About Simon Hirst

Simon Hirst is a singer/songwriter from Hamilton, New Zealand. His musical journey began after hearing the classic Split Enz song, ‘I See Red’ at the young age of 10 years old.

Over the following years, Hirst became an increasingly popular performer due to his musicianship and live shows that effortlessly seem to include great audience interaction as well as great performances. These attributes led to him being flown around the Southern Hemisphere performing, and playing up to 220 gigs a year.

Debut EP Shining in Silver (2015) garnered good attention and had critics drawing comparisons from his sound and songwriting to the likes of Neil Finn, R.E.M, and Sir Dave Dobbyn. The EP also drew commendation from legendary mastering engineer Scott Hull of Masterdisk, New York (Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, John Mayer). After an 18-month promotional tour of Shining in Silver, Hirst began recording his debut album at Neil Finn’s Roundhead Studios.

With famous NZ session drummer Patrick Kuhtze on board, the foundation of the album was recorded. Album track, ‘Nothing I Can Do’ features a whirling organ solo from renowned Split Enz keyboardist, Eddie Rayner, who also arranged an orchestral version of album closer ‘Through the Wall of Light’ for a special online-only EP. On Rayner’s appearance: “It was a surreal moment really. The guy whose music started this whole journey walks into the studio, sunglasses on. He was an absolute gentleman and was very complimentary of both the songs, and my musicianship. From someone who was in two of my favourite bands and went on to play for Paul McCartney…”

Feet of God was released in 2018 to critical acclaim. Music.net.nz proclaimed, “This is a musical touchstone that is impossible to ignore simply because like (Neil) Finn, Hirst writes songs that, if they were stripped down to melody, harmony and timbre, would lose no impact at all”.

Three years on, a growing profile has seen him support Sir Dave Dobbyn, Mitch James, and continue to draw larger live audiences himself. His sophomore album promises to bring a harder edge, and leans into the sound of acts like Switchfoot and Jimmy Eat World. As well as on-air interviews, recent singles ‘No Turning Back’ and ‘Incomplete’ have received widespread radio airplay.

With a stream of singles being released prior to dropping Hirst’s sophomore album in the summer of 21/22, as well as an increasing amount of concert bookings, this year is proving to be a big one for this Kiwi artist.

Music is available now on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify and Bandcamp.