Lenny Kravitz - Blue Electric Light Tour 2025
Warm November evenings at Sydney Olympic Park have a particular kind of glow about them; that soft spring air that hasn’t quite given in to summer yet, the sky still holding a little colour as people stream toward Qudos Bank Arena from every direction. Outside, it felt like half the city had decided to come out and celebrate. There were long-time rock fans in sun-faded band tees, couples dressed up for a midweek date night, parents bringing older teens along for a musical education, and younger fans who’ve grown up with Kravitz on playlists rather than on CD shelves. By the time the doors swallowed everyone up and the house lights dropped, there was a gentle hum of expectation running through the place – and then Jet walked on and turned it into a roar.
From the moment Nic Cester and the band took their spots, there was no sense of a group “warming up the crowd” – they looked completely at home on that big stage, like they could have played Qudos every night of the week. A snippet of Baker Street floated out over the PA as a tongue-in-cheek intro, before they snapped straight into ‘Last Chance’ and ‘Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is’, the first big riffs of the night hitting like a jolt of electricity. The sound was everything you’d hope for from Jet in an arena: that lovely blue DW acrylic kit catching the light as every snare crack cut through, guitars with just the right amount of dirt, and a bass player who barely stayed still, throwing himself into every line as if the low end alone could keep rock and roll alive. Up on the riser, the keyboard player grinned his way through the set, peering over the top of his rig between parts as if he couldn’t quite believe he gets to do this for a living.
The set rolled confidently through ‘She’s a Genius’, ‘Get What You Need’, and ‘Hurry Hurry’, and a newer song slotted in so naturally that the crowd took to it without hesitation – a reminder that Jet are still writing material that stands up alongside the early favourites. When they eased into ‘Look What You’ve Done’, the arena softened; phones came up, voices came out, and that Beatles-esque melody wrapped itself around the room in a way that underlined just how well these songs have aged. It was a huge singalong, tender without being sentimental, and it showed the breadth they have beyond the bar-room stompers. Then they dropped their AC/DC moment – ‘It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock ’n’ Roll)’ – and Qudos rose to meet it, chanting every line as if they were suddenly in a much smaller, sweatier venue. Nic even managed a little on-stage slip, asking if everyone was here to see AC/DC before realising the band hadn’t actually played Sydney yet, and the crowd loved him for it.
The closing stretch was pure release. ‘Are You Gonna Be My Girl’ still feels as fresh and urgent as the day it burst onto radio; the first riff landed and you could feel thousands of people lean forward at once. Nic cheekily twisted the first chorus lyric to “Are you gonna go my way?” – a neat nod to the headliner – and the arena roared it back. ‘Rollover DJ’, ‘Get Me Outta Here’, and ‘Cold Hard Bitch’ kept the accelerator pinned down until the very end, the blue acrylic shells flashing under the lights as the drummer drove the whole thing home. By the time Jet walked off, they’d delivered exactly the kind of set you want from a special guest of their calibre: tight, loud, melodic, and completely at ease in front of a near-capacity arena, leaving the room buzzing and more than ready for what was still to come.
After a short reset, the atmosphere shifted. A wash of golden haze spread across the stage, silhouettes of horns and backline emerging through it, and then Lenny Kravitz glided into view as if carried forward by the light itself. A taped intro set the tone, and then the band punched into ‘Bring It On’, ‘Dig In’, and the sleek, impulsive thump of ‘TK421’, stitching decades of his catalogue together in the space of minutes. The energy in the room jumped several notches without ever feeling forced; this was a band that knew exactly how to build a show.
When ‘Always on the Run’ arrived, the place erupted. Those horn stabs, the swaggering groove, Craig Ross’s guitar snarling over the top – it felt like the first true “lift-off” moment of the night. Between songs, Kravitz stood at the lip of the stage and let the cheers wash over him before finally speaking: “Sydney, Australia – well… we’ve made it. We are here, back in this beautiful country of Australia. It’s been too long, I’m gonna keep coming back here, because I need you.” You could hear the history in that line; it’s been close to a decade since his last full Australian run, and both he and the audience seemed determined to make up for lost time.
That’s when the night opened up into something more intimate and spiritual. Kravitz spoke about unity, love, and the energy we share in spaces like this – “With love we have power, with love we are all one – one universe. Tonight is a celebration of life and love, and we gather in friendship.” The band eased into ‘I Belong to You’, warm and unhurried, followed by a beautifully delivered ‘Stillness of Heart’, the final section handed over to the crowd as he listened, smiling, to twenty thousand voices finishing the song for him.
‘Believe’ took things higher still. The arrangement swelled; the backing vocalists wrapped their harmonies around the melody like silk; and Craig Ross stepped forward for a solo so fluid and expressive that time seemed to pause around it. At one point Kravitz laughed about the long haul to get here – “It was worth all nineteen hours to fly here” – and the audience answered with the kind of cheer only a Sydney crowd can muster on a night like this.
Newer material slotted in seamlessly. ‘Honey’ arrived with a laid-back, sensual sway, its gentle groove met with warm applause, before the set pivoted sharply into the muscular guitars of ‘Paralyzed’. The lighting snapped into sharper angles; the band leaned into the heft of the riffs; and the whole arena surged with it. From her towering riser at the back, drummer Jas Kayser was a revelation – a thunderous, charismatic presence behind a gleaming Ludwig kit. She powered ‘Low’ with a deep, relentless pulse, then kept that same unshakeable drive through ‘The Chamber’, showing off the kind of finesse that earns the respect of both casual fans and musicians alike. When Kravitz introduced the band later in the night, her name drew the loudest cheer of the entire evening.
There was time, too, for something quieter. Kravitz stepped behind the grand piano for ‘I’ll Be Waiting’, the arena shrinking in on itself for a few minutes as his voice floated over the chords, tender and open, the band holding gently behind him. From there the night tipped fully into greatest-hits territory: the soulful swing of ‘It Ain’t Over ’Til It’s Over’, washed in deep red and gold; the crunch and swagger of ‘American Woman’; the euphoric lift of ‘Fly Away’; the explosive rush of ‘Are You Gonna Go My Way’; and finally ‘Let Love Rule’, which felt less like a closing number and more like a collective exhale – a room full of people leaning into something joyful and communal before spilling back into the warm night.
Out in the concourse afterwards, the buzz was still thick in the air. One man in a vintage tour shirt shook his head, half laughing as he said to his mate, “He hasn’t aged, has he? Same voice, same swagger… unreal.” A little further along, a younger fan was already scrolling through their phone, telling anyone nearby, “Jet were sick, but that drummer of Lenny’s – she absolutely owned it.” Another voice drifted across the crowd heading toward the station: “That’s how you do a Tuesday night. I’m ruined for normal gigs now.”
On a warm spring evening in Sydney, Jet reminded everyone how good straight-up rock and roll can feel in a big room, and Lenny Kravitz showed exactly why he’s still considered one of the greats – blending rock, funk, soul, and showmanship into a two-hour celebration of connection that made Qudos Bank Arena feel, at least for a little while, like the centre of the universe.
Thanks to Lenny Kravitz, TEG Live, Identity PR and the Qudos Bank Arena for having us along.
Photos by Andy Kershaw for Music Kingdom Australia
