Concert Reviews

Ballerini entertains, while offering group therapy

February 25, 2025 - A brisk Jersey chill outside was a sharp contrast to the warm reception fans had inside for Kelsea Ballerini on this clear winter night. The "Legends" army came prepared with their signs, pink cowgirl hats and bedazzled luggage tags (an homage to a new track called "Baggage"). ...

Blue collar Ole 60 ought to be going places

January 30, 2025 - These are heady times for Ole 60, some "blue collar kids from middle of nowhere Kentucky" (at least that's what the lead-in audio before the band hit the stage proclaimed). Barely a year into their existence, the band just made their debut at the Mother Church of Country Music, the Grand Ole Opry. ...

More country, less rock would serve Marlowe more

January 25, 2025 - Dylan Marlowe's preferred subject matter tends to be those good ol' boy Southern anchors of trucks, women and in Marlowe's case, deer. Throw a rock sound to the songs, and you get the sense for what most – but definitely not all – of a Marlowe concert sounds like these days. ...

G. Love and Special Sauce make a welcome return home

January 24, 2025 - The most personable G. Love and Special Sauce were home again, and it showed in spades during the first of two Beantown shows. G. Love is really a Philadelphia native, but the blues/soul/hip hop/folk singer also lived here for few decades and the city where he first forged a musical presence on a bigger stage. ...

Albino needs no slack

January 16, 2025 - It would be entirely understandable if headliner Jeremie Albino and opener Benjamin Dakota Rogers would have been accorded a modicum of slack by the 200 or so faithful supporters. It was opening night of Albino's tour after all. Meaning he had not played a show since October (although of course, ...

Watson's no rookie

December 9, 2024 - There is a healthy skepticism about whether Willie Watson's very strong recent self-titled CD release is his debut solo album. After all, Watson, who once upon a time was a founding member of Old Crow Medicine Show, has already released "Folk Singer, Vol. 1" and "Folk Singer, Vol. 2. ...

From now on, Wilson Jr. needs no introduction

December 8, 2024 - At the start of every Stephen Wilson Jr. concert, the bespectacled singer with an ever present baseball cap, comes out and proudly states, "I am Stephen Wilson Jr., and I am my father's son." That figured prominently for Wilson, who sold-out the club with an enthusiastic fan base singing ...

Flores keeps it honest on another great night

December 7, 2024 - Wyatt Flores has come far fast, and he is making the most of it. A year ago, the buzz had already started about the Oklahoma native playing country music. He also suffered from the weight of his early success, talking openly about mental health issues he was facing. Hopefully, he is overcoming and ...

Simpson goes out in a blaze of glory

November 24, 2024 - It may have been the closing night of his touring for the year, but lest anyone think that Simpson was ready to dial it in, head home and call it a year, no. Nope. No way. On the second of two quick sell-outs at the venue, Simpson and his utterly supple backing band seemed to suggest that they were ...

Pride works wonders for Godwin

November 21, 2024 - Charles Wesley Godwin is West Virginia proud. He made that clear during a charged, engaged outing at a sold-out show where just over two years ago ,he was opening for his musical compadre Zach Bryan in the very same venue. After all, the red bandana-ed singer came out of the gate with the opening ...

No need to dream, Gossett's got it

November 13, 2024 - One might assume that Dylan Gossett is living the dream. After all, the 25-year-old singer from Austin never had played Boston before in his ultra-short career, and here he was with an excited, sold-out crowd of 2,500 singing along in song after song – even one released just two weeks ago. ...

Lenker makes herself heard

November 12, 2024 - At first glance, Adrianne Lenker may not have seemed like the most dynamic performer. Staying seated for most of the 100-minute show could have sucked the energy out of the room for the singer-songwriter's. However, that was far from the case in an engaging, warm, at times low-key set at the first ...

Hubbard shows there's life after FGL

November 7, 2024 - Tyler Hubbard showed that there indeed is life after Florida Georgia Line. In a show that at times rocked before moving more and more into country territory, Hubbard is making a go of it on his own, apart from Brian Kelley. Playing a smaller venue (capacity 2,500, but it was not filled) than arenas ins ...

Guyton has the vocal chops. No matter what.

November 4, 2024 - To say that Mickey Guyton was unnecessarily hard on herself would be an understatement. Part way through her show as part of the CMT On Tour, the singer told the crowd of about 200 that she had been battling a cold since Oct. 9. Making her Boston debut, Guyton would apologize to the crowd more than ...

Vocals rule for Little Big Town, Sugarland; Halloween, less so

October 31, 2024 - Considering that it was Halloween, maybe it was the costumes or lack thereof that went to the heart of the performance by Little Big Town, headlining the big arena. The opening act, The Castellows, smartly were decked out in American Revolutionary soldier costumes. Well done, considering they were in ...

Defying convention, Hitchcock brings the joy

October 29, 2024 - Robyn Hitchcock would not be accused of being your traditional performer – not that that detracted from his mainly solo outing before presumably longstanding fans. With a new album of covers, "1967," under his belt, the British musician living in Nashville might have been expected to ...