Raucous cheers welcome Macklemore to Dublin as rapper goes through the hits with infectious energy

Irish Independent

2 days ago

But it seems nobody has taken the song as literally as Macklemore himself, who has so many outfit changes in his one-and-a-half-hour set in St Anne's Park he must have raided a St Vincent de Paul.
When he emerges on stage to perform opener CHANT, the Seattle rapper sets the tone for the night in a vintage Ireland rugby jersey with his head wrapped in a tricolour keffiyeh - a Middle Eastern headdress now synonymous with support for the Palestinian people.
He takes off his sunglasses in the evening sun and screams 'DUBLIN, I made it back home. It's our first show of the summer, and it's in my favourite f***ing place in the world.' (This Cork writer hopes he says the same when he visits the Rebel county for his second stop on the tour tonight.)
What follows is a jukebox of certified hits. There's the emotional dedication to LGBTQ+ people, Same Love - hearteningly performed on the ten year anniversary of Ireland legalising same-sex marriage - a jazzy homage to the beating heart of any city, Downtown, and the affirming Good Old Days. Even Summer Days is an absolute crowd-pleaser, despite it being a cool 13 degrees.
Even if the songs weren't total earworms, Macklemore himself is an incredible performer. His energy on stage is infectious, and perhaps on account of a nine-month break from live shows, is apparently unending. He seems thrilled to be there, awed by the approximate 18,000 spectators, and totally willing to muck in: he raps, plays the drums and busts a move or two.
He isn't the only one, as Dance Off sees him pull two members of the audience on stage to, well, have a dance off. Though it was Samantha's birthday, her rival Ben stole the show, as well as the crowd's hearts, on account of his breakdancing.
Despite the party atmosphere, there's no forgetting a cause seemingly as close to Macklemore's heart as it is to that of the Irish people: Palestine. There are numerous keffiyehs to be seen in the crowd, and Palestinian flags fly over the audience as if it's Glastonbury.
These, he points out, as he introduces Hinds Hall, a protest song he released as a single in 2024. 'I want to say in the last 19+ months of witnessing the first ever live streamed genocide, I have been so proud watching from afar at how my Irish brothers and sisters have shown up for the Palestinian people,' he said, giving a particular shoutout to Kneecap.
'I was thinking earlier today of what I wanted to say and what I realised is Palestine has opened my heart, it was closed before. It has given me the gift of feeling empathy for other human beings. Showing up is not brave anymore, it's just expected and it is human. I want to live in a world where being against genocide is the expectation,' he added, to raucous cheers from an audience that seems inclined to agree.
There is a palpable connection between Macklemore and the audience in Raheny. Though he sings too fast for most of us to keep up, there's an energy coursing from stage to crowd that feels electric. He uses the oldest trick in the American book of calling upon Irish ancestry as he introduces the slightly odd Irish Celebration, but we won't hold it against him.
Instead, everyone is supportive - literally. As the closer, Can't Hold Us, reaches a triumphant high, he climbs off the stage and into the crowd to be held aloft by them.