The Weight of the Woods finds Dermot Kennedy pulling his music back to where it started, both geographically and creatively. Written and largely recorded in Ireland with producer Gabe Simon, the album takes shape just down the road from Kennedy’s home, in a setting that mirrors the songs themselves: grounded, reflective, and closely tied to place.

Simon, whose résumé includes work with Noah Kahan and Lana Del Rey, spent six weeks in Ireland working side by side with Kennedy, tapping into a rhythm that feels less like a formal studio process and more like a shared instinct. That connection carries through the record, even as parts of it were later shaped in Nashville, creating a subtle contrast between the intimacy of home and the broader reach of the final sound.

Kennedy keeps the focus where he’s always been strongest: the voice and the song. “To me, the album is a beautiful homegrown thing with Irish instruments and an Irish story,” he says. “There’s a forest behind my house, which is a haven for my sense of wonder. It’s a peaceful place where I can escape. I’ve entertained the idea of living somewhere else, but I don’t think I’d be happy anywhere else.”

That sense of place isn’t decorative, it’s foundational. Across the album, traditional folk textures sit alongside subtle country influences, but the through line is clarity. Kennedy has stripped things back, giving his vocals more space and letting the writing carry the weight. “If I get up in a pub with just a guitar or a piano, I’m certain that I can sing to a room full of people,” he says. “It’s where I’m the most comfortable. I wanted that element to be front-and-center on this album.”

It’s a direction that connects directly to his early years. Born in Rathcoole, Ireland in 1991, Kennedy picked up a guitar at 10 and was writing songs by 14, learning his craft in open mics around Dublin before taking it to the streets, busking in cities far and wide. A brief run studying classical music gave him technical footing, but it was the pull of folk that stuck, eventually leading to a breakthrough win at the South County Song Contest that helped put him on the map.

The Weight of the Woods circles back to that origin point, where everything feels more direct, more grounded, and closer to the source. The scale may be bigger now, but the core remains the same: a voice, a story, and a sense of place that still guides where the music goes next.