Live Review: Hozier

Twenty-five-year-old Irish singer-songwriter Hozier (real name Andrew Hozier-Byrne) walked on stage to an absolutely adoring crowd. The venue was near capacity with crowds of people eagerly huddled together, awaiting the first taste of his wholesome, echoing voice. Wearing his signature black-and-red flannelette shirt, he began with Like Real People Do, one of the later tracks off his self-titled album, followed by Angel Of Small Death & The Codeine Scene, with two exceptionally talented female vocalists singing back-up vocals beside him. 

After bringing in the initial chords for To Be Alone, Hozier asked the audience members to echo his vocals: "Just repeat after me, there will be no judgment from my end," he reassured, and when the majority of the crowd chimed in out of key, it was met with, "Okay, let's try that one again". He knew how to put a crowd at ease, even with fairly limited crowd interaction, simply by being himself. A wonderfully expressive musician live, he smiled, grinned and bared his teeth through those high notes, eyes closed and utterly lost in the moment.

It's easy to spot the similarities between his voice and that of Jeff Buckley's. Hozier followed through with crowd favourite Someone New, with a stunning lighting display behind him. Kudos to the lighting guy! Next up was the sultry blues song It Will Come Back, with Alana Henderson on cello, and In A Week with the magnificent Karen Cowley. Her voice was magical, and together they sang very close to perfection. It was definitely a moment.

Unsurprisingly, the crowd demanded an encore, and after he finished his set he rocked back on stage with a personal favourite, Cherry Wine. Looking up into the crowd about 30 seconds into the song you could see smartphones start to pop up with torches activated, lit up like candles in the night. It really was enchanting. Hozier's music doesn't particularly need a band either — it feels much more emotional and genuine when it's stripped-back and solo. Hozier ended his set with a bang, singing Ariana Grande's 2014 hit song Problem and thanking every band and crew member.