“I know you’ve already warmed up,” Hozier told the 45,000-strong Finsbury Park gathering in the London summer sun, nodding to the acts onstage before him. “But would you warm up with me again? Just got to warm the pipes.”
The request, said in his soft Irish lilt, was unintentionally humorous: our vocal “pipes” aren’t quite the same standards as his, which can climb from a bruising bass to a tender tenor with ease.
Almost a year to the day, the same stage on which Hozier stood had given way to three genuine crowd-pullers: London rabble-rouser Jamie T, Britpop eccentrics Pulp and lavish (if a little controversial) pop-rock performers The 1975. Andrew Hozier-Byrne cuts a slightly different hue from each of those, with a catalogue that leans predominantly – huge breakthrough single ‘Take Me To Church’ aside – towards luscious laments rather than big, bold acts of showmanship.
The question here was not so much about whether the Irish troubadour would pack out the north London site (this event was sold-out, as have all his UK and European shows been this summer), but how his work would scale-up to these huge surroundings.
After help from folk duo and countrymen Ye Vagabonds, Lord Huron of ‘The Night We Met’ fame and Alabama Shakes powerhouse Brittany Howard in rousing people’s spirits, as the dreary clouds made way for sunshine, Hozier was able to show in precisely what fashion this could work. He has, of course, played sizable venues before – at Ally Pally’s outside patch a year ago, and OVO Arena Wembley at the tail-end of 2023 – but this was an altogether different beast.
Opening with the soulful ‘Eat Your Young’, plucked from last year’s Unreal Unearth LP, Hozier showed how even in a space such as this, he could have huge impact with minimal effort. He’s not your archetypal rockstar entertainer; as humble as his County Wicklow roots, he’s an artist who largely lets his deep, religiously rich lyricism take on the mantle of his performance. And there was certainly no extravagant light show or visuals to do any of the heavy lifting here.
A triple shot of tracks from his self-titled debut album, ‘Jackie and Wilson’, ‘From Eden’ and ‘To Be Alone’, induced a love-in, with fan’s eyes rolling in adoration towards friends. These were a reminder of the range and rhythm that has long-been injected into Hozier’s work, as he could propel us along with the blues-rock of ‘Dinner & Diatribes’ or take a soothing sidestep into the lullaby of ‘Like Real People Do’.
And whilst this compilation of his greatest tracks commemorated his breakthrough first full-length (which celebrates its tenth anniversary this September), there was a reminder too of his far more recent successes, when he broke out ‘Too Sweet’.
The track, which contrasts one’s desire for the unfiltered aspects of life with their partner’s sweetness, has found huge success on TikTok, and made Hozier the first Irish artist to achieve No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 since Sinéad O’Connor in 1990, after topping the US charts in April. (There was a nod to this transatlantic success earlier when Brittany Howard joined him onstage for a cover of Joe Cocker’s ‘Feelin’ Alright’). ‘Too Sweet’ might not be Hozier’s most eloquently-written tune but it’s not hard to see why its upbeat swagger and towering vocals have established a hit.
Still, any Hozier show has by far and away the singer’s most well-known track, ‘Take Me To Church’, ready to pounce at some point in the setlist; and the trick for his live shows over the years has no doubt been how best to weave it in without it hogging all the limelight.
After he brought this anthem’s gospel-pop prowess to bear (it really is an almighty banger), the Hozier fanbase may well have been content to catch an early tube home on a school night. But it was his next segment that raised the bar – and justifies raising this review from a four- to a five-star.
It’s not easy for a hirsute six-foot-six figure to go unnoticed, but Hozier popped up, seemingly out of nowhere, at a B-stage in the middle of the crowd. From here – looking from a distance as though he was raised aloft by fans, divine grace or both – he serenaded the audience with Hozier album closer ‘Cherry Wine’ and the stark beauty of Unreal Unearth’s ‘Unknown/Nth’, swapping an acoustic for an electric guitar between the two.
Once again, he could have ended there. But instead, he returned to the main stage to launch into a powerful five-minute speech about voting rights, global conflicts and the small everyday acts that can improve a community, before playing the 2018 track ‘Nina Cried Power’. Featuring the vocals of gospel singer and civil rights activist Mavis Staples, Hozier explained this track is sung as a tribute to those demanding ceasefire in Gaza.
And after wrapping-up with ‘Work Song’, you were left struck by just how many beautifully-crafted tunes this Irish songmaker has at his disposal. He made a pointed effort to thank his entire crew, as he does at most of his shows – including bassist Alex Ryan, guitarist Kellen Wenrich and cellist Larissa Maestro – but there was really only one person who stole the show here. I guess he must have warmed his vocal “pipes” up after all; don’t worry about it Hozier, we were happy to help.
