Aldous Harding, Revolution Hall, September 24, 2026
New Zealander Aldous Harding came to Portland last week and played a sold out show at Revolution Hall with quiet elegance and genre bending.
Utah born, now Los Angeles resident, Sam Burton set the tone for the evening. He was joined on stage by Matthew Popieluch (aka Big Search) on twelve-string guitar. Their set was burdened by a difficult journey as they arrived unable to fully complete their soundcheck. It made no difference. The pairs harmonies evoked visions of pine forests, loves lost, and Harry Nilsson balladry. Remarkably, the crowd listened, remaining quiet throughout during their set.
Burton ended his set on his own with “Before Waking”, a rich tapestry of lyricism (I fell into a sleepless dream / One where I stayed too long) and sobering vocals that felt like a proper way to quietly end his performance.
Meeting John Cale
Enter Aldous Harding and her band. Harding began her night with such crowd favorites as the recently released “One Stop” off her fifth album, this year’s Train on the Island. Her statuesque figure undulated as she sang, enchanting her audience with even the slightest movement. Her intense gaze seemed to come from within as if to blur the line between performance and existential seance.
Harding is magical. Her talent lies in several arenas. For example her lyrics:
“I met the real John Cale
He had no words, but I don’t mind
I packed the stage while he ate rice.”
transport her listener to a place of whimsical awkwardness while creating a space for play. Her songs also create other spaces for movements in tone, tempo, and vocal shapeshifting. “Treasure” for example, a tranquil ballad that almost moves towards pop mantra territory with its simple, repeating guitar melody, but instead becomes a haunting treatise on a complicated relationship and life’s impending end.
Aldous Harding’s Revolution Hall performance was an ode existing as uniquely oneself. She previously stated, “I think to resist any more of myself would be foolish.” Harding embodies an unflinching ability to perform at a high level without losing one’s authenticity. The audience warmly welcomed her contradictations as an artist: funny, yet mournful, soulful, yet playful, self aware, but still able to transport herself and her audience across genres and away what from plagues the culture: namely, a lack of beauty.
