Gig review: GREGORY ALAN ISAKOV – 3Olympia Theatre, Dublin, 20th October 2025

November 4th, 2025 by david.wilson

I have my son to thank for turning me on to Gregory Alan Isakov’s music. As an artist, he hadn’t been on my radar, and four years ago I don’t think he was on many other radars in the UK either. In March 2022 he was out on tour supporting the Lumineers around UK arenas and played one solo show in Sunderland, which my son and I travelled down to see (we also met up with the guys from Sabaton on the same trip, so it was a real game of two halves!). The Sunderland show was a revelation, Gregory and his band were superb that night and we have managed to catch them on every UK tour since then.

The last two shows have been in Glasgow, with the venues getting larger as the word spreads and Gregory’s popularity rises. On this latest trip however, the choice of the O2 Academy in Glasgow for the show felt like a poor one for Gregory’s laid back, folk led Americana. So, looking at the tour itinerary, it was decided that we would head to Dublin for a couple of nights to the 3Olympia Theatre which looked like a much better venue and more in keeping with the music.

How right we were! The 3Olympia is an old theatre with a great atmosphere which seats around 1280. The acoustics were fantastic, and the gig had one of the best sound mixes I have ever heard in my 40 odd years of gig going. Gregory had sold out two nights in Dublin and we were in for the second of those.

As the lights dimmed, Gregory appeared on stage with minimal lighting, a feature of the evening, and an acoustic guitar and opened proceedings with ‘She Always Takes It Black’. Slowly, the rest of the band appeared in time to join in with Gregory on the sublime ‘San Luis’.

Making a very early appearance in the set, ‘Amsterdam’ was up next, which elicited a cheer from the crowd. ‘Amsterdam’ is always a set highlight and the soaring refrain of ‘Oh and churches and trains, wow, they all look the same to me now’ really hit the mark.

Gregory is a man of few words and instead likes to let the music do the talking, but his admiration for the Dublin crowd was clear to see. For their part, the crowd were silent during the songs which, given the paired back delivery, is a key part of a GIA show. Respect the music and show your appreciation when the final chords are struck.

The set list was a good mix of the old and new, with tracks from Gregory’s last album, Appaloosa Bones, including ‘ The Fall’ and ‘Before The Sun’ showing off the bands talents. Gregory has assembled a great bunch of fellow musicians around him, all are long standing friends, and they gel together perfectly. At one point Gregory joked that he wished he had a death metal song he could play in the set, I reckon these guys could pull that off no problem, complete with banjo and violin accompaniment!

‘This Empty Northern Hemisphere’ and ‘Master & A Hound’ went down a storm, complete with subtle onstage lighting which really added to the atmosphere. The main set was rounded off with ‘Big Black Car’ and a great version of ‘Liars’ which built to a big climax with Gregory repeating the refrain ‘Now we’re just liars’ along with the band and crowd.

The band then took in the applause and cheers before heading off stage. They were soon back though, and all the band gathered around Gregory at the front of the stage. As is tradition at GAI show, the encore is played around 1 microphone with each player stepping up when required to play his piece. We were treated to ‘The Stable Song’ and ‘Living Proof’ in this format before the band took in their standing ovation and called it a night.

This was a fantastic show in a superb venue that was well worth the trip. If you haven’t yet heard Gregory Alan Isakov’s back catalogue, I urge you to give it a try, but the live experience is something special. Catch him soon as word is spreading, and seeing him in venues of this size may become a rare occurrence.

Review and photos by Dave Wilson

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