At the first stop of their tour across the UK and Ireland, Paramore took a brief intermission so Hayley Williams could perform a solo acoustic cover of The Cranberries’ 1992 hit ‘Dreams’.
Paramore performed at Dublin’s 3Arena on Thursday (April 13), performing a set of 21 songs that included new songs from their just-released sixth album, ‘This Is Why’. ‘Liar’ and ‘Crave’ were both performed for the first time, as was Williams’ 2020 song ‘Crystal Clear’ (which appeared on her debut solo album, ‘Petals For Armor’) and the song ‘Baby’ by HalfNoise, drummer Zac Farro’s solo project.
Williams’ cover of ‘Dreams’ appeared right after Farro’s performance of ‘Baby’ – she performed it acoustically, following it up with a rendition of Paramore’s own 2009 ballad ‘The Only Exception’.
Have a look at a fan-shot recording of the Cranberries cover, then see the full setlist from Thursday’s show, below:
Paramore played:
1. ‘You First’
2. ‘The News’
3. ‘Playing God’
4. ‘That’s What You Get’
5. ‘Running Out Of Time’
6. ‘Caught In The Middle’
7. ‘Ain’t It Fun’
8. ‘Liar’
9. ‘Crystal Clear’ (Hayley Williams song)
10. ‘Still Into You’
11. ‘Rose-Colored Boy’
12. ‘Baby’ (HalfNoise cover)
13. ‘Dreams’ (Cranberries cover)
14. ‘The Only Exception’
15. ‘Last Hope’
16. ‘I Caught Myself’
17. ‘Decode’
18. ‘Misery Business’
19. ‘Hard Times’
20. ‘This Is Why’
21. ‘Crave’
Paramore will play their first show in the UK tonight (April 15), performing at the Cardiff International Arena in Wales. They’ll continue the trek with a show in Glasgow on Monday (April 17), followed by English dates in Manchester, London and Birmingham. You can see the full itinerary here, with remaining tickets to all the shows on it available here.
May will see the band return to North America for the local leg of their ‘This Is Why’ tour, performing 34 shows into August, with a rotating bill of special guests (including Bloc Party, Foals, Genesis Owusu and The Linda Lindas). See here for more info on those shows.
In a five-star review of ‘This Is Why’, NME’s Sophie Williams called it “a bold reminder of how limitless Paramore can be”, writing that “for every hard rock riff that soars to an explosive finale, there’s an adventurous vocal detour or lightly psychedelic moment”.
Meanwhile, Paramore recently celebrated the 10th anniversary of their self-titled fourth album, reflecting on the time that’s passed since in a heartwarming letter to fans. Williams wrote that making ‘Paramore’ took “a lot of guts and self-determination”, particularly amid rabid fan (and critic) speculation over whether she could step up as the band’s primary songwriter (following the departure of Josh and Zac Farro).