening for the Weather, the album became one of New Zealand’s biggest-selling records. Its warmth and clarity reflected her unique artistry: sophisticated yet unpretentious, polished yet emotionally direct.
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Later albums, including Birds, Belle, and Close Your Eyes, showed her willingness to experiment and reinterpret her influences while holding onto the purity that first drew listeners in.
A multi-Tūī and Silver Scroll award-winning artist, and the youngest inductee into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame, Bic’s influence can be heard in a new generation of New Zealand musicians who grew up with her songs on the radio and saw in her a model of artistic independence.
In 2026, she returns with Red Sunset, recorded in Paris in the winter of 2025. Bic’s gift has always been her ability to turn personal truths into shared experiences, inviting listeners into her gentle, thoughtful, and beautifully human world.
The Red Sunset Tour will see Bic performing across Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia next autumn and is funded through NZ On Air and supported by the NZ Music Commission.
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BIC RUNGA – RED SUNSET
Album Tour AOTEAROA
NZ & Australia 2026
Plus guests SILICON
Presented by Live Nation
Black Barn, Hawkes Bay; Saturday 7 March
Waikato Regional Theatre, Hamilton; Saturday 21 March
NZICC Theatre, Auckland; Friday 27 March
Isaac Theatre Royal, Christchurch; Sunday 29 March
Michael Fowler Centre, Wellington – With Nzso* ; Thursday 2 April
Northcote Theatre, Melbourne; Thursday 9 April
Princess Theatre, Brisbane; Saturday 11 April
City Recital Hall, Sydney; Sunday 12 April
Canberra Theatre, Canberra; Tuesday 14 April
Freo.social, Fremantle; Thursday 16 April
*Silicon Not Appearing
Tickets on Sale: Tuesday 25 November at 11AM (Local)
Artist Presale: Monday 24 November, 10am – Tuesday 25 November, 10am (Local)
Live Nation Presale: Monday 24 November, 10am – Tuesday 25 November, 10am (Local)
Mastercard Presale: Monday 24 November, 10am – Tuesday 25 November, 10am (Local)
Westpac Mastercard Presale: Monday 24 November, 10am – Tuesday 25 November, 10am (Local)
Spotify Presale: Monday 24 November, 12pm – Tuesday 25 November, 10am (Local)
For complete tour & ticket information, visit here
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AMNPLIFY – DB
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