Hozier Brought a Folk-Rock Political Revolution to Dallas

When Irish blues and folk-rock singer-songwriter Hozier played the Dos Equis Pavilion on Sunday, his song “Too Sweet” was at the top of the Billboard Hot 100, the first No. 1 song by an Irish artist in the U.S. since Sinead O’Connor’s “Nothing Compares 2 U.”

This week, “Too Sweet” and the rest of the Top 10 will be curb-stomped by that new Taylor Swift album, but it was easy to see at his Dallas show why (Swift-mania notwithstanding) Hozier has become a rock star for this socially conscious generation.

Before this year, the general public thought of Hozier as a one-hit wonder, well-loved for his 2013 single “Take Me to Church” but not known for much else. His fans have always known that while his presence on the pop charts was understated this past decade, he has gradually built up a fiercely loyal and largely queer fanbase.
Despite what some have falsely assumed, Hozier’s second radio hit didn’t come out of nowhere. That’s why he was able to get away with playing "Too Sweet" fourth during his Dallas set and not miss a beat. The energy in the room only went up from there.

Hozier remained interactive with the crowd throughout the show. After seeing a girl at the barricade hold up a sign that said “Give us a yeehaw,” he laughed and obliged, sounding a little hesitant and confused as to how he was supposed to say it.

“Is this cultural appropriation?” he joked. The crowd laughed and cheered. We got a couple more increasingly confident yeehaws throughout the night.

A highlight of the set was "Wildflower and Barley," which features Americana singer-songwriter Allison Russell. She is, fortunately enough, the opening act on this tour. Her fanbase was well-represented in the crowd and she was enthusiastically welcomed back to the stage for both “Wildflower and Barley” and “Work Song” in the encore.
It’s fitting that Hozier’s best-known song is “Take Me to Church” because many of his songs feel like a religious experience in a live setting. “Would That I,” a deep cut from 2019’s Wasteland Baby! that got a boost on TikTok last year, has an intuitive call-and-response element. Hozier sang the lyrics of the chorus and the audience filled in on the background “woahs.” Even if you’ve never heard the song, you can easily join in by the second chorus.

During “Almost (Sweet Music),” the energy reached new heights and Hozier introduced his band by letting them play extended solos. This had people primed and ready for the euphoria of his finale.

The final song in the main set was “Take Me to Church,” a takedown on the culture of shame in conservative churches and a celebration of earthly pleasures (namely sex). The song was immediately adopted as an LGBTQ anthem upon release, thanks in part to the powerful music video featuring male leads.
During the final chorus, Hozier accepted a pride flag from someone at the barricade and displayed it on his mic stand. As he and his band exited the stage, a spotlight lingered on the flag.

When the stage finally went completely dark, the calls for an encore had already begun. It took a little longer for the members of the audience closer to the front to realize that he had taken his guitar to a platform in the middle of the room. The back half of the crowd had the best view of his acoustic performance of "Cherry Wine.”

As the acoustic portion wrapped up, the drums for the 2019 protest anthem “Nina Cried Power” kicked in as Hozier made his way back to the stage. Once up there, he first gave a shout-out to gospel singer and civil rights activist Mavis Staples, who is a featured artist on the recording.
Hozier then paused, as if considering his words, before launching into a speech on the importance of protests.

“Protests are one of the things that can give us the world we have,” he said, before adding examples of their power. He spoke about labor rights, noting that protests are the reason fans have a free weekend to attend his show.

He also spoke about the role of protests in ending occupation and subjugation, mentioning apartheid in South Africa and the history of British rule in Ireland, before finally calling for a ceasefire in Palestine. The singer firmly expressed his solidarity with the Palestinian people and his belief in their right to statehood.

He ended the speech with a call to a “revolution of love, revolution of kindness and revolution of human goodwill.”This felt true to a decades-long legacy of revolutionary themes in folk music and was especially poignant considering the pro-Palestinian protests occurring at universities nationwide as he was speaking.
In a room of young, progressive fans, this speech brought about the loudest cheers of the night. “Nina Cried Power,” with background vocalist Melissa McMillan (who is originally from Dallas, according to Hozier), was the peak fever pitch of the night.

Hozier gave his Dallas fans more than a good time. He gave them hope. If that doesn’t warrant a “yeehaw,” we don’t know what does.