Cian Ducrot review: Homecoming to remember with two sold-out nights at the Marquee

Irish Examiner

2 days ago

Cork singer-songwriter Cian Ducrot celebrated a homecoming to remember at the first of two sold-out gigs at Live at the Marquee on Saturday night.
The rain which fell from early afternoon in the city didn't stop fans from flocking to the Marquee to witness the first of the All For You singer's two shows at the tented venue.
Ducrot, who had previously shared how much he loves coming back home to play on Cork soil, was met with cheers and screams as he walked on stage, arms outstretched.
Ducrot's effortless ability to connect with his audience was immediately clear, with his set inspiring raw, hand-on-heart emotion from the audience.
Ducrot's songs, which explore themes of love, loss, heartbreak and personal struggles, and focus on emotional honesty and vulnerability, resonated with the crowd from the beginning.
Getting right into his set, he kicked the night off with an upbeat performance of Who's Making You Feel It which had the Marquee crowd dancing and singing along.
He then took to his piano for a solo to kick off his next song Little Dreaming before continuing the upbeat set with Heaven and Shalalala.
'Cork, how are you? This is the most incredible feeling that I have ever felt. I just want to say I love you so, so much,' he said, letting the crowd know how much it meant to him that his fans managed to sell-out two back-to-back shows at the venue - his first time playing the iconic venue.
Fresh from a string of gigs in the UK, the Passage West-raised singer continued the gig by asking the crowd to 'raise your hands if you've had your heart broken recently' before choosing to bring fan Orlaith up on stage.
Both sitting on the piano, he dedicated his next song The Book Of Love to Orlaith.
The only time the Marquee fell silent was when Ducrot swapped his guitar for the flute for Kiss And Tell, a nod to just how talented the musician is at turning his hand to the many instruments he can play.
Cian Ducrot playing Live at the Marquee. Picture: Larry Cummins
Supporting Ducrot on Saturday night was country pop group Remember Monday.
The group, consisting of members Lauren Byrne, Holly-Anne Hull and Charlotte Steele, gained prominence after appearing on The Voice UK in 2019 and went on to represent the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 with the song What the Hell Just Happened?.
Singer-songwriter Hetta Falzon will warm the crowd up at Sunday night's gig at the Marquee before Ducrot takes to the stage for a second night.
Raised in Cork, Ducrot studied music in London before moving back to Ireland to pursue his dream.
He rose to fame with his singles All For You and I'll Be Waiting, both of which gained popularity via TikTok and charted highly in Ireland following their release in 2022.
He went on to make his main stage debut at Electric Picnic in 2023 which he previously described as a stand-out moment in his career to date.
His debut studio album Victory was released on August 4, 2023, and reached number 1 in the UK and Ireland.
With over 801 billion streams, Ducrot's music continued to make an impact long after the release of his first album and he went on to play to a total of 36,000 people across two headline shows in Dublin and Cork before touring as support for Calum Scott across North America.
Most recently, he introduced a handful of new tracks in the shape of Here It Is, Something I Can't Afford, Can't Even Hate You, and Your Eyes and received his first Grammy nomination as the co-writer of SZA's smash hit Saturn.
Ducrot is also set to play a headline concert at Dublin's 3Arena on Saturday, December 20.