One of my defining personality traits is my love for the Irish blues singer Hozier. I previously saw him in June at a concert that could only be described as transcendent, so as soon as I walked out of the venue that day, I immediately looked for more tour dates nearby. There was radio silence until late June when I was in Dallas. I looked on my phone only to see that he was coming to the Chicago Theater for his “Wasteland Baby” tour, and I immediately purchased four tickets with little thought for my bank account.

Luckily enough, I was able to snag my tickets for the Sunday night performance to one of two sold-out shows at the Chicago Theater. The first thing I noticed when I walked in was the number of 30-year-olds who were surrounding me; I guess we all just shared the same love for indie-blues music. The moment he came onstage, everyone looked at each other questioning if they should stand up or not, and I think I encouraged many of the adults around me to start moving with my obvious enthusiasm.

The opening song, “Would that I,” perfectly encapsulated the genre of the night for those who might have been unfamiliar with his music- this is a song with an adequate blend of intimate folk music and rock-inspired choruses. Soon enough, the entire theater was on its feet, chanting his words back at the stage.

Throughout the night he played several songs ranging from a powerhouse performance of “Nina Cried Power” to an upbeat act of “Someone New.” Although the tour was highlighting his latest album “Wasteland Baby,” he rarely stuck to his new releases and continued to showcase his entire discography.

My favorite part of the show was when he stopped his set in order to play two unreleased songs, “The Love of” and “Jackboot Jump.” The songs are both still reminiscent of the blues-rock style many of his songs reflect. He went on to explain that the inspiration for one of the songs, “Jackboot Jump,” came from the coverage of many protests over the news; as activism is a very common theme in many of his previous songs, this was a familiar concept and it was a completely new take with a very apparent rock-feel.

To culminate his 18-song set, Hozier played his hit song from 2013, “Take Me to Church.” Everyone in the audience, from spouses who tagged along to 17-year-old superfans like myself, screamed the all-too-familiar lyrics. I swear anyone who was walking past the theater might have thought they were passing a Sunday mass with the intensity of which the chorus of “Amens” were being sung.

After a brief encore, Hozier reappeared to finish the night out strong, and sad, with two fan-favorites, “Cherry Wine” and “Work Song.” After the high-intensity set that had previously occurred, I was ready to finish my night feeling a sense of melancholy in the sense that I was sad the night was over, but these last two songs were beyond beautiful. As he sang the words, “When my time comes around, lay me gently in the cold dark earth. No grave can hold my body down, I’ll crawl home to her,” I could only think about how lucky I was to have experienced such a memorable and moving concert.