Dermot Kennedy On Touring Australia & 'The Weight Of The Woods': 'It’s Kind Of A Given That I'll Keep Coming Back'

Jacob McCormack

In the wake of his latest release, 'The Weight of The Woods,' Dermot Kennedy is set to headline a run of arena shows throughout Australia in November.

Dermot Kennedy(Credit: Silken Weinberg)

Dermot Kennedy

With three studio albums to his name and some of the most popular contemporary songs etched into his discography, Dermot Kennedy has cemented his craft into the zeitgeist of singer/songwriters of today.

What’s more is the reputation that Kennedy has established for touring around the world, especially playing at notable venues across the globe. This will be no exception in his upcoming Australia/New Zealand tour in November this year.

He is set to pack out Kings Park and Botanic Garden in Perth on Saturday, November 14; The Riverstage in Brisbane on Tuesday, November 17; the TikTok Entertainment Centre in Sydney the following night, before making his way to the famed Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne on Saturday 21 and rounding out his time in Australia at Adelaide Entertainment Centre on Sunday, November 22.

The experience of performing to crowds of these numbers, and to crowds in Australia, isn’t foreign for the Irishman. And in his conversation with us at The Music, he reminded us that this could well be the seventh time touring in Australia.

It's the expression of playing in Australia that illuminates the growth apparent in Kennedy’s career, as well as the far-reaching audiences his music has managed to connect with.

“I'd be completely guessing, but I feel like it's potentially our sixth or seventh tour in Australia,” proclaims Kennedy. “I guess that's a lot for an artist from Ireland, but at the same time, I think Australia is a really good example for me of how I played to nobody for so long.

“If I can go somewhere and people will be at the show, I will be there. And I think I'll just always appreciate that, so I think that's why I keep coming back, because A, the shows are great and crowds are great and B, not in an overly corny way, I just feel really appreciated down there.

“To be honest, as someone who slogged away for a long time playing in bars to like five people, it's pretty sweet to me to be doing this now, because of that I'll always be trying to do it.”

But Australia boasts another layer of significance, one that is entangled with how it has been shaped as a nation, at least since colonisation. The modern culture of Australia has been heavily influenced by the Irish diaspora and convict stock that landed on its shores and continues to do so.

These days, it is often showcased in the large numbers of Irish pubs, and the tradition of storytelling that weaves itself in and out of social gatherings and creative output. For Kennedy, this appears to be felt through gratitude and the present sense of welcoming.

“Obviously there's so many Irish people over in Australia, and the way that’s received isn’t to be taken for granted, right?” considers Kennedy. “Like Australian people's openness and willingness to welcome people and look after them is very generous.

“Touring down there always involves a great time, and it's one of the reasons I keep coming back. The people are lovely, and the crowds are great. I always feel like me and my music are very appreciated; really, it’s kind of a given that I'll keep coming back.”

However, it will certainly be a reciprocal tour for Kennedy, who will be showcasing new tracks from his latest album Weight of the Woods for the first time in Australia.

The album itself reflects how important it is for Kennedy to carve out time to slow down and be situated at home amidst the reassurance and nourishment of the Irish forests that surround his homeland.

“Recording close to home in Dublin this time was a non-negotiable for me,” outlines Kennedy. “Being from Ireland, travel is automatically a part of your career as a musician, which is lovely when you're touring, but at the same time when you do that so much you're basically never at home.

“That doesn't really sit well with me, so with Weight of the Woods I just had to make it close to home. I hope people can hear the comfort I experienced through being at home recording the album.”

It was the intersection of feeling at home and returning to the land as a means of feeling less significant in oneself that spurred the drive for making the record.

“Where I live now is in a woodland area, and touring does this funny thing where the world can end up feeling quite small. You spend so much time in these cities and moving around, but the forest and nature are one of the only places I can truly feel lost.

“And so, the woods have just become this symbolic and important thing to me. I’m hoping that these songs, the person I am and the soul I carry can add to the landscape too. As if there’s been a reciprocal exchange with my connecting with the woods and the way it informed the writing of this album. I like being part of it, but I don't think I'm bigger than anything.”

And that certainly comes through in the songs of the LP, a 14-track wandering that commences with the title track in a choral meets poem reprise form, to only end on the title track once more.

The latter acting as a rounding out, a cycling back that seemingly honours the seasonality of nature, all the while representing the nuance and movement that can happen in between.

And although the Australian tour acts as a debut sharing of certain songs live in this country, it comes off the back of Kennedy’s European tour, resulting in what will likely feel like a comfort level in playing the songs.

“The Australian tour falls at a nice time because we would have just finished a European tour of about 21, 22 shows, certain arrangements and the way we're playing these songs will change so much from night one to the end of the tour.

“There’s so many different ways that you can enhance the show and make it a bit more exciting for yourself, and for the crowd, though, and by the time we hit Australia, we'll be a pretty well-oiled machine and the songs will be in a very good place.”

Playing across most major Australian cities, this Dermot Kennedy tour will be a must-see.

Dermot Kennedy will tour across Australia and New Zealand in November. Tickets are available via the Live Nation Australia and New Zealand websites.