Escaping the rain that plagued London’s All Points East festival over the weekend, Sunday’s session was nothing short of mesmerising as varied crowds let out their emotion to the tunes of .
The 31-year-old Irishman waited his turn and stepped onto Victoria Park’s east stage without fear, guitar in hand, ready to what he was really made of.
Promising to up the ante for his headline slot, Dermot enlisted the help of a smattering of similarly styled artists to warm up the masses – a line-up that perfectly complimented the mellow vibe of the afternoon and included , James Vincent McMorrow and Aurora.
Night fell, the gathering audience – including plenty of VIPs who had rubbed shoulders with the headliner in the jazzy – buzzed with anticipation and in true Kennedy style, he let the tension build with an epic light show and electric musical intro before greeting his fans with Blossom.
All it took was a couple of notes before the crowd were nicely nestled in the palm of his hand and as he sang on, a beautiful, eerie atmosphere cloaked the park, letting his gritty, raw voice fill the space in between the trees.
Dermot seemed determined to fulfil the promise of an epic extravaganza and to prove just how far he’d come from the 2019 version of himself that offered support to the then-headliners at that exact venue – and he succeeded.
Beckoning a string section and fully-fledged choir to join him on stage, the singer-songwriter led the charge as the juicy, thick vocal harmonies embellishing Power Over Me and One Life floated into the packed viewing pit.
As is usual at a Dermot concert, the artist carved out time to chat with his fans and delivered some words of wisdom in between his chart-topping hits, reminding East London to be grateful and count their blessings.
‘This has been a dream for a very long time and for you all to be here and for the music to come together like this… could you just give everyone on stage the maddest round of applause, please,’ he began his emotional correspondence that earned him a chorus of cheers.
His pure joy and humbleness at watching his blood, sweat and tears translate into a real live performance was infectious and made watching the talented singer all the more special.
For a show that had so many goosebump-worthy moments to choose from, the star managed to provide a jaw-dropping point during his set list that went down a treat.
Rome, backed by a choir of male and female voices, soared through the open-air venue and sent shivers rippling through a stunned crowd as they let the music permeate their eardrums.
It was hard not to feel inspired and overjoyed for the singer as he stared out into the audience with an unbelieving smile on his face, drinking in what he had just achieved.
Taking Victoria Park home with the song that started it all – Outnumbered – followed by a promise of Better Days and a bop to Kiss Me – if festivalgoers didn’t enter the turnstiles a Dermot stan, they most definitely boarded the Mile End tube as one.
Reminding the venue they had just experienced a session almost therapy-like in its emotional expenditure as one unit, the star sang himself out to the sound of Something to Someone and reassured his fans they would never go lonely if he could help it.
The grass vibrated with help from the smartly added choir and strings and as an Irish tri-colour flag flew high in the air wrapped around the body of an adoring fan, Dermot belted his final note of a pole position triumph neither he nor Victoria Park would ever forget.
