Hozier has the song of the summer and Pinnacle Bank Arena has a sold-out show. The song is “Too Sweet,” a slice of hooky, bouncy pop, that hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in April, The show is Wednesday, when the “Take Me to Church” musician will return to Lincoln, where he will play for an audience more than twice as large as when he sold out the 4,500 seat Pinewood Bowl in 2015.
“We’re selling more tickets now than when I was in the charts with ‘Take Me to Church,’” Hozier told the New York Times of his newfound success in the teen/20-something pop market. “We weren’t actively appealing to a younger fan base, the work was just there ..
. We were noticing early on that there were people who were 17, 18 in the front of those shows who would have been 9, 10 or 11 when ‘Take Me to Church’ came out.” Like most of the shows on Hozier’s “Unreal Unearth” tour, Wednesday’s show, which will draw more than 12,000 to the arena, sold out before “Too Sweet” became a hit, evidence of the embrace of the Irish singer-songwriter by a younger generation.
Hozier is also now a festival headliner, getting rave reviews for a performance in the rain at Lollapalooza and topping the bill at Des Moines Hinterland Music Festival last week. Born on St. Patrick’s Day, the 34-year-old Andrew Hozier-Byrne is the son of a blues musician who grew up around music, started his first band at 15 and studied music at Trinity College in Dublin before dropping out in his first year to record demos for Universal Music.
From 2009 to 2012, he sang with the Irish choral group Anúna. In 2013, he released the “Take Me to Church” EP. The title track went viral on YouTube, jump-started Hozier’s career, eventually being certified Diamond, the industry mark for 10 million copies sold.
His self-titled debut album — filled with songs that mix rock, gospel, soul and pop — was released in 2014, went to No. 2 on the Billboard charts and has sold more than 6 million copies worldwide. His follow-up EP, 2018’s “Nina Cried Power” topped the Billboard charts as did his 2019 album “Wasteland, Baby!" “Unreal Unearth,” which contains songs partially in the Irish language, debuted at No.
3 when it was released last year. “Too Sweet,” which sits at No. 7 on the Hot 100 after 19 weeks on the chart, is featured on Hozier’s “Unheard,” a recent EP of songs that didn’t make the cut for “Unreal Unearth,” which was inspired by Dante’s “Inferno.
” The EP also contains “Wallflower and Barley,” an acoustic ballad on which Hozier is joined by Allison Russell who will open Wednesday’s show. Russell won a Grammy for Best Americana Roots Performance for “Eve Was Black,” from her critically acclaimed album “The Returner,” which also got Grammy nods for best Americana album and American roots song and Americana performance for its title track. The crowd waits for Roger Daltrey to go on at Memorial Park in Omaha on Friday, June 28, 2024.
Roger Daltrey performs at Memorial Park in Omaha on Friday, June 28, 2024. Simon Townshend, left and Roger Daltrey perform at Memorial Park in Omaha on Friday, June 28, 2024. Elijah Hewson of the band Inahler waves to the crowd as he takes the stage at Memorial Park in Omaha on Friday, June 28, 2024.
The band Inahaler peforms at Memorial Park in Omaha on Friday, June 28, 2024. Fans cheer on the band Inhaler as they play at Memorial Park in Omaha on Friday, June 28, 2024. Fans watch the band Inahler at Memorial Park in Omaha on Friday, June 28, 2024.
Elijah Hewson, left, and Robert Keating of the band Inahler play at Memorial Park in Omaha on Friday, June 28, 2024. People put out blankets in Memorial Park before the Roger Daltrey concert in Omaha on Friday, June 28, 2024. People put out blankets in Memorial Park before the Roger Daltrey concert in Omaha on Friday, June 28, 2024.
Fans wait for the band Inhaler to play at Memorial Park in Omaha on Friday, June 28, 2024. Fans watch the band Inhaler play at Memorial Park in Omaha on Friday, June 28, 2024. Fans bounce a beach ball during Inahler's set at Memorial Park in Omaha on Friday, June 28, 2024.
Fans wait for the band Inhaler play at Memorial Park in Omaha on Friday, June 28, 2024. Fans wait for the band Inhaler play at Memorial Park in Omaha on Friday, June 28, 2024. Fans watch the band Inhaler play at Memorial Park in Omaha on Friday, June 28, 2024.
Elijah Hewson of the band Inahler performs at Memorial Park in Omaha on Friday, June 28, 2024. Elijah Hewson of the band Inahler performs at Memorial Park in Omaha on Friday, June 28, 2024. Roger Daltrey performs at Memorial Park in Omaha on Friday, June 28, 2024.
Roger Daltrey laughs as he answers submitted questions between songs at Memorial Park in Omaha on Friday, June 28, 2024. Roger Daltrey performs at Memorial Park in Omaha on Friday, June 28, 2024. The crowd waits for Roger Daltrey to go on at Memorial Park in Omaha on Friday, June 28, 2024.
Reach the writer at 402-473-7244 or kwolgamott @journalstar.com . On Twitter @KentWolgamott Receive the latest in local entertainment news in your inbox weekly! Entertainment reporter/columnist {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
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