“Dean Lewis is a man on fire!” That’s the first thing that came into my head recently watching the singer-songwriter from Sydney, Australia, wade into the crowd at a sold-out 9:30 Club. I had only seen Lewis once before as the opening artist on the AJR arena tour last year. Even with the shortened opening set, I could tell there was a confidence and charm that had a lot in the audience throwing up heart signs and carrying signs. It seemed like just as many in attendance were there for Lewis as they were for the headliner.
On the heels of his third full-length release, The Epilogue, which came out last year, Dean Lewis has been teasing new material with the single, “With You,” with Sofia Camara released last month. And on April 8 at 9:30 Club, we were treated to not only that new song but another one that’s hopefully being released in the near future, “I Hate That It’s True.”
Taking a breather in between songs, Dean Lewis introduced the song “7 Minutes.” “It’s about two dates I went on a few years ago,” he told the crowd. “The first date was great, the second date was fucked as hell.” The song, one of the standouts on his debut minutes, A Place We Knew, had everyone in the club singing along, “Is it too late to turn around / I’m already halfway out of town…”
”Four songs in and this is the best fucking show I’ve played in DC… this is incredible!,” Lewis called out. There’s something to be said about the energy of live music. When an artist is engaging and interacting with a crowd, it’s hard not to smile and be taken in. Dean Lewis, not once, but several times during the show waded out into the crowd, with and without his guitar, to sing with fans.
Watch the official music video for “Without You” by Dean Lewis on YouTube:
“I just got told the worst case news about a week ago,” Lewis explained to the audience. “I got told that my band that I’ve been playing with for eight years… just applied for our visas way too late and they weren’t able to come and so Dan and Sam in 24 hours learned the entire fucking set.” And, seriously, you wouldn’t be able to tell. The tight trio played like they’ve been rehearsing for months.
For a song-writer who was very aware, as he mentioned, writes a fair number of sad songs, Dean was anything but sad as he seemed at home spreading boundless joy in this crowded club, even singing “Happy Birthday” to a fan in the crowd.
At one point, as the guitarist started playing a particularly sharp solo, the spotlight moved up into the balcony as Dean appeared up in the balcony steps with a keyboard to perform “Half a Man” and “The Last Bit of Us.”
Returning to the stage, Dean and his band ended up playing a very emotional cover of the Goo Goo Dolls “Iris” as opener Henry Moodie joined the band on-stage.
A brilliant performance by an engaging artist well on his way to stardom, Dean Lewis continues the US leg of his Epilogue Tour through the Spring.
The setlist included:
Empire
Hold of Me
Memories
7 Minutes
All I Ever Wanted
Cold
Hurtless
Chemicals
Stay Awake
I Hate That It’s True
With You
That’s So True (Gracie Abrams cover)
Half a Man
The Last Bit of Us
Waves
All Your Lies
Iris (Goo Goo Dolls cover) (With Henry Moodie)
How Do I Say Goodbye
Encore:
Be Alright
Here are more photos of Dean Lewis performing at the 9:30 Club April 8, 2025. All photos copyright and courtesy of David LaMason.
And here are photos of Henry Moodie opening at the 9:30 Club on April 8, 2025.
