By james art Chris Stapleton is an award-winning American singer-songwriter, guitarist and record producer known for his rich blend of country, rock, blues and soul. His career began as a songwriter in Nashville, where he wrote hits for artists such as Kenny Chesney, George Strait and Tim McGraw. He gained widespread acclaim with his debut solo album ‘Traveller’ (2015), which won him multiple Grammy Awards and catapulted him to stardom. With his powerful, soulful voice and raw, emotional performances, Stapleton has become a dominant figure in country music, blending traditional and modern influences with authenticity and depth, winning award after award in the process.
Returning to Birmingham on a cold fall night, Stapleton’s current tour goes by the moniker “The All American Roadshow.” There’s a tent-revival feel to both the branding and the visuals, which is entirely appropriate for a man of Stapleton’s gravitas. Despite his massive success, the Kentucky native keeps things simple on stage. The setting is humble and warm, made all the more personal with his wife and collaborator, Morgane Stapleton, singing intimately alongside him. Backed by a powerful five-piece band, he lets the music take center stage. Legendary pedal steel artist Paul Franklin is part of Stapleton’s band and his presence, which goes largely unnoticed, drives this behemoth live, leaving the front man himself free to sing to his wife and freely play electric guitar. as and when necessary.
Five minutes of internet research yields a pleasant surprise not often found in country music, and it’s another feather in Stapleton’s cap that sets him apart from his peers and contemporaries: he varies his set list and plays around with the order a bit, especially in a middle part and an acoustic part of his show. So Birmingham got a very soulful and intimate version of ‘Maggie’s Song’, which Stapleton preceded with some rare crowd interaction. “Any people with dogs in the crowd tonight?” he asked. “Scarecrow in the Garden” had a rare airing and Stapleton also chose to follow his signature song “Tennessee Whiskey” with a song from his old band The Steeldrivers later in the show. There was a superb five minutes of crooning with Marty Stewart that felt fresh and unique to this performance, which isn’t always something you can say about the often formulaic nature of country music shows.
“I’m not going to talk much tonight,” Stapleton told the crowd after “Second One to Know,” “I’m going to play as much music as I can in the time I have.” He certainly kept his promise, despite the danger of frontmen and artists who take this approach is that they can often seem aloof or disinterested, but Stapleton doesn’t suffer from that perception at all – everyone in the arena knew what he had to do and, boy, did he deliver on his word. With the stage bathed in warm lights and his wife and band strategically placed, Stapleton managed to make what was for all intents and purposes an airplane hanger feel like an intimate club show. It takes some effort, but his guitar playing, his demeanor and the power of his vocals are a unifying and intense experience. There may not have been a huge amount of visual spectacle to keep the Birmingham crowd distracted, but that’s not what Chris Stapleton’s show is about, it doesn’t need to be, and everyone in the arena knew it. They were there to sing, soak in the music and feel the emotion coming from that stage during songs like ‘Either Way’ and ‘Fire Away’.
Kudos must also go to Stapleton for pacing the show, which seemed meticulously planned. Opening with the fat “White Horse” was a bold move, as that song was his biggest, most recent hit and current award nomination, but it worked. “Crosswind” and “Hard Livin'” kept the riff and vocal power high, while “Arkansas” picked up the pace and volume after Stapleton’s acoustic double whammy in the middle. A cover of Marty Stewart’s ‘Honky Tonking is What I Do Best’ and the effect of ‘Midnight Train to Memphis’ also provided some muscle and meat, which meant you never felt like you were watching romantic ballad after romantic ballad. Stapleton uses them when he needs to, so “Joy of My Life” was a treat, but the set wasn’t overcrowded with them.
Similarly, the tone changed with funkier songs like “I Think I’m in Love With You” and “You Should Probably Leave”. Both songs drew excited gasps from the crowd during their introductions and led to a big general sing-along. The biggest sing-along, however, came at the end of “Fire Away,” when Stapleton turned off all the lights in the house and finished the song, with the crowd illuminated only by the arena’s phone lights. Tingling things everywhere.
“Cold” (sounding eerily like a James Bond tune to these ears) opened with the stage bathed in white lights to reflect the song’s theme, while “Think I’m in Love With You” was all red and pink. “Millionaire” was delivered on a gold bullion background and “Fire Away” all dark red and dark black. The atmosphere and effects matched the song being performed, again hinting at a level of commitment and meticulousness not often seen in country music below the much higher echelon of A-list artists. That’s what Stapleton is: he transcended any kind of genre labeling and broke out of the constraints the industry places on artists to become his own entity.
Chris Stapleton’s ‘All American Roadshow’ kicks off for audience and fan favorites. So we put on ‘Parachute’, ‘Traveller’ and ‘Broken Halos’ and the crowd lapped it up, singing along with gusto and throwing all kinds of poses and shapes. An extended ‘Tennessee Whiskey’ saw Stapleton sing an introduction to all the band members, which was quite fun and cute, before launching into his signature song, which was no doubt recorded on ten thousand cell phones held aloft by his appreciative congregation.
Congregation would be the right word to describe the crowd in the Utilita arena. There is something deeply communal and almost spiritual about going to a Chris Stapleton concert – Motley Crue this is not! What you’ll get is an intense and emotional performance delivered by a humble and unassuming man who seems happiest when singing these songs about love, loss and everyday life to his wife, just to his left. This simplicity is incredibly infectious and heart-warming, and the power of Stapleton’s message and performance is both edifying and mesmerizing, meaning he holds you in the palm of his hand for two hours and then says goodbye, cleansed and refreshed, ready to come back out into the cold night you emerged from as the All American Roadshow packs up and moves on to another city and another set of eager supplicants in need of a soul recharge.
Set list: 1. White Horse 2. Nobody to Blame 3. Second One To Know 4. Millionaire 5. Crosswind 6. Hard Livin’ 7. Scarecrow in the Garden 8. Honky Tonking Is What I Do Best With Marty Stewart 9. What Am I Gonna Do 10. Think I’m in Love With You 11. Maggie’s Song 12. Either Way 13. Arkansas 14. Midnight Train to Memphis 15. Starting Over 16. Joy of My Life 17. You Probably Leave 18. Cold 19. Parachute 20. Traveler 21. Fire Away 22. Broken Halos 23. Tennessee Whiskey 24. If it Hadn’t Been For Love Place: Birmingham Utility Arena date: October 22, 2024