Ike Dweck Brings The ‘Safe With Me’ Tour Home

A Warm Review: Live at Mercury Lounge

By Calli Ferguson

Photos by Daylan Sparks

Ike Dweck and his band walked through a cheering, sold-out crowd at Mercury Lounge after crossing the country on his first headlining tour. The bright June evening was buzzing with the still-electric excitement of Knicks fans after the morning’s ticker tape parade and the perfectly warm summer air, as the artist took the stage for his hometown show. Many local artists play this room, but for Dweck, the Mercury Lounge show felt like more of a return than a launch. 

It was evident as soon as he opened his set with his 2024 single, “Back To Us”, and the room filled with a soft chorus of voices singing along. Dweck’s voice, meanwhile, almost rips through the space with his deep, rich timbre. Gripping onto certain lyrics with rasp, his vocals bring a texture to his songs that were really striking in the live space. At one moment though, the artist went quiet- seemingly just to hear the crowd sing his lyrics back toward him, and a smile took his face at the sound of it. 

The Brooklyn-native singer/songwriter rose to popularity for his emotionally intense indie-folk songs with a touch of grit. Dweck’s discography consists of a stream of singles released over the past 3 years. The latest of which, “End Of Me”- released just before embarking on this Safe With Me Tour- is a raw excavation somewhere in the blurred lines between pain and anger. “Nobody’s expecting to leave happy,” he joked before diving into a couple of his more devastating songs. And later quipped, “I spent the better part of four years writing songs in my bedroom and crying. You guys are all here because of it.”

We were catching the band after traveling North America, playing 15 venues from coast to coast, wrapping up with us at Mercury Lounge before jetting off for two dates in the UK. It’s a big feat for any artist, and especially an independent one. But for Ike Dweck, 3.1 million followers amassed on TikTok seem to have translated into a devoted fanbase that would fill rooms like this one with the gentle hum of their collective singing. And though many of them had probably discovered these songs alone on a screen, they got to share them here. Throw in the support of friends and family at a hometown show, and you’ll get an idea of the Mercury Lounge that night.

Some highlights of the set were “A Cut This Deep” and “End of Me” with lively, delicious guitar and keyboard solos. Dweck played “Dawn” at the end of his set and closed with the tour’s title track, “Safe With Me,” the band pulling back to let the a cappella sound of voices fill the space, leaving goosebumps on everyone’s warm summer skin. 

Listening to music can be a deeply personal experience. Listening to music live can remind us of the rare magic of collective effervescence. It’s something that was already in the air in New York City that night. But a special version of it was cooked up in that small room over emotional songs.

Perhaps nobody expected to “leave happy”, as the artist joked. But walking out to a Lower East Side still lit by a blue and orange sky, you’re left with something that’s even more fulfilling: the unmatched indulgence of communal expression. In no situation does that resonate quite like it does at a show like this– and in no city quite like New York.

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Ike Dweck will be on the road again starting in Nov for the following dates…
November 3 - Dallas, TX @ Club Dada
November 4 - Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall Upstairs 
November 5 - Austin, TX @ 3Ten at ACL Live 
November 8 - Toronto, ON @ Adelaide Hall 
November 10 - Ottawa, ON @ Club SAW
November 11 - Montreal, QC @ La Sala Rossa 
November 17 - Calgary, AB @ Dickens 
November 18 - Edmonton, AB @ Temple Ballroom

💿 listen to Ike Dweck where you listen
📻 stay tuned on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and his website