Hozier Debuts New Song ‘The Wages’ In New York City

Hozier brought a five-show run at New York City’s Hammerstein Ballroom and an 18-month tour in support of Wasteland, Baby! to a close on Tuesday night. The Irish musician and his band included a performance of “The Wages,” a new original debuted one night prior, as part of the finale.

Last night’s show started with Hozier taking the stage by performing “As It Was.” The full band joined in by the end of the song, which was one of nine Wasteland, Baby! tracks played on Tuesday. “Dinner & Diatribes” and “Nina Cried Power” from the LP followed before Hozier reached back to his 2014 self-titled debut for “To Be Alone,” “Someone New” and “Angel Of Small Death & The Codeine Scene.”

After “Nobody,” Hozier took a moment to tell the crowd he has new music coming. He said he’s often asked “what constitutes a protest song” and affirmed he has no answer to that question but he tries to tell the truth. Hozier went on to introduce “The Wages” by stating, “I’m firmly of the belief [that] if you’re not making the right people uncomfortable, you’re wasting your time as a musician” and noted so many things in the world are on their way up but the wages.

The back half of last night’s set began with Hozier and his drummer performing the bluesy “Jack Boot Jump.” The full band then returned for “From Eden” off Hozier. A run of Wasteland, Baby! tracks came next before Hozier concluded the main set with a number of classics including “Jackie & Wilson” and “Take Me To Church.” Tuesday’s encore featured performances of beloved Hozier singles “Cherry Wine” and “Work Song.”

Hozier now heads home to Ireland, where he will play a pair of shows at Dublin’s 3Arena on December 10 and 11.

Watch fan-shot video captured by SR of “The Wages” below: