Above: John Mayer and Bella Kalolo in Auckland on Saturday night.

By: Clare Bruce

Singer-guitarist John Mayer brought an element of spirituality to his Auckland show on Saturday night—opening with a moving rendition of the hymn, How Great Thou Art.

He was joined on stage at Auckland’s Spark Arena by a Maori kapa haka group and singer Bella Kalolo, who joined Mayer in harmony and also sang the Maori native language version of the hymn, Whakaaria Mai.

The nod towards heaven was Mayer’s way of remembering the victims of the Christchurch terror attack and bringing comfort to the crowd before launching into his gig set. The song was followed by the Maori group giving an emotion-charged performance of the haka.

At the end of the night Mayer gave a special performance of his life-affirming song, The Heart of Life, with its lyrics, Pain throws your heart to the ground / Love turns the whole thing around / No it won’t all go the way it should / But I know the heart of life is good.

Mayer is touring Australia this week.

Article supplied with thanks to Hope Media.

About the Author: Clare is a digital journalist for the Broadcast Industry.