Concert Review: Dermot Kennedy Influences In Warsaw

Dermot Kennedy is proof that music is about moodiness. A good artist is a capturer of the human spectrum, and how we can wave through feelings more than a row of United Nations flags. For his Warsaw show, packed with younglings in their bags and sentiments, Kennedy previewed that influencer and artist are very blurry lines. 

Now, it is not like Kennedy is a TikTok star turned Pop Idol. On the contrary, Kennedy has been on the grind since before his 2019 hit ¨Outnumbered,¨ and plays his tracks with humility; as if he was still just an Irish lass playing the tunes in his head with his living room guitar. The homeliness of his demeanor, matched with his earthy tone is and lyrical energy is, exactly, why he gives off tastemaker vibes. In 2019, Kennedy would have needed to be a Kardashian to emanate the power over mood shifts, but being plainly Dermot is what made the crowd fawn over him. 

Celebrating his new album, Sonder at Warsaw, I noticed something that has been happening for the last few years, but now especially:  the future ¨superstars¨ are going to feel really regular. Now, we will never get rid of our divas (Ariana, what are you doing here (says in Nicki voice)), but the pandemic grounded us in ways that made us more attracted to the fellow, talented human being that is schlepping through depressions and creative bursts. In humor, heart, and, of course, song, Dermot radiated a splendiferous ¨regularness¨ that made him a Gen-Z working class hero, except we are all still looking for work (lol!). 

I really enjoyed Kennedy´s show because it tapped into a prediction I had felt for awhile: the more you that you are, without the lights, the more people want to see you shine under them. It is as if we have become obsessed with spotlighting vulnerability or the very perception of it.  We are, as a society, more into the no-filter photos and funny fails because we are tired of acting like neither of those things happen. In a way, Kennedy´s music is all about that; the realization that vulnerability cannot be machinated. For More Information On Dermot Kennedy Click Here.