Live Report: Paul Simon bids a fond and final farewell to Irish fans at Dublin’s 3Arena

Having been lucky enough to be at his Homeward Bound – The Farewell Tour back in 2018, getting to see Paul Simon one more time, for a completely different show, is something very special.

This tour, aptly named A Quiet Celebration, comes off the back of Simon’s sudden hearing loss in 2023, while recording his fifteenth solo studio album, Seven Psalms. With only 6% hearing in his left ear, Simon can no longer play louder, full-band performances.

In an interview with Anthony Mason on CBS Mornings last year, Simon discussed changes to his setlist.

“I’m going through my repertoire and reducing a lot of the choices that I make to acoustic versions. It’s all much quieter. It’s not, ‘You Can Call Me Al’, that’s gone, I can’t do that one.”

Many artists at such a juncture might decide to leave well enough alone – but Simon’s tenacity is what has probably kept him on the road for over 60 years.

“You know Matisse, when he was suffering at the end of his life, when he was just in bed, he envisioned all these cut-outs and had a great creative period. So I don’t think creativity stops with disability. So far, I haven’t experienced that – and I hope not to.”

Tonight here in Dublin, Paul Simon is greeted with rapturous applause when he takes to the stage. Dressed in his signature suit and t-shirt combo, he’s looking fresh at 84-years-old.

“I'm always happy when I'm in Dublin and in Ireland,” he says before explaining there will be two halves to the show.

For the first half of the performance, Simon and his band play Seven Psalms in full with no interruption or applause between songs, just a simple black screen with white writing that flashes the song title at the beginning of each track. Simon and his band deliver a fully acoustic, and utterly ethereal performance of the album, from start to finish.

Singer-songwriter (and Simon’s wife of 34 years) Edie Brickell comes on stage for the second last song of the album, 'The Sacred Harp'. Her beautiful vocals and harmonies with Simon are a wonderful addition to this intricate performance.

After the interval, Simon and his band return to the stage. For the second half of the show the stage lights are full of colour, and Simon has changed into his quintessential casual look, featuring faded blue jeans, a red shirt and baseball cap.

The set kicks off with a lively version of the Grammy Award-winning ‘Graceland’. While Simon’s vocals are certainly weaker, his voice is still true and full of sweetness.

Following a superb performance of his 1977 hit 'Slip Slidin' Away', other highlights of the night include ‘Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard’, ‘Homeward Bound’ and ‘Rewrite’.

The set is full of great storytelling too. Simon recalls an ayahuasca trip he had in the Amazon that inspired ‘Spirit Voices’, and he tells of the shock he felt as a young teenager when he heard of the death of his hero Johnny Ace, who he immortalised in his 1983 track ‘The Late Great Johnny Ace’.

As the set comes to a close, Simon goes to thank his Dublin audience but mistakenly says London, which spurs some playful booing from the audience. Simon takes this in good humour as he jokingly declares, “Thank you Amsterdam!”

The Simon & Garfunkel classic ‘The Boxer’ closes the set with a surprise guest performance from Martin Hayes, who ends the song with a lively solo on the fiddle.

Simon returns to the stage alone for an encore of the era-defining, folk-rock hit 'The Sound of Silence'. A towering song by a songwriting giant – the perfect way to end a magical night.