There's less than two weeks to go until Damien Dempsey brings his lauded new album Hold Your Joy – plus classic tracks from across his discography – to Dublin for his special, one-off Windmill Live show, on Thursday, March 27.

Taking place in the Townhall at 1WML, an iconic structure at the heart of the Windmill QTR, this unique Hot Press treat is the latest in a line of acclaimed gigs, following performances from James Vincent McMorrow, LYRA, Gavin James, Lisa Hannigan, The Coronas, Hothouse Flowers, The Academic, Moncrieff and more, at one of Dublin’s most rock ‘n’ roll coordinates.

With Damien currently in the midst of a busy run of UK tour dates, this exciting Windmill Live show comes just ahead of his upcoming Irish leg of his Hold Your Joy Tour, which gets underway this month. He's also gearing up for two major headline shows at the Iveagh Gardens in Dublin on July 11 & 12.

Hold Your Joy scored a rave nine-star review in Hot Press, with Will Russell praising the "mighty record", and describing Damien as "an artist at the top of his game."

Speaking to Hot Press, the Donaghmede singer-songwriter revealed that he and his long-time producer/collaborator John Reynolds made a deliberate effort to "bring out the sweetness and tenderness" in his voice for this project.

"We’d been wanting to do that for a while," he resumed. "In the Abbey [for the play Tales From The Holywell] I was able to pull it right back, and just have this nice soft, sweet voice. My da had that voice as well. I can’t really use it in a lot of the shows I do, because people wouldn’t hear it! But we’ve finally done it on this album.”

For Damien, Hold Your Joy is primarily about “healing”.

“I’m just putting down what I’ve learned, from travelling the world, talking to wise people, and listening,” he remarked. “And what I’ve learned from being alive for nearly half a century.

“There’s solutions in it, I think, to modern-day problems,” he added. “It’s going to be an album that helps people, if they open their hearts to it.”

The singer-songwriter also told Hot Press about the importance of embracing the spirit of "the singsong" in his live performances, as "a sacred link to our Gaelic past."

“When you sing, you can’t think of the past or the future,” he reflected. “You just have to be there, right in the moment – because you have to remember the next line, and try to stay in time, and nearly in key. Communal singing is one of the best things you can ever do.

“I’ve tried to bring that to the stage, and make any venue I go to like a big singsong – because there’s fierce healing in a singsong.”

Earlier this week, we celebrated 20 years of his beloved, chart-topping album Shots, by revisiting our original 2005 review – which you can read for yourself here.

Damien Dempsey will be joined at the Windmill Live show by special guest Conor Hamilton – another thrilling Dublin talent.

Apply for complimentary tickets to Damien Dempsey's Windmill Live show – taking place on Thursday, March 27 – below: