A Night to Remember: Dermot Kennedy Captivates Forest Hills Stadium
Forest Hills Stadium in Queens, New York welcomes Dermot Kennedy for his The Weight of The Woods Tour this past September 29, 2026. The venue, being well known for hosting various popular artists from Hozier to Arctic Monkeys to Fred Again!, but recently, they hosted Dermot Kennedy. For his New York show, Dermot had Aaron Rowe and Jonah Kagen (whom I’m familiar with) as his openers. I’ve been to Forest Hills Stadium twice prior to this show. I’ve seen Hozier in 2024 and Shawn Mendes in 2025. I’m not a huge fan of the hour and a half commute- but when it comes to seeing talented artists at Forest Hills Stadium, it’s truly worth the travel.
Heading to the venue, I was able to make it in time for Aaron Rowe’s set. I heard about Aaron when he was initially Ed Sheeran’s opening act for his Loop Tour. I remember seeing his post and speaking out about the controversy. I applaud Aaron Rowe for his decision to withdraw from being an opening act after Macklemore’s protest for a Free Palestine. I think it is amazing that Dermot Kennedy welcomed Aaron to his tour with open arms. I started listening to his debut single “Hey Ma” soon after and I was pleased to hear it live. Aaron performed as the sun went down which was just setting the scene for the rest of the night. Since being able to hear his music live, I’ve been listening to the rest of his discography and “Hollywood Sign” which he performed now being my current favorite song of his.
I’ve been listening to Jonah Kagen since this past spring and I was so excited when I found out that he was opening for Dermot. As Jonah starts his set, he introduces himself and how he gets mistaken for Noah Kahan- as he says their names sound familiar. Jonah’s folky-pop and Americana style of music also pulls in Noah Kahan’s audience to listen to his music as well. Jonah played his single called “Don’t Feel Right" from his upcoming album that comes out this October which I’m looking forward to listening to. Hearing Jonah live honestly made me emotional. I’ve been going through a break up, and his music was something I used to listen to a lot with my ex. So hearing him live brought back a lot of emotions and memories. But I’ve been learning to channel my sadness into something that would be good for me, going to this concert and getting a memorable experience for myself. As I sang along to “The Roads” and heavily vibed to Jonah’s last song “God needs the Devil”- which was the one song my ex and I talked about and listened to, he talked about how thankful he is to be on tour with Aaron and Dermot.
Soon after Jonah Kagen’s set ended, the floor of Forest Hills started to fill up with more people, the entrances to the seated sections started to form lines as ushers show concert-goers to their seats. Dermot’s the stage visuals and lighting during his entrance and throughout the concert were absolutely incredible. It felt like you were actually watching him perform in the woods.
Dermot mentions his first show from 9 years ago at Baby’s All Right in Brooklyn and how he's now playing Forest Hills Stadium in Queens. He talks about how this venue has been on his bucket list for some time. I think that it’s amazing that he now gets to cross out this venue from his bucket list. I personally discovered Dermot Kennedy back in 2021 when he was announced as Shawn Mendes’ opening act for his Wonder Tour. Unfortunately, Shawn Mendes canceled his tour and I wasn’t able to see him then. I was able to get the opportunity to finally see him live at this concert.
I noticed the audience dance and sing along so loud to Dermot’s music. While he sang “Outnumbered” which is my personal favorite song, I was so happy to see the audience singing back to him. The crowd also had a huge reaction as he sang “Refuge”. I was intrigued during the whole performance of “An Evening I Will Not Forget” considering how loud the crowd sang and the violinist was astounding.
Dermot shouted out Aaron Rowe and Jonah Kagen for being his opening acts. He talked about being lucky to have them tour with him and expressed his gratitude.
I liked the moments whenever Dermot explained the background stories for his songs. It gives this intimacy with the audience- in a way I felt honored to know the reasons for why he wrote certain songs he was performing.
For a few short moments, a voice note was played as the stage was being rearranged. Dermot later explained that it was his mother’s voice reading a birthday card from his sister, the crowd was in awe. Dermot and his band moved closer together on the stage. I love how they shifted together to create a more intimate setting for the audience, despite the venue being huge.
Dermot paused the show due to noticing someone in the audience needing medical attention. I also noticed someone on the floor by the vip section who was passed out. Both venue security and medical staff worked efficiently to ensure the wellbeing of the people who needed help. Dermot made sure that everyone was attended to before continuing his set.
Again, one of the best parts of this concert was seeing everyone singing back to Dermot. I saw groups that came to the concert together singing along and having fun with each other, especially during “All My Friends”.
As he performed- he did joke about the local residents and knowing about the serious curfew at Forest Hills Stadium. Dermot introduced all the members of his band who all performed ever so beautifully with him. He also debuted “Innocence and Sadness” live as it was not performed in his previous shows. He then performed a cover of an Irish song called “Carrickfergus”.
For “The Weight of The Woods” everyone had their phones out with the flash which was beautiful to see. I really loved experiencing “Power Over Me” live. From Dermot’s incredible vocals to the lighting, everyone just singing and head banging. You can genuinely feel all the emotions every time Dermot sings. Once more, Dermot expressed his gratitude to the audience for coming to see him play his music. The encore song “Funeral” just ties the entire concert together which was just perfect. The crowd cheered once more for Dermot and his outstanding performance.
One thing I know is that the Irish know how to make good music. Dermot Kennedy absolutely delivered.
Written by: Rory Perez
Comments