Dermot Kennedy Enchants Rapturous Armory Audience
Dermot Kennedy’s return to Minneapolis was an immensely exciting one. The Irish singer-songwriter had taken a break from touring at the end of 2024, and had more or less been isolated and taken time off since that. Emerging with his brand new record The Weight of the Woods, released earlier this year, Kennedy has been taking the new material on the road religiously, making his way across Europe and selling out theaters and arenas pretty much everywhere he went. This past weekend, that tour finally made its way into The Armory, and it was a beautiful night to remember.
Opener for the evening was Nashville resident Hunter Metts, who previously finished top 10 on American Idol. The soft-spoken guitar-crooner played a simple, down-to-earth set, reminiscent of your Bon Iver’s and your Keaton Henson’s. He was accompanied by close friend, though only close enough to be named after 5 songs, Jack, who backed him on rhythm guitar and occasionally on a lower register of vocals. Metts’ country-come-isolated-woodsman charm played well to the massive crowd, one for which he made it touchingly known he was over the moon to play for, his largest ever. Mixing rustic affability with introspective heart-bearing, it was easy to see why Kennedy has chosen him as support, and by the end of his all-too-short 30 minute set, Metts had won over pretty much the entirety of The Armory. I was genuinely sad when his set ended, as his material really grew on me in the short time I was able to enjoy it.
Bathed in light, Dermot Kennedy entered the stage, crooning into the microphone as the set kicked off. The tableau of the production is a very arresting one - moss covers the front of the stage, and ethereal, eye-catching banners hang to catch the mountain of strobes set akimbo to form falls of light. Dermot is often made the centerpiece of an artistic focal-point, projection backdrops manifesting symmetrical images that place him front and center as he belts his heart out. Within moments he was moving people to tears, quite literally, as one woman in the front of the crowd was weeping within a minute of the first song. The massive entourage that Kennedy brought with him brought the richness of the new material to elevated heights. While he was the centerpiece, each of the other half dozen or so musicians on stage had a vital part to play - the soaring choruses of the songs to come wouldn’t hit the same without the menagerie of support.
The evening consisted quite largely of Weight of the Woods material, the show opening with the intro reprise, moving quickly into “Honest”. The anthemic, pulse-pounding rhythm of this track has an arresting, uplifting quality, the chorus bringing the echoes of audience participation crashing down around everyone in the building - clearly, the new material had already time to worm its way into the brains of the twin cities concertgoers. The energy never dipped from here - while Kennedy worked through a smattering of Woods… tracks, he also dipped into the back catalogue too, expertly moving from somber moods to elevating choruses to bring the mood back up. Seesawing between melancholy introspection and joyous celebration, the rawness of it all had a delightful but exhausting effect. A tremendous show, and a tremendous talent.
