Shea Sullivan

    Coming off the release of his latest album “Wasteland Baby!” Irish singer Hozier has rocked concert venues around the country. 

     On Thursday, Nov. 7, Hozier performed in front of a sold out crowd at the Akron Civic Theatre, his first appearance in the northeast Ohio area since the LaurelLive music festival last June. Hozier is one of the last performances of the year at Akron Civic, before their busy season of holiday performances and festivities begin.

     Opening for the night was Australian singer Angie McMahon. McMahon, who released her first album earlier this year, “Salt,” played songs “If you call,” “Pasta,” “And I Am a Woman,” a cover of “Helpless” by Neil Young and her most popular song “Slow Mover.”

     Before performing, McMahon took a moment to pay respect to the Indigenous people of the land, a value she carries with her from Australia. This was her first trip to Akron, and she has been able to get her name out there since she has been a part of the “Wasteland, Baby!” tour.

     “It has been such a privilege to play in a studio [venue] this beautiful in front of such a great crowd,” McMahon said. 

     As the night went on, Hozier eventually made his appearance on stage. Opening with “As it was,” he continued the night playing songs such as “Dinner & Diatribes,” “Jackie and Wilson,” “From Eden,” “Nina Cried Power,” a cover of “As” by Stevie Wonder, crowd favorite “Almost (Sweet Music)” and many more.

     Hozier performed song both off of his latest and first album. Graphics were displayed behind him on stage for every song, and colorful lights with patterns were projected throughout the theatre. Each song had a different type of light which ultimately matched the mood of the song.    

     While the lights added to the excitement and atmosphere, Hozier made sure this concert carried an impactful message. “Nina Cried Power” was performed with a video of protests and demonstrations around the world. Hozier referenced the current Hong Kong and Moscow protests, stating the importance of speaking up and creating a positive change in the world. 

     Hozier announced that he is working on new music and hopes to release it within the next few months. His new music will match the instilled theme of his concerts: protesting and activism. He performed a new song that has not yet been released called “Jack Boot Jump.”

     Along with other songs he is hoping to release soon, Hozier hopes “Jack Boot Jump” will act as marching music that encourages people to stand up for what they believe in. 

     Ending the night and building off the message of activism and protesting, Hozier sang his most well known song “Take me to Church.” This song was performed with the music video playing in the background, which depicts an LGBT couple kissing, and then being attacked by a religious mob.

     Although Hozier’s newer music will have an obvious theme of activism, showing the injustices in the world has been based in his art since his career took off.

     For the encore, Hozier came on stage to perform songs “Cherrywine” and finally “Work Song.” Though the Akron Civic Theatre is not a typical place for big artists like Hozier to perform — compared to venues like Quicken Loans Arena, and the Wolstein Center in Cleveland — Hozier loved the intimate atmosphere the theatre created. 

     “I think this venue was a good choice, it really matches the whole Hozier vibe. More artists should come to Akron because the Civic is such a cool place,” attendee Lili Culley said. 

     Many may not think of Akron as a big music city, but with musicians such as James Ingram, Devo and The Black Keys all from Akron, the city certainly has roots of its own. Hozier even credited Akron artists for boosting his interest to create music.

     “There’s a huge amount of musical talent coming out of Akron. I was very encouraged as a teenager hearing music from Akron like Dan Auerbach and Pat Carney [The Black Keys],” Hozier said.

     While Hozier could not stay until Sunday morning to take the crowd to church, he brought his uplifting and moving music to the city for a fun night, with a powerful meaning.  

Brianna Doctor 

     Nearly a year after releasing his second album, Post Malone has finally released his newest 17 track album, Hollywood’s Bleeding, for his fans who have long awaited new music from the talented artist. 

     Since July, Malone has been teasing his fans with new music. He released his top hit “Goodbyes” featuring Young Thug, and a week before releasing his album, Malone dropped one more song “Circles” to give his fans a little taste of what was to come on Hollywood’s Bleeding.

     Malone has been entertaining people with his music since 2016 when he released his first album, Stoney. Two years later he released his second hip-hop based album, beerbongs and bentleys. 

     For years, Malone has been known for being a hip-hop artist, but his newest album is more pop-focused this time around. Hollywood’s Bleeding contains many sentimental songs that fans listening can relate to.   

     With songs like “A Thousand Bad Times’ and “Allergic”, Malone gives his audience some energetic beats while singing about his relationship issues.

     Malone is no stranger to heartbreak, and through a beautiful pop collaboration with SZA called “Staring at the Sun”, he describes a troubled past relationship in which his lover is blinded by her thoughts that Malone can change, but this will never happen. 

     Through another more down to earth collaboration about heartbreak, Malone describes the feeling of betrayal from a past lover in the song “Die For Me” featuring Future and Halsey. 

     Although Malone’s new album is more pop, he still includes his hip-hop roots through a couple of songs that feature collaborations with rap artists, DaBaby, Lil Baby, and Meek Mill. 

     In his song “On the Road”, Malone, Lil Baby, and Meek Mill explain all the ups and downs they go through by themselves while creating their music. Next, Malone sings about his “Enemies.” He explains how his friends who had let him down turned into his enemies with rapper DaBaby. 

     In his previous album, Malone let his fans know that he was not afraid to flex his success. In Hollywood’s Bleeding, he still sings about his fame, but this time, in his new pop style..

     Malone sings about all of the things he has, and how he has worked so hard to receive those things in the song “Saint-Tropez.” In addition, Malone sings about how he does whatever wants so he can be whatever he wants in “I’m Gonna Be.”

     Malone’s best collaboration may come as a surprise to listeners. In his song “Take What You Want”, Malone creates a perfect balance of heavy metal and hip-hop with artists, Ozzy Osbourne and Travis Scott, as they sing about a toxic lover.

     Only 2 days after releasing his newest album, Malone has taken over song charts on both Apple Music and Spotify. 

     Malone also announced his new Hollywood’s Bleeding merchandise: t-shirts in multiple colors with multiple designs, sweatshirts, and CD’s. His merchandise is available at www.shop.postmalone.com. 

     In support of his newest album, Malone kicks of his Runaway Tour Sept. 14, and the tour will run through Nov 20. He will be accompanied by Swae Lee and Tyla Yaweh.

     For most Post Malone fans, his newest album is on repeat, but for those who have not listened to his amazing new music, it is now available to stream on all music outlets. 

     Hollywood’s Bleeding is an album with music different from the typical hip-hop rhythms Malone is known for, yet he has successfully made an album full of songs that contain deeper meanings for fans to relate to while creating catchy tunes to keep listeners coming back for more.