Of all the excellent lyrics and terrific guitar licks in The Who’s set list at their Hollywood Casino Amphitheater performance in Tinley Park, Ill. in the Chicago area on Tuesday, May 21 it was this line delivered by vocalist Roger Daltrey during the performance of “Behind Blue Eyes,” one of my favorite Who songs, that stuck out most vividly during the show. It was freakin’ cold! It may have been late May, but it sure as Hell didn’t feel like it with temperatures in the low 50s with a wind chill in the mid-to-high 40s that had people bundled up like it was wintertime all over again. But, despite the chilly weather the band was as good as I could’ve ever hoped for – which is saying a lot for a couple of guys in their mid-70s who’ve been rocking people’s ears off for 55 years.
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The Who’s Moving On! tour is notable for the fact that the classic rock band from London, England is being joined on the road by a complete orchestra. I kind of expected the orchestra to play a bigger role than it turned out to play during the show, which isn’t a problem for me. Having never seen The Who and having always wanted to I had a small concern that the orchestra might change the way the music was heard, and it didn’t. This was still great rock music and the orchestra just added a nice touch to the music.

I knew from keeping up with tour setlists before attending Tuesday night’s show that a lot of the show would consist of the two critically-acclaimed rock operas written by Pete Townshend – 1969’s Tommy, which celebrated the 50th anniversary of its release two days after the concert, and 1973’s Quadrophenia. I’ve always been mostly a “greatest hits” fan of The Who, so the was also a slight concern I had going into the Tinley Park show … it turned out to be an unnecessary concern. Sure, it would’ve been great to have heard “Squeeze Box,” “I Can See For Miles” and especially “My Generation,” but it just worked hearing excerpts from Tommy and Quadrophenia played together as mini versions of rock operas with the orchestra.

Of course, it was “the hits” from these mini-rock operas that I loved the most from the performance on Tuesday night – “Pinball Wizard,” during the Tommy section that kicked off the show, and “Love, Reign O’er Me” during the Quadrophenia portion at the end of the concert. Hearing Daltrey perform “Love, Reign O’er Me” live was truly something. The 75-year old vocalist sounds incredible to this day, especially when shouting that final “love!!” during the performance.

After the Tommy section, Townshend took some time to thank the fans freezing their butts off for indulging the group in the performance and mentioned an upcoming release featuring Daltrey’s performance overseas of Tommy with an orchestra (sans Townshend and the rest of the group) before the band launched into the song that typically begins their shows “Who Are You,” their 1978 hit off the album of the same name. It was one of their best performances of the night and truly got the crowd completely into the show and moving around a bit.

Townshend and Daltrey are, of course, the only living members of the original lineup of The Who. Townshend’s younger brother, Simon, has toured with the band off and on over the last few years and is back with them proving rhythmic and acoustic guitar, as well as backing vocals. Zak Starkey, who is the son of the legendary Ringo Starr, has been The Who’s full-time drummer since 1996. The band is also joined on the tour by bassist Jon Button, the new guy among the group.

The mid-section of the show, as has been the case on the entire tour, sees the orchestra take a break and gives The Who the chance to show off some of their most memorable tracks of their legendary career. This is the portion of the show that sees the group alternate different songs depending on the night and on this night performed “The Kids Are Alright” and “The Seeker.”

My favorite Who song is 1971’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” which has been played solely and acoustically by Townshend and Daltrey on the tour, which gives the performance a nice intimate feel. The fact that it’s followed by my second all-time favorite Who song, “Behind Blue Eyes,” which sees the string section from the orchestra accompanying it, made this one-two punch of performances easily my favorite moments of the entire night.

The most recent song performed on the night was the intimate “Tea & Theatre” off the band’s most recent album 2006’s Endless Wire, the only album the band has released since the early ‘80s. It serves as a nice thank you to the group’s loyal fanbase before turning up the sound once again and being rejoined by the full orchestra for the Quadrophenia segment of the show that winds it down.

After the seven performances from Quadrophenia, wrapped up by the amazing aforementioned performance of “Love, Reign O’er Me,” came maybe the song the group is most associated with to wrap up the cold, but terrific night of music – “Baba O’Riley.” The song featured a fantastic violin solo by Katie Jacoby and served as a reminder that it might be the finest violin solo in the history of rock music.

It was truly an honor seeing The Who perform live, I just wish the weather conditions had been a bit more comfortable but hearing Daltrey’s still stellar pipes and getting to see Townshend’s trademark windmill guitar playing in person is something I’m never going to forget.  

by Zackary Kephart, Grant Ludmer & Julian Spivey

There has been no shortage of horrible songs throughout the long history of country music. This isn’t because country music is prone to bad songs – although if you were to turn on a mainstream radio station today, you’d think that’s certainly the case and you couldn’t be blamed for it – it’s just that all genres of music have their duds. Despite this, every one of the songs that appears on this list have been released in the last 15 years. We didn’t mean for this to happen. We each compiled lists of the songs we consider to be the worst in the history of country music, combined all of the songs that appeared on our lists (we had more than the 40 you see here and some were older than 15 years ago) and then averaged the songs out from our rankings of that combined list. It just so happened that all of the songs prior to 2004 (and there was only a handful of them) fell off the list in the averaging. This is a sign of just how bad mainstream country music has been over the last decade-plus. It doesn’t even sound like the type of music many of us grew up loving and still love today when we get a chance to hear it.
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NOTE: Usually on this website whenever we do a list, we provide the songs below our snippets about them so you can check them out – but we’re not going to do that for this list because doing so would make us akin to drug dealers. 

1. Vacation by Thomas Rhett
In the history of music – both country and many other genres – the greatest songs of all-time have been written by one person. Sometimes it takes two. Thomas Rhett’s 2016 release “Vacation,” which charts-wise is his only real bomb, was written by 14 people. That’s almost one songwriter for every word in the damn song (all kidding aside some of the songwriters are from the ‘70s bad War because it samples 1975’s “Low Rider”). It’s got the snaps in it, which has become the latest annoying trend in mainstream country music. Rhett has made a living in the country music genre as a pop, R&B singer because he’s not good enough for those actual genres or he’s just riding on the coattails of his songwriter (and “That Ain’t My Truck” singer) father Rhett Akins getting his foot into the Nashville door. “Vacation” doesn’t even attempt to be a country song – there isn’t one snippet of it that sounds like what anybody who’s ever heard even one country song in their lifetime would consider “country music.” But the song was released to country radio, played on country radio and recorded by an artist who’s won country music awards. That’s enough for us to at least consider “Vacation” the worst country song of all-time. JS

2. Breakup in a Small Town by Sam Hunt
The last six years that Sam Hunt has failed to release a new album have been really nice. Unfortunately, the damage Hunt has reaped on country music can never be undone. This song and the accompanying music video are fucking insane and the talk singing/production just make it so much worse. GL

3. Body Like a Back Road by Sam Hunt
What is there to say that hasn't been said already about this song? This song makes your mouth drop each time you hear it, not because it’s breathtaking, but because it’s one of the biggest misogynistic songs you’ll ever hear in your life. The title really says it all, but even the comparisons he makes are downright creepy. Sam Hunt has no charisma, and thankfully this turd of a tune wasn’t enough to resurrect bro-country. ZK

4. ‘90s Country by Walker Hayes
You know what makes a song country? Listing names of songs of famous ‘90s country songs while a douchey, middle aged guy talk sings. What made ‘90s country and country music prior to the ‘90s great was the storytelling and country instrumentation, none of which is present on this mess. GL

5. You Broke Up with Me by Walker Hayes
Imagine being a worse version of Sam Hunt. Walker Hayes is the store brand version of Sam Hunt and “You Broke Up With Me” is perhaps the worst “country” song ever released. Hayes’ talk singing is so insufferable, and this song is pure douche. GL

6. Ridiculous by Haley Georgia
Sadly, if this song were to be released to country radio in 2019, it would likely become a huge hit … at least if Hayley Georgia was a dude. In 2015, though, country music (thankfully) wasn’t ready for its own version of Iggy Azalea. Aside from the annoying cadence of the hook trying to cram an awkward innuendo into the mix, Georgia is unlikable as a performer. We haven’t heard from her since this song, so at least someone is looking out for country music fans. ZK

7.  Donkey by Jerrod Neimann
To be honest, I can look back at this song with a smile. I haven’t grown to like it, but with one bad single release, Jerrod Niemann effectively ended his short career resurgence. Perhaps more than most artists here, Niemann showcased a lot of potential with his debut album, but that was all lost by the time this song came around; a song where, since Jerrod Niemann put his car in the ditch and can't pay to fix it, he's going to ride into town on a donkey - you know, like he's Jesus riding into Jerusalem or something. As he says on another one of his songs, “I hope you get what you deserve.” ZK

8. Hotdamalama by Parmalee
I still don’t even know what the hell a Parmalee is – maybe an Italian dish? – but either way I’m glad it’s finally seemed to have passed. Their (hopefully) last effort at superstardom was 2018’s “Hotdamalama,” which is country grammar for “we’re a bunch of dumbasses.” The song includes the phrase “delta donk.” That’s about all you need to know.  JS

9. 1994 by Jason Aldean
I’m a big fan of Joe Diffie. Maybe Jason Aldean is too? And, while name-dropping in modern country music is way out of control, I could’ve gotten behind an artist paying tribute to Diffie – if it actually made any goddamn since. Aldean’s ode to ‘90s country, before Walker Hayes was something anybody knew anything about, tried to turn Diffie’s surname into a verb or a dance or something. The song, which is essentially just Diffie song titles and lines placed back-to-back and “Hey Joe, Joe, Joe Diffie” as the chorus, was written by Thomas Rhett, Barry Dean and Luke Laird, but should’ve had Diffie listed as a songwriter and those clowns as “editor.” Aldean has done a lot of bad in his career, but this is arguably his worst. JS

10. B.Y.H.B. by Uncle Ray Ezra
Washed up, middle aged pop singers (Uncle Kracker, Sugar Ray’s Mark McGrath and Better Than Ezra’s Kevin Griffin) join together to create the most bro-country song of all time. Yeah, it’s really bad. GL

11. Friend Zone by Danielle Bradberry
Let me break it down to the facts – this song blows. After Danielle Bradbery’s first two solid singles failed to establish her as a legitimate pop-country artist, Bradbery took the unfortunate low road afterward. As the country music industry continuously fails its female artists, perhaps telling a man to “step up to the plate with a bat” in song *maybe* isn’t the best way to help this sordid picture. Bradbery has the talent, but she utterly failed everyone here, including herself. ZK

12. This Is How We Roll by Florida Georgia Line feat. Luke Bryan
Florida. Georgia. Line. Can’t. Rap. They’re certainly free to try, but they always end up sucking at it, and “This Is How We Roll” is no exception. Otherwise, this track combined every element indicative of why mainstream country music sucked in 2014 – a hard-on for hip-hop tropes wrapped in redneck stereotypes and featuring the intelligence of your average Brantley Gilbert song. ZK

13. Back Porch Bottle Service by AJ McLean
Raise your hand if you thought the Backstreet Boy that said he was going to disrupt country music would release a quality song. Thankfully this trash did nothing on the charts, but this song is an abomination. There is nothing “disruptive” or different about it. It’s as generic as any other stupid drinking song, just worse. GL

14. Sun Daze by Florida Georgia Line
“I sit you up on a kitchen sink/And stick the pink umbrella in your drink” is one of the most vomitous lyrics I’ve ever heard in my life and that’s coming from a band that writes and sings a lot of vomitous stuff. Referring to one’s member as a “pink umbrella” in one of the oddest sexual innuendos I’ve ever heard is par for the course for Florida Georgia Line. If you love STDs, this is the song for you. FGL is the worst act in the history of country music. JS

15. Lookin’ for a Girl by Tim McGraw
Surely even Tim McGraw would like to forget this song exists, right? The Big Machine Records era of McGraw’s career resulted in some fantastic songs, and by the end of his tenure, he completely returned to form, artistically. But along the way, we got songs like “Truck Yeah” and “Lookin’ For That Girl,” an auto tuned slathered, creepy song that even Country Weekly and RoughStock couldn’t give a positive review. Instead of discussing this song once again, let’s just put this conversation to bed and not inflict this on anyone else. ZK

16. Fix by Chris Lane
Chris Lane is part of the bro, pop-country overproduced trash that is right at home at Big Loud Records. “Fix” is the epitome of creepy pick-up songs with Lane comparing himself to the high one experiences on meth. Lane even makes references to the “Breaking Bad” television show. This isn’t just a bad pop song; this is pure filth. GL

17. Meant to Be by FGL & Bebe Rexha
As a pure pop song, “Meant To Be” is honestly a fairly mediocre track that doesn’t inspire passion either way. But in terms of pure historical impact, “Meant To Be” opened Pandora’s box, ushering in problems that we’re now dealing with in 2019. This isn’t a win for females in country music, and it isn’t a win for breaking down barriers elsewhere, either. Instead, this is just a pure celebration of the mono-genre, so hooray for mediocrity. ZK

18. That’s My Kind of Night by Luke Bryan
It’s a Luke Bryan song, so naturally it’s not going to inspire much wit. Still, there was something different about “That’s My Kind Of Night,” a track that tried to fuse hip-hop tropes with backward, redneck imagery and call it “evolution.” This was bro-country at about its absolute worst. ZK

19. Save a Horse (Ride A Cowboy) by Big & Rich
I know that others would likely disagree – maybe even Grant and Zack who are collaborating on this piece with me – but, Big & Rich’s 2004 smash “Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)” (which I’m surprised to learn wasn’t even a top 10 hit that year) was the beginning of it all and by “all” I mean the eventual downfall of mainstream country music. In 2004 this kind of hip-hop, “we’re all just here to party” bullshit was an outlier, but this seems to be a clear inspiration for all the douchebags that have come since. JS

20. Drink to That All Night by Jerrod Neimann
Jerrod Niemann is responsible for some of the worst songs ever to be played on country radio. “Drink to That All Night” is an awful EDM jam and was preceded by “Donkey” which may be even worse. This is the kind of song you would expect to hear in a nightclub in L.A. not on country radio. Thankfully Niemann basically faded into obscurity after this was a hit, not subjecting us to any more of his awful music again. GL

21. Singles You Up by Jordan Davis
This may actually be the douchiest song of all-time. Yes, it is also a pop song but let’s focus on the message of this song. A girl is in a relationship and this other guy is openly hitting on her telling her that it’s just a matter of time before she realizes that she should be with him and that if/when her current boyfriend and her break up, he will be dating her next. GL

22. Country Girl (Shake It for Me) by Luke Bryan
One of the worst tropes of modern country music has been the treatment of women in song (and just by the industry in general) and one of the biggest purveyors of this has been Luke Bryan. His 2011 hit “Country Girl (Shake It for Me)” is one of the worst examples of how women in these bro-country songs are merely sexual fantasies. This song is nothing more than a man wanting a woman to shake her ass for him … and the crickets and the critters and the squirrels (aren’t squirrels also critters?) because we’re country by-God. This song is where my hatred for Luke Bryan shot through the roof. JS

23. Burnin’ It Down by Jason Aldean
How do you name drop Alabama during this dreadful sex song? This is without a doubt one of Jason Aldean’s worst songs of all-time, but unfortunately, he was rewarded with one of his biggest hits of all-time. When did this filth become acceptable on country radio? GL

24. Corn Star by Craig Morgan
“Corn Star” sounds like “Porn Star” hahaha! I can only imagine this is went through songwriter’s Jeffrey Steele (which even sounds like a porn star name) and Shane Minor when they came up with the idea for this song and thought they were being clever. I know that Craig Morgan’s career was basically over by the time this tripe was released in 2012, but it’s so painful to hear the guy who sang modern-day classics like “Almost Home” and “That’s What I Love About Sundays” stoop to this level of stupid. I think I’m often more offended when good performers choose to go this route than just shitty performers doing their thing. JS

25. Red Solo Cup by Toby Keith
I know “Red Solo Cup” by Toby Keith is meant to be a fun-loving, non-serious ode to partying, but that doesn’t help me like it any more. The fact that it became a big hit and was seemingly played everywhere in 2011 and, unfortunately, frequently to this day just made it more annoying than it would’ve been as just a passing release. I think the biggest issue I took with the song is that Keith used to be a good artist, and this was further proof after a string of bad releases that he just didn’t give a fuck anymore. JS

26. Said No One Ever by Jana Kramer
In 2015, Jana Kramer impressed everyone with “I Got The Boy,” a mature, excellent country song that went on to become her biggest hit to date. But the follow-up single, “Said No One Ever,” saw Kramer revert back to her worst tendencies – an overexaggerated drawl atop an utterly stupid, pointless song. It was an outdated joke by the time it was released, and if you want further proof of that, Old Dominion released a similar-sounding song around the same time. ZK

27. The Weekend by Brantley Gilbert
Brantley Gilbert’s tired brand of machismo has worn old as evidenced by his lacking radio success. “The Weekend” is another grasp at bro-country gone wrong. GL

28. Beautiful Drug by Zac Brown Band
Not to defend Luke Bryan, but at this point, he’s got more than enough ammunition to retaliate against Zac Brown claiming he has the worst country song in existence. For a band that wanted to branch out and craft a new, compelling artistic identity, they thought trading in a masterpiece like Uncaged was worth selling out for more success. Even the title of this song is stupid. ZK

29. Dirt Road Anthem by Jason Aldean
You ever heard your white boy cousin try to rap? That’s kind of what Jason Aldean sounds like on “Dirt Road Anthem.” I hated this song so damn much when it was a huge hit in 2011, felt it could only mean bad things for the future of the genre, and things haven’t gotten better since. Aldean, though, has released even worse songs since – which is hard to imagine. One of my biggest complaints at the time “Dirt Road Anthem” was released was its name-dropping of George Jones, but now all these “country” dumbasses are name-dropping country legends in songs so obviously not inspired by the legends. JS

30. I Play Chicken with the Train by Cowboy Troy feat. Big & Rich
There were a lot of bad things that came along when Big & Rich and their MuzikMafia, but one of the worst was Cowboy Troy and his hick-hop – which was one of the forerunners to one of the worst sounds country music has ever heard. When Aerosmith and Run-D.M.C. combined rock and hip-hop in the ‘80s on “Walk This Way” it was cool, but I haven’t found a mixture of country and hip-hop yet that I’d consider “cool.” Like most of today’s failed pop stars getting into country I can’t help but think Cowboy Troy was a hip-hop laughingstock just trying to make a career somewhere else. He ends this song with the statement: “get you some of that,” but my best advice would be “don’t.” JS

31. Parking Lot Party by Lee Brice
Lee Brice has put out his share of bad songs over his career but “Parking Lot Party” without question is the worst. It is one of the dumbest, most upsetting songs that my ears have ever been exposed to. I am less intelligent for having heard this song. GL

32. Small Town Boy by Dustin Lynch
Dustin Lynch is one of the most disappointing artists to have come on the country music scene ever. He entered the genre with a solid traditional country debut single “Cowboys and Angels,” wearing the cowboy hat and looking the part. Sadly, it was completely downhill from there to the point that all he does is release generic, safe pop music. GL

33. Brown Chicken Brown Cow by Trace Adkins
Whatever hick figured out that the sexy porno sound “bow chicka bow wow” sounded like “brown chicken brown cow” should be shot. It was never funny, but inspired Trace Adkins to write the country music version of “Old McDonald’s Farm After Dark.” I’m sorry, but there’s nothing sexy about two rednecks getting it on while farm animals watch. Thankfully this bombed big time at country radio. JS

34. Honky Tonk Badonkadonk by Trace Adkins
Trace Adkins has enough great country songs to have a 20-track “Greatest Hits” compilation and actually leave some good stuff off. That’s the sign of a truly great career. He’s also recorded some of the worst crap we’ve seen on Music Row. When “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk” came out in late 2005 I thought Adkins had lost his damn mind. After hearing stuff like “Swing” and the song that is coming directly after this one on this list it was confirmed. Luckily, it didn’t stay that way. This is one of those songs that was at the initial forefront of country music melding with hip-hop, except in some ways it was like a stereotypical parody of hip-hop, which kind of makes it even worse. JS

35. Bobbi with an I by Phil Vassar
Phil Vassar has always been overrated, but “Bobbi with an I” is pure atrocity. It’s also one of the most offensive – not just with its stupidity, but with its subject matter – songs the country genre has ever seen. The title character Bobbi was one of the boys in high school, but now he’s transitioning or just likes dressing up as a woman. Vassar, of course, plays it as a joke. In actuality the joke is Vassar’s song and career. JS

36. Tippin’ Point by Dallas Smith
Our friends up north of the border actually have some damn good country music themselves, and you need not look any further than Corb Lund, Lindi Ortega and Colter Wall for great examples. Even on the mainstream end, High Valley has been a wonderful addition to the mainstream country roster. But it’s also got its duds, and Dallas Smith is just about as bad as it gets. If you like auto tuned slathered, annoyingly repetitive bro-country songs, Smith has you covered. Otherwise, there’s little reason to care. ZK

37. My Girl by Dylan Scott
This is a rare case of a song being offensively mediocre. The instrumentation and production are the prime example of how gutless mainstream country can get at its worst, and Scott only stands out for a distinctive baritone wasted on a clichéd song. ZK

38. Drunk Me by Mitchell Tenpenny
Mitchell Tenpenny is awful. There are absolutely no redeeming qualities about him (his breakthrough song, after all, was titled “Bitches”) and he certainly has no place in country music. How many times must we be subjected to the trope comparing love to a drug addiction? At what point will that stop being cool or interesting? Asking for a friend. GL

39. Coming Home by Keith Urban
Most of the song’s elements truthfully fail to stick out much in any capacity. It’s the ripping off of the Merle Haggard “Mama Tried” riff that solidifies its placement here. Nothing about this song makes any sense otherwise. From the lyrics which are broadly written at best, Julia Michaels serving absolutely no purpose here, and the aforementioned “tribute” to Haggard, this should really just be swept under the rug and forgotten. ZK

40. Stuck Like Glue by Sugarland
I’m sure it’s an unpopular opinion, but I’ve always found Jennifer Nettles and her group/duo Sugarland to be annoying – mostly her voice that’s just nails on a chalkboard to my ears. But, “Stuck Like Glue” is world’s worse than anything else in their discography. The music intentionally made to sound like the worst person you’ve ever met loudly chewing and popping gum makes me want to put a fist through a wall. JS

by Julian Spivey
Steve Earle brought his terrific brand of outlaw country and rock music to Conway, Ark.’s annual Toad Suck Daze Festival on Saturday, May 4 for a fantastic night of rip-roaring tunes.
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Earle is on tour promoting his latest release, Guy, a tribute album to his friend and mentor Guy Clark, who died in 2016. Earle performed six straight Clark songs to open his show at Toad Suck Daze on Saturday night and it proved to be a brilliant tribute to one of the all-time greatest (and most underrated) singer-songwriters. Earle would tell stories of his friendship with Clark throughout these performances, including the last time he ever saw him before his death.

If any other artist had chosen to open a show with six consecutive cover songs it might be a poor decision – it’s certainly a risky one either way – but the mix of Earle performing songs of his friend and mentor was terrific. Unfortunately, I never had the honor of seeing Clark perform in person, but this was the closest thing I’ll ever get, and it truly made my evening.

Earle began his Clark tribute with “Dublin Blues,” the most recent of Clark’s songs he would perform on the night, and one of his all-time greatest. He would follow with the classic train song “Texas 1947,” “Rita Ballou” and “Heartbroke,” which Clark wrote and recorded and was taken to No. 1 on the Billboard country music chart in 1982 by Ricky Skaggs.

My favorite Clark covers by Earle on Saturday night were his final two – my two favorite Guy Clark songs – “Desperadoes Waiting for a Train” and “L.A. Freeway,” which both appeared on Clark’s 1975 debut Old No. 1. “Desperadoes Waiting for a Train” is simply one of the greatest story songs ever written about an old man and his young friend (likely a grandson) and, in my opinion, easily one of the 100 greatest songs ever written.

After his wonderful tribute to his dear friend Earle begin his set of his own brilliantly written songs with “Tom Ames’ Prayer,” a song Clark would often ask him to perform. When he burst into “I Feel Alright,” the title track of his 1996 album, things really began to rock. The song might sound familiar to Miranda Lambert fans as it was so similar to her 2005 hit “Kerosene,” which she had to give Earle a co-write on after she “unconsciously copied it almost exactly.”

My favorite Earle song has always been “Guitar Town,” the title track to his amazing 1986 debut, which was one of my favorite performances from him both times I’ve seen him now. Him performing “Guitar Town” and the fan-favorite “Copperhead Road,” from 1988, back-to-back was definitely a highlight of his Toad Suck Daze performance. If the crowd hadn’t already been completely into the show, they certainly were when the iconic bagpipes of “Copperhead Road” (which are played from a previous recording in his live show) began.

Earle’s longtime backing band The Dukes are a mixture of incredibly talented musicians and one of the great showings of the night was Earle’s duet of “Baby’s Just as Mean as Me” with his fiddle player and background vocalist Eleanor Whitmore, which had appeared on his 2015 album Terraplane. It’s a great bluesy number that really shows off her fantastic vocals.

Whitmore’s fiddle playing was terrific the entire show, none more so than her performance on “The Galway Girl,” off Earle’s 2000 album Transcendental Blues. The Celtic folk tune has become one of Earle’s standards of his career and basically shows he can do any type of rootsy music he wants and make it sound as good as anybody who’s ever done it.

A couple of the highlights from Earle’s later performances in his set were from his most recent album of original songs, 2017’s So You Wanna Be An Outlaw, including the title track to that album, as well as the ode to fireman, specifically hot shot crews, “The Firebreak Line.” So You Wanna Be An Outlaw was Earle’s return to his outlaw country-rock roots and is among the finest releases of his career.

After receiving uproarious applause from the Toad Suck Daze crowd Earle returned to the main stage at downtown Conway’s Simon Park for a great two-song encore that was heavily influenced by the great Bruce Springsteen. Earle began the encore with the first verse of the Springsteen classic “Racing in the Streets” before segueing into his 1987 song “Sweet Little ’66.” The car themed encore would continue and end with a cover of Springsteen’s “Pink Cadillac,” which was the B-side to his biggest career hit “Dancing in the Dark.”

Before Earle took the stage on Saturday night the Toad Suck Daze crowd was mesmerized by country music singer-songwriter Erin Enderlin, who hails from right here in Conway. Enderlin is a longstanding Nashville songwriter who has penned hits like Alan Jackson’s “Monday Morning Church” and Lee Ann Womack’s “Last Call.” Her music is traditional country to its core.

Among the many highlights from Enderlin’s set were “Caroline,” “Baby Sister” and “Jesse Joe’s Cigarette” from her critically-acclaimed 2017 release Whiskeytown Crier.

It was Enderlin’s slower tunes like “The Blues Are Alive & Well” and “Ain’t It Just Like a Cowboy,” from that album, that really stood out on Saturday night and sounded beautiful as the Conway sun was setting. She told that crowd that the legendary Merle Haggard told her he really liked “Ain’t It Just Like a Cowboy” and as a result it had become her favorite song of hers.

Enderlin has an EP, Chapter One: Tonight I Don’t Give a Damn, that just hit Spotify and other music streaming services the day before that includes the terrific title track of that EP. She also performed a newish song, released on streaming services last year, called “These Boots” that sounds like it should be a huge country hit if country music still played the kind of traditional sounding country music that Enderlin writes and sings. If you’ve never heard her stuff, I highly recommend checking her out.