It's not easy to write music that's technically accomplished, soulfully performed, addresses controversial social issues and appeals to a wide audience — let alone all at the same time. In that case, consider 24-year-old Andrew Hozier-Byrne something of a Superman. His self-titled debut LP came out Oct. 7
and is riding high on the charts, buoyed no doubt by a recent SNL appearance and the now-year-old breakout single "Take Me to Church." The song's humanizing messages about sexuality and defining a relationship with faith are extraordinarily well-spoken, as is his position on a variety of social issues; before he even had the cache of a respected popular artist, he used the
YouTube video for "Church"to call for an end to violence against same-sex couples.
I spoke to Hozier about all that and more in previewing his sold-out two-night stand at Exit/In in September. Before he even played those dates — to a house full of fans including Taylor Swift (HT to Managing Editor Patrick Rodgers) — he was booked into the Ryman on March 14 next year, a date which promptly sold out. A second date has just been added for two days later, on March 16. Tickets go on sale Friday at noon right here, and will run $35-$45.
Check out the live performance of "Take Me to Church" from SNL's Oct. 11 broadcast above, plus "Angel of Small Death and the Codeine Scene" from the same show and a video for swell album cut "Jackie and Wilson" after the jump.
