LENNY KRAVITZ – JOHN CAIN ARENA – MELBOURNE – 25.11.2025
Review: Craig Eriksson. Photos: Brett Schewitz and Glen Pokorny
Longtime Lenny Kravitz fans are thrilled that the acclaimed American artist is currently in Australia on his Blue Electric Light Tour. On Tuesday night, Lenny presented a killer show at John Cain Arena in Melbourne. His vocals were pitch perfect, the band was magnificent and the sound and lighting were mind blowing.
Melbourne rockers JET opened the show and put on a solid 40-minute, 11 songs set of great Aussie rock’n’roll, playing all of their popular hits and warmed up the crowd ready for Lenny. Hearing songs like COLD HARD BITCH, ROLLOVER DJ, ARE YOU GONNA BE MY GIRL, PUT YOUR MONEY WHERE YOUR MOUTH IS and GET WHAT YOU NEED had the crowd in a jovial mood. JET also performed a new song called HURRY HURRY and a beautiful ballad of LOOK WHAT YOU’VE DONE. Lead singer Nic Cester announced “It seems like everyone that tours Australia lately is throwing a cover into their set, so we’re gonna sing the AC/DC song you never got to hear” and they covered AC/DC’s IT’S A LONG WAY TO THE TOP (If you wanna rock’n’roll).
Lenny Kravitz and his band came out with guns blazing and ripped straight into BRING IT ON from It Is Time for a Love Resolution (2008) with its heavy riffs, thundering drums, incredible sound and light show and even smoke cannons. Straight away the energy was electric and had the crowd watching on in awe. Next was DIG IN from Lenny (2001) and the two male R&B backing vocalists made this a funky-hard rock sing-along with its catchy chorus “Once you dig in, You’ll find yourself a good time” and that we certainly did. TK421 from Blue Electric Light (2024) followed with its Motown grooves, sounding very Prince-esque with electronic pop elements, funky guitars, synths and a saxophone solo.
The catchy ALWAYS ON THE RUN from Mama Said (1991) is an old favourite of mine with its energetic sound, repetitive guitar riff and a powerful rhythm that is often compared to the style of Jimi Hendrix. The cinematic backdrop created a psychedelic vibe and Lenny was rockin’ out, while swingin’ his dreadlocks along to the horn section during this song. Decked out in a blue leather jacket and vintage denim, the man’s stage moves are very sensual. His 8-piece band were outstanding consisting of Jas Kayser on drums who stood out with her large, voluminous afro. Jas is an absolute powerhouse on the drums, mesmerising to watch and is so versatile, playing afro-beat, funk and rock. Lenny made special mention about his lead guitarist Craig Ross who has been with him since 1991 and also longtime synth/keyboardist George Laks. Lenny introduced Hoonch Choi as ‘The Wolf’ on bass guitar and he also acknowledged his fabulous three-piece horn section consisting of tenor and baritone saxophones plus trumpet.
Kravitz then shifted the tempo by singing several soulful and smooth ballads, which showcased how versatile his vocal range is. Hearing Kravitz’s velvety, rich baritone vocals on I BELONG TO YOU was stunning with the R&B backing vocalists playing an integral part of the overall sound and the hypnotic cinematic backdrop made you lose yourself in the song. STILLNESS OF HEART was a beautiful ballad with lyrics about escaping emotional darkness by finding peace love and forgiveness. The crowd sounded amazing as they sang in perfect harmony the chorus “Out of the dark and into your heart, all that I want is stillness of heart, so I can start to find my way out of the dark and into your heart.”
This feel-good vibe continued with BELIEVE about self-belief and faith. Kravitz went into the crowd during this song and jokingly said: “You can take whatever you want” and started swinging his dreadlocks. A few nights earlier at his Brisbane show during Let Love Rule, a female fan had accidently grabbed his hair and pulled four dreadlocks out of the back of his head.
Kravitz then sang HONEY and PARALYZED from Blue Electric Light (2024). Lenny talked to the crowd about how blessed we all are to be here and enjoy this magnificent life we’ve been given. LOW was a smooth, funky song from Raise Vibration (2018) with its slap-bass groove, heavy synths, horns, R&B backing vocals and falsetto vocals. THE CHAMBER from Strut (2014) had a 70s disco-rock sound to it with funk basslines and a sensual vibe that had fans dancing in the aisles.
Kravitz then played piano and performed solo on the power ballad I’LL BE WAITING, which the band later joined in with him during the latter part of the song. The crowd went crazy for IT AIN’T OVER ‘TIL IT’S OVER from Mama Said (1991), which featured an incredible saxophone solo. The melodic rock ballad AGAIN followed and hearing Kravitz soulful smooth vocals and the crowd singing along to the chorus: “All my life, where have you been? I wonder if I’ll ever see you again.” was a goosebump moment of the show and saw everyone hold their phones in the air, displaying a sea of lights.
Getting to the pointy end of the show, Lenny Kravitz played all the fan favourites starting with a cover of The Guess Who’s AMERICAN WOMAN, which was an absolute banger and had everyone singing along. FLY AWAY followed and then he finished with ARE YOU GONNA GO MY WAY, which evoked pure joy amongst the audience and had everyone up out of their seats. Kravitz returned for a one song encore with LET LOVE RULE, which included an incredible saxophone solo and towards the end of the song Kravitz went out into the crowd again and kept singing while he slowly walked a lap of the lower floor high-fiving and greeting as many fans as he could. This was a standout show!
UPCOMING AUSTRALIAN SHOWS:
28 NOV MILDURA SPORTING PRECINCT
29 NOV ADELAIDE BP ADELAIDE GRAND FINAL
SET LIST:
BRING IT ON
DIG IN
TK421
ALWAYS ON THE RUN
I BELONG TO YOU
STILLNESS OF HEART
BELIEVE
HONEY
PARALYZED
LOW
THE CHAMBER
I’LL BE WAITING
IT AIN’T OVER ‘TIL IT’S OVER
AGAIN
AMERICAN WOMAN (The Guess Who cover)
FLY AWAY
ARE YOU GONNA GO MY WAY
Encore:
LET LOVE RULE
