Sam Beam & Jesca Hoop @ Kessler Theater, Dallas, TX

Words and photos by Whitney Hensley

Saturday night Sam Beam and Jesca Hoop performed to a sold out crowd at the Kessler Theater in Dallas. If you frequent small, intimate concerts, then you know if you arrive when the doors are set to open, you can count on being in the front of the crowd. This is absolutely not the case when it comes to the fans of Sam Beam and Jesca Hoop. Arriving when the doors open means you were at least five rows back from the front of the stage. New Zealander, Marlon Williams, opened up the Love Letter for Fire tour with his astounding voice and unparalleled vocal control. The crowd was completely awestruck watching him perform. Many times the crowd yelled out in excitement when he effortlessly held notes for what seemed like an eternity. Marlon Williams walked off stage with the amount of applause and admiration that would have gotten a headliner to come back out for an encore.

With a glass of red wine in hand, Sam Beam, perhaps better known by his stage name, Iron & Wine, walked onto the lamp-adorned stage with his musical partner, Jesca Hoop, following close behind. After working their way partly through Love Letter for Fire, Sam commented that they only had so much new material so now they were going to play some older songs. Both Sam and Jesca are amazing to watch while they perform but their onstage banter between each song is something special to behold. Sam stated that “we play a game where we each choose each others song that we will play on stage. So if you don’t like the Iron & Wine shit, blame her.” Every song played from Love Letter for Fire was met by an enthusiastic crowd but there was an audible increase in excitement from the crowd when the familiar Iron & Wine song, “Resurrection Fern”, was played. Both Sam and Jesca accompanied the other while they each played songs from their respective catalog. When it was time for the night to end, the crowd dispersed happily to have been a part of such a wonderful evening but wishing it could have continued on for hours more. Make sure to pick up a copy of Love Letter for Fire and check out the Iron & Wine website to see if they will be stopping in a city near you. Photos of the show are below:

Marlon Williams