Hozier gave his unreleased song ‘Nobody’s Soldier’ its live debut at Lollapalooza 2024 and called for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Last night (August 1), the Irish singer took over the Bud Light stage as one of the headliners for day one of the annual Chicagoan festival. Before jumping into the second song of his set, Hozier took a moment to acknowledge the 1960s civil rights movement in the US – how it had directly inspired a similar movement for civil rights in Ireland and how he’s been singing the track ‘Nobody’s Soldier’ in solidarity with those who have protested the violence in Rafa and Gaza.
“The civil rights movement that took place here in the United States directly inspired the civil rights movement in Northern Ireland, very shortly afterwards in a time and place where not every single person was guaranteed the right to vote,” he began.
.@Hozier calling for a ceasefire while performing at @lollapalooza tonight before singing ‘Nobody’s Soldier’ pic.twitter.com/zzxYmtCM0j
— NME (@NME) August 2, 2024
“We’ve been singing this song in solidarity with anybody who has contacted their representatives or put their feet on the street in honest goodwill and human witness of the lived experience of other people on the other side of the world that say ‘We wouldn’t want to see any human be subject to the kind of violence that we have been witnessing on our TV screens in Rafa. We wouldn’t want to see any human being subject to the kind of violence we’ve been seeing in Gaza over these last eight or nine months,'” he continues.
“It doesn’t matter who you are, it doesn’t matter where you come from. It doesn’t matter if you are an Israeli citizen or Palestinian citizen – you wouldn’t want to see any human being be subject to the kind of terror we have been witnessing.”
He adds: “Peace and safety and security for everybody you know, for everybody in the Middle East, and sincere peace, safety and security which of course would mean seeing Palestine free from occupation and free from violence.”
Hozier singing Nobody's Soldier live for the first time today at Lollapalooza Chicago pic.twitter.com/L9LtSVY4CP
— Hozier's Vocals (@hoziersvocalss) August 2, 2024
He ends with a plea, saying: “If you feel moved to reach out to your representatives as a citizen, a foreign citizen, as a man who comes from a country whose peace process came about due to the investment of the United States, something I am very, very grateful for, I strongly urge you to, I strongly encourage you to reach out to your representation.”
Shortly after the end of his headlining performance, Hozier took to his X/Twitter account to share that ‘Nobody’s Soldier’ is coming soon and shared a clip of a studio version of the track which sees his silhouette performing the track in a white room.
NOBODY’S SOLDIER. COMING SOON pic.twitter.com/gDs18GhdMD
— Hozier (@Hozier) August 2, 2024
Hozier’s most recent release was his ‘Unheard’ EP which followed his 2023 LP ‘Unreal Unearth‘ which saw him secure his first-ever UK Number One. In a four-star review of the album, NME shared: “Hozier not only navigates different genres on ‘Unreal Unearth,’ but chooses between moments of sparseness, like the minimalist ‘To Someone From A Warm Climate (Uiscefhuarithe)’ while also making space for expansive tracks.”
It continued: “Hozier’s vocal abilities are on full display across ‘Unreal Unearth,’ but much like the album’s instrumentals, it’s his understanding of when to give more understated performances, as on gentle ‘I, Carrion (Icarian)’ or to go full-force, like on the end of pared-back ‘Unknown/Nth’, that make the songs triumph.”
The singer previously sat down for an interview with NME, where he reflected on the current political and social climate across the globe, and stated that he feels the LGBTQ+ community are being targeted as scapegoats.
Asked about his longtime support for the LGBTQ+ community, and why he is so willing to speak up against oppressive attitudes without hesitation, Hozier said: “I find that a hard question to tackle in some succinct, definitive way.
“But I think you should at least try to be honest, which is what I’ve tried to do in the work. There’s always been space in my work for my own conscience and the way I view our responsibilities to the shared society we live in,” he added. “Also, I’m acutely aware – increasingly aware – that there’s always a portion of the population who are at risk of becoming scapegoated when things get difficult.”
In other news, the singer recently shared a snippet of a new song titled ‘July’ on his official social media accounts and revealed that a new EP was on its way.
The post Watch Hozier give unreleased song ‘Nobody’s Soldier’ its live debut and call for a ceasefire in Gaza at Lollapalooza 2024 appeared first on NME.
