Dermot Kennedy at The O2
Dermot Kennedy at The O2, London — 2026-06-06
Dermot Kennedy brought the scale of The Weight of the Woods Tour to The O2 while knowing exactly when to step back and let the songs speak for themselves.
Dermot Kennedy is currently playing the biggest venues of his career.
Yet on Friday night at The O2, much of what made the show memorable had little to do with its size.
That isn’t to say The Weight of the Woods Tour lacks ambition. Far from it. The production is expansive, built around the imagery and themes of his latest album. Forests stretch across enormous LED walls, skies shift behind the band, and warm amber lighting bathes the arena in colours that feel lifted from dusk rather than a lighting designer’s colour wheel. It is visually impressive without ever threatening to overwhelm the music.
The show opened with a choir accompanying “The Weight of the Woods (Reprise”) before remaining in place for “Honest”. It was one of the evening’s few overtly theatrical moments, but even here the focus remained firmly on the songs.
From the opening notes of “Honest”, Kennedy rarely had to carry a chorus alone. Across the floor and into the upper tiers, the crowd matched him line for line, particularly during “Outnumbered”, where large sections of The O2 seemed to take ownership of the song before he reached the chorus.
Early performances of “Sycamore” and “Refuge” demonstrated just how comfortably the newer material sits within Kennedy’s live catalogue. There was little sense that the audience was waiting for older favourites to return.
There is little theatricality to Kennedy’s stage presence. No elaborate choreography. No carefully rehearsed gestures designed for social media clips. He stands, sings, occasionally paces the stage, and trusts the material to do the work.
Midway through the evening came the show’s most interesting decision. Leaving the main stage behind, Kennedy made his way to a platform positioned deep within the crowd. Secondary stages have become a familiar feature of arena touring, but they often feel tokenistic; a brief excursion before the artist returns to where the production lives.
The move proved to be one of the evening’s smartest decisions.
“Happiness”, “Let Me In”, “Endless” and “The Weight of the Woods” formed a sequence that shifted the focus away from the visuals and back towards the songwriting. Positioned on a smaller stage within the crowd, Kennedy was surrounded on all sides by the audience, creating a noticeably different atmosphere to the opening half of the show.
During “The Weight of the Woods”, a sea of phone lights spread across the arena floor, providing one of the night’s most memorable images.
Kennedy made no attempt to disguise where his attention currently lies. Songs from The Weight of the Woods were threaded throughout the evening and formed the backbone of the B-stage section. Yet there was little sense that the audience viewed them as newcomers. They were received with the same enthusiasm as established favourites such as “Outnumbered”, “After Rain” and “Power Over Me”.
It was also where the album made its strongest case for itself. Stripped of the arena production and placed under a spotlight of its own, songs such as “Endless” and “The Weight of the Woods” revealed a depth and confidence that make a strong case for this being the most complete record of Kennedy’s career.
Returning to the main stage for the closing run, the arena opened up once again. “Turnstile” restored the scale of the production before “Better Days” and “Power Over Me” generated some of the loudest reactions of the evening.
His voice remains instantly recognisable; rough around the edges, occasionally strained, often soaring, but always convincing. There are moments where notes are pushed rather than perfectly placed, yet that has always been part of Kennedy’s appeal. Nothing feels overly rehearsed or carefully preserved. The songs still sound connected to the emotions that inspired them.
Before “Funeral”, Kennedy took a moment to address the crowd. Looking out across the sold-out O2, he admitted it was difficult to describe what it felt like to be playing a venue like this before simply adding, “thank you very much.”
What followed was one of the night’s biggest reactions. As “Funeral” gathered momentum, groups danced, arms in the air across the arena floor while thousands more sang along from the stands. By the final chorus, Kennedy was no longer leading the song so much as sharing it.
The Weight of the Woods Tour may be Kennedy’s biggest production to date, but its greatest strength lies in knowing when to step back and let the songs speak for themselves.
Setlist
The Weight of the Woods (Reprise) / Honest / Wasted / Outnumbered / Sycamore / Refuge / Lost / An Evening I Will Not Forget / All My Friends / After Rain / Happiness / Let Me In / Endless / The Weight of the Woods / Stockholm / Turnstile / Better Days / Power Over Me / Funeral
For WE PLUG GOOD MUSIC https://www.wepluggoodmusic.com/