The Irish Takeover of Austin City Limits
By Kaitlyn Wilkes
After Irish singer-songwriter Hozier had wrapped up his Austin City Limits set under the watchful eyes of the setting sun, it felt like I had put my ear up to the world’s largest seashell. The whooshing of cheers and admiration put ocean waves to shame, my ears could not physically intake any more decibels of sound.
This was a very different feeling to that of the playful-chastising Hozier had given the crowd earlier for not being able to sing back to him a set of falsetto notes in key as a call-and-response.
A few hours before, ACL festival goers had begun the American Express stage’s Irish takeover with former One Direction member, Niall Horan. Horan’s warmth and charisma blanketed the audience as he led them back and forth through his (really good) solo discography and a sprinkling of well known past hits.
Opening with the single “Heaven” set the tone. The layered vocals in the track transpiring to crowd contributions, the instrumentals created a bouncy environment that injected the audience with a newfound levity and emotion after standing in the typical Texas heat.
Even slower songs like “On a Night Like Tonight” and “The Show” carried a certain finesse, panache and captivation that only comes with experience commanding large groups of eager onlookers.
His cover of “Story of My Life” during his tour for his most recent album, The Show, is well documented online. We all knew it was coming. Despite that, the immediate childlike joy my friends and I felt when he sang the first few words was something truly healing.
The Mullingar native has reworked the song to fit the sonic musings of his solo catalog, giving the somber ballad a sunny, more self-accepting tone.
The energy the spectators were sending Horan throughout his set continued to build as it progressed, which created a joyous, familiar atmosphere for the punchy pop set. He joked that if Hozier wasn’t the act after him, he would stay on stage for another 30 minutes.
(He also said the crowd for the second weekend was better than the first, and he seemed so earnest about it, I’m inclined to believe he felt this way.)
After an hour standing shoulder to shoulder with fellow crowd members as the equipment for the next show was brought onstage, Hozier and his band stepped out. The feeling of reverence for the musician could be felt in the audience. His folk and blues inspired tracks were cinematic and sweeping, the usually gentle music booming out of the speakers, I could feel the reverberations in my bones.
Songs from most recent endeavor Unreal Unearth like “De Selby (Part 2),” “Francesca” and “Damage Gets Done” demonstrated the live prowess of the latest album. Their grandeur and anthemic qualities gave insight into the desire for fans to see him live, to undergo the spiritual experience.
Fan favorite “Cherry Wine” saw the rowdy crowd take a pause out of respect for the intricately plucked notes and gentle lilt of Hozier’s voice. A quiet singing rippled over the crowd, earning the praise that they “had a beautiful song in them,” from the performer.
The Venn diagram of fans of the artists who experienced the Irish doubleheader weekend 2 of ACL was essentially a circle — at least from where I was standing. This gave us the chance to be revved up by the effervescence of Horan’s music only to be brought together in a nearly religious trip with the fingerpicking guitar stylings of Hozier.
Not only was this a testament to the power of music and community for the fans, but also seemingly the musicians. Both musicians and their bands took photos with the audience. Perhaps a coincidence, or perhaps a way to memorialize these shows forever beyond the etches that were made in our minds and hearts.
