Dermot Kennedy and The O' My's at the Summit in Denver, CO 0n 11/9/18

Dermot Kennedy - Photos by the
Rock and Roll Princess

The sold-out Summit crowd was giddy with anticipation to see the Dublin, Ireland singer-songwriter Dermot Kennedy. So much so that someone left in an ambulance before the show even started (drinking can be dangerous). The twenty-five year-old musician layers his vividly poetic songs with elements of hip-hop. A few years ago Kennedy got his big break when he was invited to be part of fellow Irishman Glen Hansard's annual Christmas concert. The exposure catapulted Kennedy into the spotlight.

Dermot Kennedy

Dermot Kennedy started his set with the song All My Friends. It's a combination of rapping poetry, rolling keyboards, and a heartfelt chorus. A few songs later, the mostly twenty-something female crowd shouted along to Young & Free. Fun Fact: the name Dermot translates to free man. The song could have easily been named Young and Dermot (probably a bad choice). Next Kennedy played Boston. The lyrics describe the summer he spent busking near ...wait for it….Boston universities when he was eighteen.

Kennedy thanked the audience for making his latest single Power Over Me such a hit. It was released just before his current tour started a few weeks ago. That's when a gospel vocal echoed over the audience making most of the loud drunks stop talking for a brief moment. His other gospel inspired song Glory had him belting out, "A set of eyes had pinned him/Became his version of a kingdom/She's everything the devil can't be/When she's singing to me Glory." Kennedy ended with After the Rain. It was the same song he played at the Glen Hansard concert that made everyone first notice his incredible talent. Kennedy didn't have an encore because all he had to give was already left on the stage.

The O' My's

The O' My's were the opening band. The duo from Chicago, Illinois is made-up of singer/guitarist Maceo Haymes with an impressive falsetto and keyboardist Nick Hennessey with an equally impressive mustache. They met in high school and have been playing music around the Chicago area ever since. The O' My's recently released a new album entitled Tomorrow with a guest appearance by Chance The Rapper. The MC did not join them on stage. But their heartfelt song Pieces more than made up for it. Another fun fact: Pieces appeared in the Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson HBO series Ballers.

See you at the next show. I'll be the one shouting fun facts over loud drunks.