Bathed in waves of fog and adorned with tented ceilings, an oriental rug and three bar stools, The Grand Social was enlivened with the grassroot charms of Wild Child on Wednesday night.

With an audience of captivated fans, the indie-pop two piece, joined on stage by guitarist and opener John Calvin Abney, broke down the barrier between audience and performer, incorporating impromptu song suggestions, cracking jokes, and transforming the space into an intimate celebration of music.

The Texas-based duo, composed of Kelsey Wilson and Alexander Beggins, was unexpectedly conceived in the backseat of a tour van in 2010. While traveling as backup musicians for Danish band The Migrant, the songwriting duo, equipped with Beggins' ukulele, translated their 19-year-old perspectives on life, love and society into song, releasing their self-recorded debut album Pillow Talk in 2011.

With Beggins on vocals and ukulele, Wilson singing lead vocals, and a band of instrumental support, Wild Child spent the majority of the 2010s on tour, peaking with a Top 10 hit on the Billboard Heatseekers chart and over 100 million streams on Spotify after the release of their fourth album Expectations in 2018.

Following a two year hiatus, in which Wilson and Beggins each pursued their personal musical ambitions, the duo regrouped during the COVID-19 pandemic, announcing the release End Of The World and finding their old spark amidst a rapidly changing industry.

Credit: Emily O'Brien

As the first stop on their European tour, Dublin fans were thrilled to welcome Wild Child back to the stage, cheering with excitement as Wilson slipped off her shoes and took to the mic with a slight southern twang, saying, “We’re here to play some shit for you guys!”

The duo-turned-trio, with new addition John Calvin Abney, kicked the night off with their newest love song, ‘Sleeping In,’ Wilson armed with a pint of Guinness and a pair of large bohemian glasses and Beggins swinging his bare feet atop a barstool.

The band’s Jack Johnson-esque sound and lively banter brought the audience to life, turning respectful listeners into enthused participants within the first three songs. “It’s so special to be so far from home and have people singing all these words,” Wilson marveled after a collective rendition of ‘Going In.’ “My mind is blown right now!”

Credit: Emily O'Brien

The night continued with a handful of songs off the group’s newest album before diving into the throwbacks. Abney departed briefly while the core duo performed ‘Pillow Talk’ and ‘The One’ – Wilson comically ad-libbing throughout, adding “and drugs” to the line, “We don't mind staying up all night because we talk a lot sweeter with booze.”

Later, with Abney back on stage, the group jumped into one of the night’s highlights. ‘Dear John,’ a breakup song about refusing to be the fallback option for an ex-partner, became an enthusiastic sing-along, the crowd joining in as Wilson sang the iconic chorus, “Still I don’t want you back. Shit, I don't want you back now.”

Taking song requests from audience members as the night drew to a close, the trio even revisited 2011’s ‘Silly Things,’ which all three musicians had fun stumbling through as they remembered, or, in Abney’s case improvised, the tune. Creating an environment of play rather than strict performance, the lack of a setlist only strengthened Wild Child’s care-free image, with Wilson interrupting a particularly depressing line about the state of humanity by saying, “I don’t believe that anymore. It’s absolutely untrue. We were 19!”

Wild Child’s final two songs, ‘Expectations’ and ‘Sinking Ship,’ were the perfect way to end the night, balancing the group's jaunty personality with heartfelt lyricism and smooth vocals. Wilson’s control over the microphone paired perfectly with the soft strum of Beggins' ukulele and the intricacies of Abney’s guitar, creating an unmatched trio of artistry. In less than two hours, Wild Child were able to connect with their audience on a personal level, crafting a night imbued with laughter, emotion and music.