By Dave Parsons
No matter how many years you have been doing it, being the last act on the first year of a festival has to be a little daunting. The audience is probably tired. They have seen dozens of acts, most of them the best in the business, over the last few days. And, it all comes down to you being the last man standing.
Maybe those thoughts never passed Tyler Childers mind as the last act, on the first year, of the Country Calling festival in Ocean City, MD. The thought did go through mine though, and I wanted to see how it played out.
Tyler Childers has been a force to be reckoned with the last few years. He considers himself a country artist. Some folks list him as Americana or Alternative Country, but he has repeatedly said he is just country. His music doesn’t get a lot of airplay on modern country radio, and yet he has been selling out shows all year.
The stage setup looked like the inside of a general store. A huge plethora of nostalgic type tables, with checkered table clothes held beverages for the band. Random plants adorned the stage along with wooden chest of drawers, wooden desk chairs and offset by images on the screen behind the stage set. It gave the impression of an impromptu jam session in a small town somewhere in America.
And, for all intent and purposes, that’s what he did. Quietly and unassuming, Childers and the band took their places and ripped into Shake the Frost and Country Squire. And, country music it was. The band had everything from a fiddle to a steel to an upright bass and even an accordion. Beyond tightly rehearsed, they took a back seat to Childers voice, and his banter between songs.
Childers has been vocal about his not abolished ghosts, and shows his appreciation for what he now has, between nearly every song. Within songs like I Swear (to God), he is trying to reach the next soul that desperately needs to hear it.
Childers walk through the setlist had the crowd singing along with him. As I said at the outset, the change of pace seemed to be what the crowd wanted. The down to Earth reflective lyrics and hard country sound seemed to calm the rowdiness out of the crowd and connected with Childers.
As all good things do, the show, and the festival came to an end. It ended with an experience that was authentic and country to its core. If this is the kind of performer he remains, Childers is a delight in concert. If this is the kinds of acts the festival brings in the future, the city of Ocean City will be busy the first weekend in October for many years to come.
Tyler Childers Setlist:
1.) Shake the Frost
2.) Country Squire
3.) I Swear (To God)
4.) Rustin’ in the Rain
5.) All Your’n
6.) Purgatory
7.) In Your Love
8.) Cluck Ol Hen (with ‘Good Luck, Babe’ by Chappell Roan tease)
9.) Old Country Church (Hank Williams cover)
10.) Can I Take My Hounds to Heaven?
11.) Whitehouse Road
12.) Two Coats
13.) Honky Tonk Flame
14.) Way of the Triune God
15.) House Fire
16.) Universal Sound
17.) Heart You’ve Been Tendin’
