A Saturday night was the scene of a modern-day hoedown of sorts, at the Orlando Amphitheater at The Central Florida Fairgrounds in Orlando, Florida. The weather was in the low 70s as the sunset and the wind started whipping up and it felt colder than it actually was making a wonderful November evening. The large crowd blocked the wind and cold from penetrating into the great time they were having as the Turnpike Troubadours from Oklahoma were in town with Georgia‘s Blackberry Smoke and fellow Oklahomans Jason Bland & The Stragglers.
The party kicked off with country music from banjos, fiddles, and steel guitars as Jason Bland & The Stragglers started the show at 7:00 pm. They have ten studio albums and two live albums released in the last twenty years, this American Red Dirt/Texas country band has become one of the most successful bands of the Red Dirt genre. Their music was upbeat, and the crowd bobbed and swayed to the beat. Their nine-song set was the perfect kick-off to the evening.
Band:
Jason Boland – Lead Vocals/Guitar
Grant Tracy – Bass
Jake Lynn – Drums
AJ Slaughter – Pedal Steel/Lead Guitar
Nick Gedra – Fiddle/Mandolin
Andrew Bair – Keyboards
Setlist:
1.) Terrifying Nature
2.) Light Saw Me
3.) Pearl Snaps
4.) Proud Souls
5.) When I’m Stoned
6.) Dark & Dirty Mile
7.) Truest Colors
8.) I Guess It’s Alright To Be An Asshole
9.) Blowing Through The Hills
Blackberry Smoke was next on stage as they brought their bluesy country sound to the party. Blackberry Smoke has had their last five albums charting in the top eight of the country charts, with two taking the top spot. Their last release, You Hear Georgia topped the country charts at number three, and the US Americana chart at number one showing the genre-bending of the band’s material. Blackberry Smoke is still the first independently released artist charting number one on the Billboard Country Album charts. Missing were the steel guitars and violins of the other two bands on the bill, as Blackberry Smoke has a sound of their own. The band’s music can also be heard in the soundtracks of many episodes of the popular TV series, Yellowstone, with 14 songs that were used for the show.
Blackberry Smoke is a super tight band of great musicians that just keep getting better with age in their 24-year career. The band is fronted by Charlie Starr on vocals and guitar, the rhythm section of the Turner brothers, Richard and Brit, Benji Shanks on slide guitar, Brandon Still on Keyboards, and Paul Jackson handling lead guitar. Missing from this lineup was Preston Holcomb on percussion. Blackberry Smoke is a band I have covered six times, and like I said, they get better every time I see them.
Band:
Charlie Starr – Lead Vocals, Guitar
Richard Turner – bass, Backing Vocals
Brit Turner – Drums
Paul Jackson – Guitar, Backing Vocals
Brandon Still – Keyboards
Benji Shanks – Guitar
Setlist:
1.) Lay It Down
2.) Good One
3.) Pretty Lil Lie
4.) Delilah
5.) You Hear Georgia
6.) Sleepin Dogs
7.) Ain’t Got The Blues
8.) Dig A Hole
9.) Run Away
10.) One Horse Town
11.) Lil Bit Crazy
12.) Ain’t Much Left
Turnpike Troubadours is a band that has been getting quite a bit of attention this past year touring. After a three-year hiatus from 2019 to 2022, the band has been performing almost non-stop and they groove like a well-oiled machine. Their 20-song set had the Orlando crowd singing along and dancing the entire time..
Formed in 2005, this American Red Dirt/Texas country band has six albums with the last two charting in the top ten of the US Country Charts. The Turnpike Troubadours had the most energy of the night as the temperatures dropped, but I doubt anyone in attendance noticed as the crowd bunched closer to the stage and everyone was dancing in place generating body heat. Fiddle players in a country band always get the house rocking and this band had swagger from beginning to end.
Band:
RC Edwards – Bass
Kyle Nix – Fiddle
Ryan Engleman – Guitar
Evan Felker – Lead Vocals/Guitar
Gabriel Pearson – Drums
Hank Early – Steel Guitar
Setlist:
1.) Gin, Smoke, Lies
2.) Good Lord Lorrie
3.) Every Girl
4.) 7 & 7
5.) The Mercury
6.) A Tornado Warning
7.) Unrung
8.) The Bird Hunters
9.) Wrecked
10.) Before The Devil Knows We’re Dead
11.) Chipping Mill
12.) Mean Old Sun
13.) Brought Me
14.) Whole Damn Town
15.) Kansas City Southern
16.) Diamonds & Gasoline
17.) RC Acoustic
18.) Long Hot Summer Day
19.) The Housefire
20.) Pay No Rent
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Photographer and Editor/Founder of AllMusicMagazine.com. My love of live music has taken me to incredible experiences with the top bands of all time in stadium shows to the smallest venues with equally inspiring musicians. Using the medium of photography and my publication, these memories will last forever.
