Having seen Dermot Kennedy before we knew we were in for an intense experience, because he feels his songs so much, and not that it’s a bad thing. It’s great to see someone so passionate about his craft.

Coming on stage, which was set up like a rocky forest with great quality large screens at the back, showing at times with images to some songs, it looked fantastic. To a reprise of ‘The Weight of the Woods’, the name of his latest album, straight into two tracks from the album, Honest’ and ‘Wasted, followed by the first of the big hits, ‘Outnumbered’. On ‘After Rain’, he reminisced singing it to 20 people and asked the crowd to sing with all their might the ending words, “You Won’t Go Lonely”, and boy did they respond. I liked that the first part of the set was quite slow, even after he and the band left the main stage to take up position on a small second stage further into the arena, which was a nice touch.

After reconvening on the main stage, the pace picked up with new single ‘Turnstile’, an enormous sing along of ‘Better Days’ and ‘Power Over Me’. The set was paced perfectly, and Kennedy’s voice was incredible, strong and clear. Full of emotion, leaving the Birmingham crowd with an heartfelt thank you for being there. In one word, immense.

Photos by Geoff Griffe
Review by Jenny Griffe