Hozier at the Palace Theatre
ALBANY, N.Y. >> During what may be the best week of Andrew Hozier-Byrne’s life, the musician spent some of it with local fans at the Palace Theatre.
Still riding the high of his brand new record “Wasteland, Baby!” debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 charts, Hozier shared his excitement through a sold-out concert on Monday night in Albany.
“It’s a good week for me, and I want to thank you so much,” the star told the crowd mid-set. Why? Well, in addition to scoring the top spot on the charts — his highest ranking Billboard 200 debut to date — the Irish singer-songwriter kicked off his U.S. tour, during which he gets to play his new material off of “Wasteland, Baby!” live for the first time, in front of thousands of adoring fans.
Oh, and it’s his birthday on Sunday.
On the second night of his “Wasteland, Baby!” tour with opening act Jade Bird, Hozier played a mix of new songs, including “Movement,” “Almost (Sweet Music),” “Dinner & Diatribes” and title track “Wasteland, Baby!” from the new album, as well as his recent hit “Nina Cried Power,” which features Mavis Staples on the studio recording.
Hozier also performed some of his older familiar favorites such as “Take Me to Church,” and “Someone New” off of his 2014 self-titled release, along with “Cherry Wine” and “Work Song” in the encore.
No matter what Hozier and his band were playing Monday evening, each song added up to a rock show as grand and as beautiful as the historic theater where it was performed.
Hozier’s distinct and captivating voice kept the crowd’s attention throughout the entire set, and his joyful energy translated well with the Albany audience.
Between playing some of his “Wasteland, Baby!” songs for only the second time in concert, Hozier told fans a little bit about his writing process. “I was writing a lot of, I suppose, love songs for the end of the world,” he said on stage.
If the world was to end soon, Hozier might be happy with what he’s accomplished so far in his musical career. But if he continues making love songs, and the Billboard charts are still around in years to come, Hozier fans will make sure he’s on them in the future.