Gig Review: The Final Goodbye: Mitch James, Christchurch Town Hall, 24/5/2025
Mitch James’ last ever performance prior to retiring on Saturday night, 24th May 2025.
On Saturday evening in Christchurch, 2000 of us gathered inside of Christchurch Town Hall to say our goodbyes to Mitch James - an icon in the music industry, who is retiring after ten years of musical drive, and outstanding entertainment. Through hardships, he has still been able to keep his head above water and give millions of us exactly what we were after throughout that time period - music that touches souls and allows us to make memories to.
With carefully picked support acts, the entire show was filled with vibrancy, glitter, and a whole whopping of emotion throughout.
CASTAWAY
4/5 of Castaway. Unfortunately, due to where I was standing, I was unable to get a photo with all five of the guys in there!
Opening up the show were local superstars, Castaway. Their flamboyancy, and hip-shaking moves got the crowd going nuts the entire set. The excitement that Castaway exuded on that stage was turned up to one hundred and showed how much fun they like to incorporate in their music. A mix of sweet ridden moments and friendship bracelets were shared throughout, all the while being professionals at their craft, and making it a show to remember. As mentioned in previous write-ups, Castaway switch around, showcasing that each member of the band has multifarious talent and they don’t always just stick to the one instrument that they have learned, and that keeps it quite entertaining. When I think of Castaway, I think of glitter, sheer shirts and exceptional expertise for who they are, and what they do.
CASSIE HENDERSON
Cassie Henderson and her band
Next up, the wonderfully expressive Cassie Henderson was the second opener for the evening. Out Cassie came, her confidence soaring, and her persona shining during the entire set. I’d never seen Cassie, or admittedly heard her songs previously (criminal), however, the way that she composes herself and the way that she interacts with the audience, all the while performing to her greatest strengths, impressed me on a whole other level. With powerful vocals, and superiorly gripping lyricism, Cassie and her band really pulled it out of the bag and definitely gained some new fans on Saturday evening. Cassie’s outfit gave early 2000s Avril Lavigne, minus the tie, and it was a vibe that I really liked. Cassie is a relatable, vibrantly talented artist who clearly holds passion for music at a high value, something that makes her somewhat of a shining star. The interaction with a fan in the front row really showed her compassion for her audience and was genuinely heartwarming to see. Overall, her set was highly energetic and joyful, I can’t wait to hear more of Cassie’s music in the future.
MITCH JAMES
After two highly incredible support acts opening the show, Mitch James walked onto the stage, full of energy, excitement, and undoubtedly, a little twinge of sadness about his musical career retirement. Mitch has always maintained his energy on stage, even when life has given him a beating. Mitch has been open with his struggles from moving to London with a single twenty pounds in his pocket, to dealing with hardships during his time in music, as well as sharing other personal stories from friends, and family. Mitch is a realist and has opened his heart to many over the ten years that he has been in the spotlight with his music, and Saturday evening was no different. He opened up to the audience (his biggest headlining show he has ever played) and spilled secrets, good things, and shared his love for music for the very last time.
Opening his final show with the beautiful All the Ways to Say Goodbye was one way to hit a lot of people directly in the heart, including myself, thinking that he may have ended on that one (I’m glad he didn’t as the impact it left at the beginning was heartfelt and was the perfect track to start with).
Humbling melodies were accompanied with high top energies from Mitch and his band, bringing every ounce of focus and determination to the final ever show, which came across with pure importance and care.
It is a rare form to speak on each story behind every song making it an interesting way to get to know the thoughts inside of Mitch’s brain, which I thoroughly enjoy about getting to see him live. It maintains this personal approach to connecting with fans, allowing them to see beyond the music, and the social media posts that don’t often provide enough context or insight into who he is as a person, whereas, allowing us into this piece of his soul was meaningful and certainly chord striking internally.
The show was filled with primarily older music of Mitch’s, especially from his debut self-titled album and means a lot to the original fanbase. It reignited flames within the hearts of everyone in that room, throwing it back to the good old Dunedin days, where Mitch lived and partied hard, as well as speaking on his fun (and often challenging) life around the world.
Motions (review here) was a song that personally made me freeze up and listen the entire song like there was nobody else in that concert hall, besides Mitch and I. The lyricism to this song is greater than you can imagine, and the meaning behind it really drives home the emotional aspect of not having the answers when someone you love is going through a rough time. It holds a lot of weight, but at the same time, it packs a big punch.
Apologise was another real hard hitter that evening and Mitch gave us the backstory behind it, with listeners universally thinking it was about a break-up he had, however, it was heartbreak of a completely different kind. While Mitch told this story himself for the first time at the show, I personally do not feel comfortable to share his truths in a review, especially because it is his story to tell and not an opinion of the show.
The evening went on, with fans demanding a shoey to be done after each song, with Mitch being patient, waiting for the right time, and joking that he is now known for doing shoeys and it has basically become a part of every show he has played for years now. He managed to do a shoey out of someone’s crimson red boot, even though he’d been sick for the first time in eighteen months that week. It seems shoeys are becoming a tradition across the board for someone Kiwi musicians, but Mitch has likely made them more well-known than most.
Continuing the show, Mitch played more deep tracks such as the infamous One More and shared how his friend Cam and his wife had a meet-cute, and then they had struggles conceiving and eventually, after all of their hardships, having their beautiful miracle daughter, Maddy. A touching song for all to hear.
We quickly moved onto the ever-so emotional Mumma and Me, which Mitch lovingly dedicated to his Mum, Viv, who was up in a viewing box with the rest of Mitch’s family. This song had Mitch himself tearing up, as well as the entire front row. I think we needed to bring some tissues as we didn’t realise how much it would hit us all.
The Final Goodbye was Mitch’s longest and biggest ever headline show throughout his career. I was very lucky to score his personal setlist from his final show.
After this emotionally charged song, Mitch went straight into the infamous 21 wherein the crowd sung with the full capacity of their lungs, thousands of vocals reverberating throughout the Christchurch Town Hall, a special moment that showed what that song means to the masses. Filled with passion and empowerment, 21 resonates with youth, and Mitch’s humble beginnings prior to fame.
When Mitch went into the fun side of the show, it was a real vibe shifter, you could tell the energy veil lifted to create this wild atmosphere of celebration for Mitch’s career, a magical moment that if you were in that room, you would have also had the chance to experience.
With other tracks played such as Stuck in Denial, Bright Blue Skies (which is the most streamed New Zealand song in history, with over seven MILLION streams), and Beautiful Stranger, the show was coming to an end - but it wasn’t quite over yet.
Mitch and his band exited stage left after thanking the fans for everything and leaving us wanting more. However, in true Kiwi fashion, the mix of “encore!” and “one more song!” was accompanied with stamping feet in the room to get Mitch and his band back on stage for another four - not one or two - four additional songs, to my amazement. The encores included Old News, Move On and the crowd-pleasing Sunday Morning.
We then came to the actual final song that Mitch would perform on that stage. The classic The Parting Glass, which is a traditional Scottish song usually sung at the end of a gathering with friends. Mitch sung this with due diligence and care, asking the crowd to be completely still and quiet, while he used no other instrument to close out the final goodbye, other than his voice. No microphone, nothing. An incredible way to retire his career as a musician, amongst the family, friends and fans who hold the most care for him.
Confetti poppers were pulled, friends and family gathered on stage to hug Mitch and share their appreciation for him, and speeches were dedicated in what was an incredibly explosive finale for this man who got to be a popstar in his 20s and fundamentally changed the way that young males can open themselves up through the power of music, and sentiment. He has always had a way of saying “be yourself, the rest will follow” in words other than verbal ones. Mitch’s realness and legacy of his music will last forever and beyond. Let’s keep creating memories to those songs, and don’t let them burn out. Ever.
Find Castaway at the links below -
Spotify
Instagram
Facebook
Castaway x WTTG - Interview
Find Cassie Henderson at the links below -
Spotify
Instagram
Facebook
Website
Find Mitch James at the links below -
Spotify
Instagram
Facebook
YouTube
Mitch James x WTTG - Feature Friday