Dermot Kennedy Gives Montreal His All

Photo Credit: Hot Press

On Monday Mar. 2, fans eager to see Dermot Kennedy lined the hall of Place des Arts, buzzing with excitement to be attending the sold-out show. Dermot Kennedy, an artist on the rise with increasing headline appearances, took the stage at La Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier, which held hundreds of more people than his previous Montreal venue back in October. The Irish singer-songwriter has been touring since the fall of 2019, promoting his debut album Without Fear. 

Upon entering the vast room, fans were greeted by a blue eerie haze as smoke spilled from the stage. The murmur of chit-chat among the audience burst into a roar of applause as a recognizable melody filled the room. Kennedy emerged from the smoke and greeted the crowd with a calming first few lines of his song “An Evening I Will Not Forget”. The young artist delivered a moving show while demonstrating his hunger for his craft; despite countless shows on the road, Kennedy showed no signs of tiring during his performance. Clearly a seasoned performer—as understood through his comfortable stage presence—Kennedy demonstrated humility, gratitude and endless passion for his gift as he took in every moment as it came. He took reflective pauses to listen and understand the praise with which the audience showered him, while taking the time to sing lyrics that rang clear within the hearts of his fans.

With a unique voice with power to fill any room wall to wall, Kennedy captivated the crowd. Throughout the evening, the singer portrayed his emotion and created a connection with fans individually; but no emotion compared to the one that poured out from Kennedy as he performed “The Corner”. The crowd sang along with him and cathartically expressed their hurt and struggles through music.  

Throughout his honest career, Kennedy has managed to build a unique and loyal fan base. At almost every one of his concerts, his fans work together to create an original surprise for him. This was no exception. During the lyrics “you’ve been forcing all these hollow hearts to feel again”, thousands of audience members held up hand-cut hearts against their phone lights. 

Vibrations rang through everyone's chest as nearly 3,000 people sang in unison the closing lines of the show “you won’t go lonely”. Gifted with talent, Kennedy is using his craft to spread a message of hope and to unite people through his music platform. 

Kennedy gave us every part of himself in his performance with personal lyrics touching on life, love and death, all to bring his fans a message of hope. It is as though he gave every inch of his being to the audience from upon that stage; clearly Kennedy bleeds his craft. Despite his growing success of his career that originated in busking on the streets of Dublin, Kennedy makes it clear in his performance that he remains grounded, grateful and humble within his virtues of hard work and confidence of his craft.