Live Report: Kingfishr find a new home on the stage of 3Olympia

To say that the trio of Eddie Keogh, Eoghan “McGoo” McGrath and Eoin “Fitz” Fitzgibbon have erupted onto the music scene would be a sorry understatement. With tickets for The Prologue Tour practically selling out overnight and the band's slew of additional shows flying off the market fast enough to cause whiplash, there is no doubt that the boys of Limerick-born Kingfishr are on their way to stardom.

After a string of prominent supporting gigs with A-listers Dermot Kennedy, George Ezra and the legendary Bruce Springsteen, Kingfishr have found a highway to success comparable to the early stages of fellow folk star Noah Kahan's unprecedented rise to fame.

Kingfishr at 3Olympia Theatre. Copyright Jason Doherty.

Thursday night at 3Olympia began with the familiar tin of McGoo’s banjo as he plucked out the familiar intro to ‘Heart In The Water.’ Illuminated by gold strobe lights, Eddie took to the mic, clearly still in awe of the iconic venue he was about to command.

Diving into a thrilling rendition of ‘Headlands,’ Fitz's harmonies joined Eddie’s rich vocals as they sang, “Tell me where to turn when the sky comes falling down,” all three of them lighting up as the crowd erupted into waves claps and shouts during the song’s rapturous bridge.

Kingfishr at 3Olympia Theatre. Copyright Jason Doherty.

“I actually can’t believe we’re up here to be honest,” Eddie said, looking out at the 3Olympia crowd packed shoulder to shoulder. “This has been a dream of ours since we started the band. We said if we could make it here, that would be it.”

Fitz and McGoo briefly traded instruments as the band jumped into the lead single off their latest EP, filling the venue with the somersaulting lilt of ‘Shadow’ as listeners jumped in tandem with the glorious lurch of its chorus.

The trio went on to play a slew of new material, throwing unreleased tracks ‘Light Of My Life’ and ‘Afterglow’ into the mix while the audience stood at rapt attention, transfixed by the unheard, cinematic slow-burners.

Kingfishr at 3Olympia Theatre. Copyright Jason Doherty.

With a “pinch me, I’m dreaming” expression etched into his brow, Eddie took a moment to reflect on the band’s humdrum beginnings, serenading dorm rooms and common areas at the University of Limerick. Once they had graduated and the opportunity to pursue music professionally arose, the trio lunged for it, a leap of faith that would eventually bring them into today's spotlight.

“We came home, and we made a decision that we wanted to give it a whack and see if we could make music a real thing,” Keogh said. “The night we came home, we sat around the kitchen table at McGoo’s house, and we wrote this song we never thought we’d release. It’s called ‘Shot in the Dark.’” Just when you would have thought the audience couldn’t get any louder, he added, “And we’d love to play it for you in the middle of the crowd, is that cool?”

The crush of fans parted like the Red Sea as Kingfishr found refuge in the centre of the pit, quickly transforming the echoing theatre into an intimate campfire sing-along. An ode to the “good old days,” the college-life anthem incited a rare display of community that lingered in the hearts and minds of listeners for the rest of the night, finding the spirit of live music in shared reminiscence.

Kingfishr at 3Olympia Theatre. Copyright Jason Doherty.

After shedding his acoustic guitar for a free-flying rendition of ‘Vancouver,’ written about the ex-girlfriend he lost to the transatlantic Canadian city, Eddie shocked onlookers by scaling the venue wall during fan favourite ‘Anyway,’ belting the track’s final chorus from 20 feet in the air as McGoo and Fitz radiated pure electricity from the stage.

Once Eddie had made his way back to the ground floor, the trio reassembled themselves in a small triangle at the front of the stage, McGoo and Fitz ditching their mics to flank Eddie as he slid into the final unreleased song of the night, a stripped-back tribute to childhood innocence entitled 'School Days' that had only been played for an audience a handful of times. Seeped in honesty and intimacy, Eddie carried the melancholic tune as McGoo and Fitz filled the room with warm strings, voice cracking slightly as he echoed, “The good may die, but they leave us their graces, leave us their graces.”

Kingfishr at 3Olympia Theatre. Copyright Jason Doherty.

As the night came to a close, it was time for the long-awaited banger duo of ‘flowers-fire’ and ‘Caroline,’ both tracks exploding from the stage with the passionate energy listeners have come to expect from the Limerick trio. In a time when live music is, more often than not, experienced through phone cameras and blue-lit screens, it was a heartwarming sight to see a room full of people truly devoting themselves to the moment, further highlighting the sensational fanbase Kingfishr have won for themselves.

“This is everything we’ve ever wanted,” Eddie said as the show came to an end. “This is the best night of my life.”