Harry Styles at Slane review: Cúpla focal, Tallaght memories, and a nod to Niall Horan
Harry Styles on stage at Slane Castle. Picture: Lloyd Wakefield
Slane Castle may be owned by the Mountcharles family, but on Saturday night there was no doubt in the minds of 80,000 attendees that for one night only it was Harry’s House.
Thousands of cars and buses snaked through Co Meath en route to the iconic venue to see Harry Styles, with the organisers warning of an additional three hours to the usual travel time, which rang true for the most part.
With an air of serendipity, the rain clouds that had been lingering all day cleared and there were blue skies overhead for the main attraction.
Styles, 29, took to the stage on the castle grounds at 8.30pm, becoming the first act to perform there since 2019 and to a much younger crowd than it usually hosts. Pink cowboy hats (possibly repurposed by many from last year’s Garth Brooks mania in Croke Park) and neon-coloured feather boas dominated the view from the stage.
The crowd’s eclectic style reflects that of Styles himself, who has experimented with colour and silhouettes in a fashion that would remind you of Freddy Mercury crossed with Elton John but with an entirely 21st-century vibe.
Wearing a silver and green sequin jacket over a bare torso and white trousers, he kicked the night off with style — no pun intended. He polished off his cúpla focal after finishing his first song. “Conas a tá tú? My name is Harry and I’m thrilled to be able to perform for you,” he said softly before singing ‘Golden’. “We’ll have some fun tonight, Slane!”
Harry with the Irish flag on stage at Slane Castle in Slane, Ireland - 10 June (via @tpwkcore_) pic.twitter.com/JST2woZvHk
— HSD Love On Tour (@hsdlot) June 11, 2023
Styles said it was always “a great privilege” to play in Ireland over his 13-year career, except for one time in the early days of One Direction: “I got headbutted when I went to Tallaght. Is there anyone here tonight from Tallaght? It’s okay, I forgive you, Tallaght, I forgive you.” He touched upon his boy band roots too with a rendition of the One Direction hit ‘That’s What Makes You Beautiful’ and shouted for the crowd to “sing it out for Mullingar”, a nod to his Co Westmeath bandmate Niall Horan.
Styles exudes stage presence and has all the self-assured confidence of someone who has been honing his skills since 2010, when he first appeared on the X-Factor, where One Direction was formed. He was utterly comfortable in front of this crowd and his charisma really is something — he is professional, world-class, and (most importantly) he had fun at Slane.
He skipped around the stage often, waving at the crowd and encouraging cheers and whoops of appreciation. He extended a pause early on and the silence was filled with cheers and chants of his name. He closed his eyes, leaned his head back, opened his arms, and soaked up the love.
He encouraged the audience too to let loose, sing, dance and be whoever they needed to be. It’s a mutual love — he reminded his fans he would stop the show and he was true to his word, pausing before Matilda after seeing a fan slip and checking in frequently throughout the gig.
Styles delivered hit after hit for his adoring fans during a gig he described as “incredible”, concluding with ‘Sign of the Times’, ‘Medicine’, ‘As It Was’ and ‘Kiwi’ in a firework-illuminated encore before bidding “slán” to Slane.
For some music fans, Styles' headline gig at Slane was looked down upon as he is 'only' a pop star, in contrast with the more usual rock offerings at the venue. Among the acts to have appeared at Slane are David Bowie, Queen, Metallica, and The Rolling Stones. On Saturday, Styles and his fandom proved he deserved to see his name beside theirs.
