THE RICH AND SOULFUL VOICE of Irish musician Hozier echoed across San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park over the weekend, the final headlining act of the three-day Outside Lands Music Festival that drew tens of thousands of attendees each day.
Hozier ended the festival with a dramatic and captivating performance that included a speech calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Accompanied by backup singers and a full band, Hozier sang a mix of his discography including his most well-known tunes and tracks from his latest album, “Unreal Unearth: Unaired.”
The crowd sang to every word in well-known tracks like “Too Sweet,” which was played with strong electric guitar that brought a rock n’ roll feel to the hit song. Attendees also danced along to the uplifting beats of songs like “Someone New” and “Almost (Sweet Music).”
During the dramatic, gospel-like record “Movement,” Hozier stood in front of the microphone with his hands in his pockets, effortlessly belting out the song’s high-pitched and powerful notes.
Unlike many artists who graced the stages of Outside Lands over the weekend, Hozier appreciated San Francisco’s quintessential chilly summers and foggy weather.
“From the stage I was watching the fog roll in,” he said in between songs. “It’s a beautiful sight.”
Rachel Lau, an audience member who had looked forward to seeing Hozier all weekend, was blown away by how his live singing voice sounded indistinguishable from his recorded tracks.
“This is my first time hearing Hozier live, and his voice sounds just like it does in the recordings,” Lau said in an interview. “He sounds even more amazing live.”
Toward the end of his set, he spent four minutes talking to the crowd, encouraging them to stand up against the Israel-Hamas war happening in the Middle East.
“As we’ve been traveling over the last nearly two years, I’ve been inviting people, encouraging people, asking people to use their empathy, their human compassion, their honest human witness, and their rights of vote, their democratic voices and their rights of free speech to support peace and safety and security for everybody in the Middle East, to support an immediate ceasefire and a meaningful political solution,” he said.
The crowd roared in response, appearing to listen intently to his speech.
Peace and safety and security for everybody in the Middle East means seeing a Palestine that’s free from occupation.
Hozier
He supports Palestine being able to have its own state, reflecting on Ireland’s fight for independence from Great Britain in the early 1900s.
“Peace and safety and security for everybody in the Middle East means seeing a Palestine that’s free from occupation,” Hozier said. “It means seeing a Palestine that’s free to move towards meaningful self-determination and statehood and the recognition of statehood, which is something that people of Ireland asked the international community for 100 years ago.”
He smoothly transitioned from the speech into his record “Nina Cried Power,” a protest song that honors musicians who used their voices for a call to action.
Lau appreciated Hozier’s speech, saying it allowed the audience to pause and reflect on the importance of using civil rights to call against violent conflicts around the world.
“He’s an activist for human rights and helped spread love and compassion during his act,” she said. “He didn’t have to do that but he did so because he genuinely cares.”
Hozier ended the night with his hit song, “Take Me to Church,” while also attaching a pride flag to his microphone stand. A barrage of fireworks concluded the set, closing the three-day festival with a bang.
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