The self-titled "stove-top folk" musician will spend the next four months touring the country on his bike and using his own form of "couch surfing" to find accommodation.
In exchange for a bed, Mr Irving has performed in lounges, bedrooms, garages and even a porch, since he arrived in Christchurch on January 24.
He spent the weekend in Dunedin and held his first show for nine people in a "well-crowded" kitchen.
New Zealand was chosen for the trip because it was "far away from home" and, after putting together his debut album, My Brother is Isaac, he wanted to "take it somewhere".
"I always heard great things about New Zealand, and thought there would be a welcome reception for someone coming from far away," he said.
He started booking shows through a couch surfing website and, along with word-of-mouth, was filling up gaps in his planned route.
A trailer attached to his bike carried a banjo, bouzouki, shruti box, mbira and jews harps, which came together for his "story-oriented" performance.
The smallest audience so far was six people in Lyttelton, and the largest was about 40 people in Ashburton.
"What I like about playing in people's homes is it forces you to confront how the performance is going. There are no illusions at all, because their faces are right there. Every night, being that intimate with folks, you really see what is working and what is not working and it makes you do a better performance," he said.
However, he did not have reason to fear, as the response so far had been "warm" and people were "excited" about the experience.
"It's a lot of fun."
Kat Geeves, who hosted Mr Irving on Sunday night, found out about his tour on the internet.
"I thought, 'This guy's awesome. I want him in my lounge'," she said.
He performed to about 30 people and she described his music as "upbeat and modern".
Mr Irving is travelling through the Catlins to Invercargill, where he will perform three shows.
