Emma Llamas | Writer
October 4, 2025
Saturday, September 27 was the second day of the Ohana Festival in Dana Point and also the day that Hozier performed.
Hozier is a blues, soul and indie rock artist from Ireland. His music is greatly inspired by American 1950’s blues artists like Nina Simone, Muddy Waters, Billie Holiday and Aritha Franklin–to name a few. Hozier’s lyrics are greatly influenced by musicians such as Yeats, Dante Alighieri, and Irish folklore.
Dani Blake, a senior at SCHS, said he’s a “lyrical genius and is one of the few artists that uses their platform for good.”
His musical and literary influences have also influenced and fueled the themes of his music, which include love, faith, desire and identity–but which can also go hand in hand witch politics and social commentary. This was reflected through his set-list which included “Nobody’s Soldier” and “Eat Your Young,” which touch on the tragedies of war, the general public’s desensitization of it, and to critique the military industrial complex. Hozier ended the set with one of his most popular songs; “Take me to Church,” which encompasses another spectrum of human emotion. It touches on desire and polarization within faith.
However, the most impactful part of his set was not the music, but his introduction to “Nina Cried Power.”
Andrew Nicolas Jacob Carrillo, currently a senior at SCHS, said the speech was “truly powerful.” This song is about all the activists and protest singers that came before him; Nina Simone, Mavis Staples (who has a feature in the song’s recording), James Brown, and many others before him. He notes their legacies of progress and inspires the Ohana audience to continue it in our social and political climate. In the speech he touches on neighbors needing to live securely, and without fear of discrimination. He specifically touches on antisemitism, Islamophobia, homophobia, transphobia, as well as the demonization and the scapegoating of immigrants.
Hozier said he hopes to see peace, safety and security for those in the middle east–especially to stop the genocide and starvation of Palestinians, and hopes that Palestine can reach self determination and statehood. He ties it back to Irish history 100 years ago, when a similar conflict occurred between the Irish (Catholic) and English (Protestant), which led to a mass famine for the Irish and even inspired mass immigration to the US. He remarked that in this time, people–internationally and especially the US–supported the Irish in their time of need. His words imply that now, in Palestine’s time of need, we should be supporting them whether it be through protests, donations, or even speaking about the conflict.
This instance along with many others, such as supporting women’s reproductive rights and autonomy, gay rights, and even addressing homelessness in Ireland, shows that Hozier cares about his platform and audience. This, compared to other modern artists, is refreshing in a time of social, political, and even economic disparities and anxieties.
These acts of caring, shows that it is about more than just the music, but about its humanity. His music as an art form, is inherently political, and that–as it was felt at the Ohana Festival–is necessary to express and understand different points of views and societal experiences. It’s also necessary to note that this comes from a point of sincere respect and advocation for those struggling.
His messages are authentic and thought provoking. They inspire, ease and embrace listeners with truths about life’s complexities. It reminds listeners of the sacredness of life, and with that, to not discriminate and to embrace differences because they are what make life what it is.
His music does not only take his experiences, but also those of his audience—that is why so many people from different walks of life find comfort and relatability in his lyrics.
His music is not loved just for his powerful voice and intricate harmonies, not even just the poetic lyricism or story telling qualities, but instead because of how all those elements work together in order to relate to people on a deeper and humane level.
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