Dermot Kennedy at Annexet: a voice that asks for silence, but fills halls
Dermot Kennedy comes to Annexet in Johanneshov on May 12, 2026 at 19:30, at a moment when his career is entering a new, distinctly personal phase. The Irish singer-songwriter from Dublin has already built a recognizable sound at the intersection of folk-pop, soul vocals, hip-hop rhythms and big choruses that are sung in the hall as a shared confession. His songs rarely sound like ordinary pop singles: in them, the voice is heard in the foreground, with densely built tension and lyrics that move between loss, hope, love and inner recovery. For the audience in Stockholm, this means a concert that will not depend only on volume, but on dynamics - from almost acoustic concentration to moments in which the whole space breathes with the chorus.
The Stockholm performance is part of his major tour "The Weight of the Woods Tour", which, according to the list of dates on the artist's website, begins on May 11, 2026 in Frederiksberg, and arrives in Stockholm just one day later. This gives the concert additional freshness: the audience at Annexet will hear Kennedy at the very beginning of the European part of the tour, before performances in Hamburg, Berlin, Zürich, Paris, Luxembourg, Brussels, Munich, Düsseldorf and Amsterdam. Ticket sales for this event are underway.
Why this tour matters
The context of the concert is especially interesting because it comes after the third studio album "The Weight of the Woods", released on April 3, 2026 through Interscope Records. The album was produced by Gabe Simon, a writer and producer known for working with artists such as Noah Kahan and Lana Del Rey, and the tracklist includes "Honest", "Refuge", "Funeral", "Endless", "Sycamore", "Often, Lately", "Turnstile", "Wasted", "Blue Eyes", "Trepidation", "The Only Time I Prayed", "Happiness" and the title track. This is not only new material for the concert repertoire, but also a clear change of color: Kennedy returns to images of nature, family and Irish motifs, and to a sound that trusts more in the space between words.
In conversations around the album, he emphasized that the Irish landscape is an important part of his inspiration, while critical and media texts about the album point out a more introspective tone, less reliance on external shine and a greater need for an authentic, organic sound. For an audience that knows him through "Power Over Me", "Outnumbered", "Better Days", "Kiss Me", "Something to Someone" or the collaboration "Paradise" with Meduza, this opens an interesting contrast: big, familiar choruses now stand beside newer songs that place more emphasis on story, atmosphere and vulnerability.
From street performer to arenas
Kennedy's biography is often reduced to the path from busking in Dublin to international stages, but that story is not just a romantic detail. It explains the way he performs. His voice has a rough, almost confessional edge, and the songs often begin as a personal address before growing into a broad, hall-filling sound. The debut album "Without Fear" from 2019 opened up space for him outside Ireland and the United Kingdom, while "Sonder" from 2022 brought additional pop momentum through songs such as "Kiss Me" and "Something to Someone".
What distinguishes him from many artists of a similar format is the sense that the songs are built for two environments at the same time: for listening in headphones and for singing together in a large room. "Outnumbered" in a concert context often works as a song of support, "Power Over Me" as the most rhythmically direct moment, and "Better Days" as an example of his tendency toward choruses that impose themselves not only by melody but by message. One should not expect a predetermined setlist until it is confirmed, but his repertoire so far clearly shows the kind of emotional range the audience most often seeks at his performances.
- For longtime fans: the concert is an opportunity to hear how the older songs fit into the new, more wooded and intimate aesthetic of the album "The Weight of the Woods".
- For a wider audience: the best-known singles provide enough entry points even without detailed knowledge of the discography.
- For folk-pop lovers: Kennedy combines an acoustic singer-songwriter foundation, a powerful vocal and production that often grows toward an almost anthemic ending.
- For travelers to Stockholm: Annexet is in the clearly organized arena area of Johanneshov, with good public transport connections.
What the audience can expect from the performance
With Dermot Kennedy, the key word is not spectacle, but intensity. His concerts rest on the contrast between quieter verses and large vocal explosions, so the audience at Annexet can expect a performance in which attention often returns to the voice and the lyrics. Songs from the earlier phase of his career have a pronounced feeling of struggle and release, while material from the album "The Weight of the Woods" adds images of return, calm and inner conversation. Such a combination works especially well in a medium-sized hall, where the artist is not too far away, but the space can still carry wide choruses.
It is important not to promise what has not been confirmed: there is no need to invent guests, special effects or the exact duration of the concert. What is clear from Kennedy's work so far is that the audience comes for the vocals, the emotional arc and songs that often develop gradually. At one moment the focus may be on a line that sounds almost like a diary entry, and already in the next on a chorus sung by the whole hall. Places are disappearing quickly.
Annexet: a smaller arena with a sense of closeness
Annexet is located in Johanneshov, in Stockholm's arena environment alongside Avicii Arena and other Stockholm Live venues. The hall opened on February 19, 1989 and was originally built as a connected training hall for hockey teams and the sporting needs of the area, while today it is used for concerts, fairs, gala events, conferences, parties and television productions. Stockholm Live describes it as an intimate and flexible multi-arena, which is an important detail for a concert like this: the audience is not coming only to watch a big screen, but to listen to a voice that needs closeness.
Unlike huge stadium spaces, Annexet gives a more realistic sense of contact with the stage. The available Stockholm Live data for event configurations state a capacity of around 3,000 people, depending on the seating and standing arrangement, while different figures are given for banquet, conference and exhibition setups. For visitors, this practically means that the experience can change according to the concert configuration, but the basic character of the space remains the same: a compact hall in which the energy of the audience quickly returns toward the stage.
- Location: Annexet is in Johanneshov, within Stockholm's well-known arena district.
- Opening: the hall was inaugurated on February 19, 1989.
- Type of venue: a flexible multi-arena for concerts, fairs, gala events, conferences and TV productions.
- Capacity: around 3,000 people depending on the space configuration, according to Stockholm Live materials.
- Experience: a smaller scale than large arenas brings better visibility and a stronger sense of closeness to the artist.
Getting to the hall
For visitors, Annexet is easier to reach by public transport than by car, especially on the evening of the concert. The hall's website states that the area can be reached by metro, bus or tram. Green metro lines 17, 18 and 19 lead toward the Hovet and Globen area from the direction of T-Centralen, and the recommended stop is Globen. When crowds are larger, it is useful to know that there are other stations within walking distance, including Gullmarsplan, Skärmarbrink, Blåsut, Enskede Gård and Sandsborg.
The tram is a practical option if the journey is combined with commuter trains, because it connects the Globen and Gullmarsplan areas. Stockholm Live also states that the nearest bus and metro station from the Annexet conference-event space is about 2 to 5 minutes on foot, and Stockholm Central about 10 minutes by transport. For visitors arriving from outside Sweden, orientation toward Arlanda Airport is also useful, for which Stockholm Live materials state about 45 minutes of travel.
A car is not an impossible choice, but for concerts in an arena area like this it is wiser to count on crowds before and after the performance. If you still arrive by car, it is best to check parking options around Johanneshov in advance and leave enough time to walk to the hall. In practice, the most pleasant arrival usually comes down to the metro, a short walk and an earlier arrival in the district, especially if you want to avoid entering with the largest wave of the audience.
Stockholm as a concert city
Stockholm is a rewarding city for concert visits because the main transport hubs, hotel zones, restaurants and concert venues are relatively well connected by public transport. Johanneshov is not a distant edge of the city, but part of a broader urban ring in which sporting and musical events are held regularly. This is important for visitors traveling for just one evening: it is possible to plan arrival in the city, accommodation in the center or southern districts and the trip toward the hall without complicated logistics.
The concert begins at 19:30, so it is worth arriving in the area earlier, especially if you want to eat something before the performance or orient yourself around the entrances. For travelers coming to Stockholm for the first time, it is useful to remember that city transport is planned through the SL system, and the area around Globen and Gullmarsplan is well mapped in the metro, tram and bus network. It is worth securing tickets in time.
A repertoire between big hits and the new album
The biggest unknown of every concert remains the concrete order of songs, but Kennedy's current phase suggests a clear axis: the new album "The Weight of the Woods" and proven songs that brought him to big stages. On his website and video channels, recent materials connected with the album are highlighted, among them "Honest", "Refuge", "Endless", "Sycamore", "Often, Lately", "Turnstile", "Wasted", "Blue Eyes", "Trepidation", "The Only Time I Prayed", "Happiness" and the title track. These songs bring a different shade from earlier radio successes: they are less directed toward an immediate impact, more toward the accumulation of mood.
On the other hand, the audience that discovered him through "Power Over Me", "Outnumbered", "Better Days", "Kiss Me" or "Something to Someone" comes for emotionally recognizable peaks. Kennedy is an artist with whom older and newer songs do not necessarily stand in conflict: both rely on a voice that can carry a very simple melody, but also a chorus of wide sweep. That is precisely why the concert at Annexet may be interesting both to those who have followed him from the beginning and to those who know only a few songs.
Who the concert is especially attractive for
This is not a concert only for the audience that follows every release and every acoustic version. Kennedy's music has a sufficiently wide entry point to attract listeners who love emotional pop, contemporary folk, singer-songwriter vocals and songs that are not afraid of pathos, but try to justify it with lyrics. His best material often sounds like a conversation that waited too long to be spoken, and that type of song in a hall creates a different relationship between audience and artist than a purely dance concert.
Longtime fans will get the opportunity to hear how the new phase fits into the earlier songs. A wider audience can expect an evening of strong choruses and direct vocal performance. Lovers of genres between folk-pop, soul ballads and modern alt-pop will have enough reasons to pay attention to details - the way a song begins almost stripped down, then fills with rhythm, backing vocals and a larger production layer. Tickets for this event are in demand.
Practical tips for the concert evening
For a concert like this, the most important thing is to plan time, not only transport. Since Annexet is located in an area of several large venues, crowds can form in waves, especially around stations and pedestrian approaches. It is best to set off so that you arrive in Johanneshov earlier, check the entrance and leave enough room for the cloakroom, a drink or a short rest before the start. If you are coming in a group, agree on a meeting point outside the biggest crowd, because signal and movement through the mass may be slower immediately before the concert.
For visitors from outside Stockholm, it is useful to choose accommodation with a simple connection to the green metro line or to the Gullmarsplan hub. That way, after the concert, unnecessary transfers in the late hours are avoided. Medium-sized hall concerts often end with many people moving toward the same stations at the same time, so it pays to have a backup option as well: walk to another nearby station or wait a few minutes until the first wave passes.
Why Annexet could suit Dermot Kennedy
Kennedy's music needs a space that can handle both large emotion and quiet transitions. Precisely because of its smaller, flexible character, Annexet is an interesting choice: it is not club-small, but it is not so huge that every song must be turned into a stadium gesture. In such a hall, "Refuge" or "Honest" can have enough air, while "Power Over Me" and similar concert favorites can get the necessary strength without losing contact with the audience.
Stockholm is in the tour schedule immediately after the opening date in Denmark, which means that the Swedish audience enters the story very early. This is attractive because the concert happens before the tour turns into routine and before the impression of the new songs live fully settles. For visitors who like to hear an artist at a moment when a new album still carries freshness, this date has additional weight.
There is no need to create a myth around one evening, but there are clear reasons for interest: Dermot Kennedy comes with a new album, the tour is only at the beginning, the space is intimate enough for his vocal style, and Stockholm is a city where the concert is logistically feasible for both local and traveling audiences. It is worth securing tickets in time.
Sources:
- Dermot Kennedy - tour page used to confirm the Stockholm date, the schedule of European performances and the context of "The Weight of the Woods Tour".
- Annexet - event page used to confirm Dermot Kennedy's performance at Annexet on May 12, 2026 and the basic description of the event.
- Dermot Kennedy Official Store - used for information about the album "The Weight of the Woods", the release date April 3, 2026, producer Gabe Simon and the tracklist.
- Annexet / Stockholm Live - used for information about the hall, its opening on February 19, 1989, the purpose of the space, flexible capacity and public transport arrival instructions.
- Stockholms stad - used for additional context about the transport accessibility of the arena area, including Globen, Gullmarsplan and other stations within walking distance.
- The Music Universe and NME - used for broader context of the announced major UK and European tour in 2026 and its place in Kennedy's career.
- PEOPLE - used for the context of the album "The Weight of the Woods", the emphasis on Irish inspiration, a more personal tone and the current phase of Kennedy's work.