Reb Fountain is performing at the Dome in Gisborne in April as part of her How Love Bends album tour. Photo / Chris Sisarich
Reb Fountain is performing at the Dome in Gisborne in April as part of her How Love Bends album tour. Photo / Chris Sisarich
Singer-songwriter Reb Fountain will perform at the Dome next month, bringing to the stage her blend of folk, art-pop and rock as she and her band embark on a nationwide tour of their album How Love Bends.
Fountain has played at the Dome before and is looking forward to getting back to a place she describes as a “gorgeous space”.
She loves the intimacy of the venue and being able to look the audience in the eye, she says.
Fountain is renowned for her live performances. She has been compared to Stevie Nicks and Kate Bush as she slinks around the stage like a cat.
“We’re all in it together, especially at the Dome, because I can see everyone there. I really enjoy the connection, that reciprocity with the audience.
She describes performing live as “the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow” after the gruelling hard work of writing, rehearsing and recording.
“All of this work that you do – the writing of a song can be really cathartic but it’s often quite hard, like you’re writing an essay or something. And then you’ve got the recording process, which is a whole journey in itself, and it’s so varied the way you write and record things.”
The band members joining her on tour are collaborators who have been with her since her self-titled Reb Fountain (2020) and IRIS (2021): Dave Khan (guitar, viola, cello, keys, co-production), Karin Canzek (bass) and Earl Robertson (drums).
“That live performance is where everything comes together and the thing the band and I value so much is being in the present,” Fountain says. “It’s like meditation. You’re right there in that moment, connecting with the audience.
“It enriches us so much and hopefully it does for the audience, too.”
Reb Fountain is known for her onstage presence. Photo / Tom Grut
Music has always been Fountain’s medicine, a place where she can express herself when life gets hard.
It was an antidote to the rigorous job of solo parenthood and helped her overcome mental health challenges, she said.
In 2018, Hopeful and Hopeless was awarded the Recorded Music NZ Best Country Music Artist and won an APRA award for best country music song.
Despite that success, it wasn’t until 2019 that Fountain felt “true confidence” in her career choice.
“I kind of woke up one morning and realised this is what I want to do. Reb Fountain was my self-titled album – my first release with Flying Nun - and that’s really my line-in-the-sand moment...like ‘okay, here I am, this is what I am doing’."
It was tough being a creative artist where the work was only valued if they could sell it, she said.
“But it’s a privilege we have to fight for.”
Fountain has worked with many top New Zealand musicians, including an international tour supporting Finn Andrews and recording on his album.
She also appeared on Neil Finn’s album Out of Silence and joined his band for the supporting tour, and has worked with Tami Neilson, Julia Deans, Marlon Williams and The Warratahs.
How Love Bends was described by reviewer John Bradbury as “a haunting and immersive exploration of love in all its facets - its beauty, its pain, and its transformative power”.
“The album feels like a journey through the breadth of human experience, touching on themes of loss, identity, longing, and resilience. With a soundscape that merges art-pop, folk, and rock influences, Fountain crafts an evocative and often hypnotic listening experience,” Bradbury wrote.
Fountain said the idea behind the record was “choosing songs that felt unapologetic”.
“There’s an inner strength in them and a vulnerability as well. In essence, that real commitment to one’s own being”.
“I’ve really tried to be as expansive as possible - whether that is being more vulnerable or more fearful or more in love and sensuous.”
