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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at SBU chapter.

Last Friday, Sept. 29th, I saw Hozier live in concert at The Mann in Philadelphia. Honestly, I will never get over it. The whole experience was like seeing an angel in person. I am heavily suffering from post-concert depression, and I think I will never recover from this experience. 

Back in August, after almost 4 years of waiting, Hozier released his highly anticipated new album. Unreal Unearth is Hozier’s, an Irish singer-songwriter, third album. I started seriously listening to his music a couple of years back and have been obsessed since. His sound fills some kind of hole in my heart. I truly can’t pick a favorite because all of them have had their place at the top of my list.

After seeing him perform his songs live it only cemented in my mind that he has one of the most gorgeous voices of my time. Here I am going to review my favorite songs that he performed live. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to cover the whole 2-hour concert, but I will do my top 5. 

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, Hozier did not perform all his discography (although I would have watched the whole 5 hours of that). So, these are just my favorites that I heard when he performed them the other night. 

#1: Take Me to Church

            Obviously, this is a classic. It is Hozier’s first and most popular hit. This song is gritty and powerful. You could hear everyone in the venue screaming this song and it made me emotional. I screamed this song right alongside them and couldn’t believe that I was seeing it live. My dear friend, Alex, who I went to the concert with, was kind enough to film most of the songs and in the video, you can hear me yelling all the lyrics. Besides the catchy sound of the song, anyone who has heard the song can tell that it has a deeper meaning. Hozier sings in the challenge of all the religious-fueled shaming that the Christian church does against the LGBTQ+ community. The lyric “born sick” has become a short iconic line that represents what it is to be queer today. I love this song and everything that it stands for. 

#2: Unknown / Nth

            This is both me and my boyfriend’s favorite song off his new album. Since he posted the little snippet on TikTok, I’ve been obsessed with it. The guitar riff is so good and catchy that I find myself just singing the guitar part out loud all the time. This time was no different and shouting the climactic bridge was something that was out of this world amazing. It was great to see one of my favorite songs live and seeing my boyfriend so excited about the music I introduced him to made it even better. 

#3: Movement 

            I LOVE THIS SONG! While not one of his most popular, it is catchy and fun to hear. The whole song sounds like its title: movement. I can’t help but dance to this song. Hearing the piano and claps that make up the beat throughout the song was something so cool. Another thing that makes this song so beautiful to hear is the backing vocals that follow Hozier’s lead throughout the whole song. The backup singers, who did both the percussion and vocals, made it sound heavenly. 

#4: Like Real People Do 

            This is a song that highlights that Hozier has not only a beautiful voice but also is a genius at writing. The live version only supported this idea. The cameras zooming in on Hozier’s hands while he plays, the crowd softly singing along to the chorus, and the light drizzle that was happening at the time made it a truly magical experience. This is one of my favorite songs about love. I’ve posted my boyfriend to this multiple times, and it makes me feel all sappy inside every time I hear it. This was the first (and only) song that I learned on the guitar and one of the first songs that I was obsessed with. 

#5: From Eden

            From Eden is another classic from his first album. This song followed the theme of making me scream. This was one of the first songs by Hozier that I fell in love with. It once again shows off his power as a writer and lyricist. The words of this song are impactful and the melody that goes along with them matches the vibe perfectly. I feel like I am repeating myself at this point but seeing it live was amazing and truly something I will never forget.

Honorable mentions:

Honestly, the whole concert was amazing. He played most of my favorite songs so it was very difficult to choose just 5. Here are some of the other songs he performed that I just couldn’t fit: Dinner and Diatribes, Cherry Wine, To Be Alone, Work Song, Jackie & Wilson, and Would That I.

Abigail Taber is a first-year writer for the St. Bonaventure chapter of Her Campus. She enjoys writing about culture, entertainment, and the happenings in her college life. Abigail is really excited to be a part of such a cool organization that centers around the work and interests of women. She hopes to continue writing for Her Campus and become more involved in the editing and publishing side of things in the future. Beyond Her Campus, Abigail is the poetry editor for the literary magazine on campus, The Laurel, volunteers for the campus food pantry, and can be found in the library most hours of the day. Abigail has had her creative writing published in her high school's literary magazine, The Wisp, and wrote for the school's newspaper, Out of the Blue, all four years. She is currently a freshman at St. Bonaventure University, double majoring in English as well as Literary Publishing and Editing. In her free time, Abigail, or Abbey to her friends, enjoys reading, listening to music, and looking at art for her next tattoo. She is a music trivia master and a known enjoyer of any, and all, romance books. She hopes to pursue a career in publishing books in a big city. Growing up in a small suburb of Buffalo, New York, Abbey wishes to go somewhere that no one knows her name, or her mom's.