by Julian Spivey
Brandi Carlile is an artist I’ve wanted to see in concert for a while because she might have the single best voice of any performing artist going right now and most importantly her songwriting is terrific making what she’s singing more important.

Carlile performed at the Dos Equis Pavilion in Dallas on Saturday, July 16 and it was everything I wanted it to be. It seemed to be more than everything she wanted, as well, as she seemed legitimately shocked by the number of people who showed up at the venue to see her – saying it was the biggest crowd she’s ever performed in front of in Texas.

Carlile opened her set with “Broken Horses,” off her most recent album In These Silent Days (2021), which is an absolutely perfect way to begin one of her shows.

Early on during the set she invited Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig from the opening act Lucius to provide backing vocals on “You and Me on the Rock,” just as they do on In These Silent Days. Carlile and the Lucius women sounded terrific together on stage.

Many of my favorite Carlile songs, thus favorite performances from the evening, came in the early portion of her set like: “The Story,” which was her breakthrough release in 2007, “The Eye,” a standout from her 2015 album The Firewatcher’s Daughter and “The Mother,” which is my absolute favorite Carlile song from my favorite Carlile album By the Way, I Forgive You (2018).

Having looked at previous concert setlists for Carlile’s shows one of the parts of her set I was greatly anticipating was her covers. On Saturday night she invited the Lucius women and the first opener of the night Celisse on stage for a rocking performance of Heart’s 1987 hit “Alone.” The Lucius women and Carlile traded off vocals brilliantly on the song and Celisse had a fantastic guitar solo. I’m not much of a power ballad fan so I don’t think I got as much out of this particular performance as much of the audience. The cover I really dug was David Bowie’s classic “Space Oddity,” which also featured a solo by Celisse, a wonderfully talented guitarist. “Space Oddity” went effortlessly into the early Radiohead single “Creep,” which isn’t really my thing, but damn if the audience didn’t react like it was potentially their favorite moment of the entire show. I frankly would’ve preferred another of Carlile’s frequent covers of Elton John’s “Rocket Man” to go with “Space Oddity.”

After the rocking covers section of her show, Carlile went into the quietest performance of her set in “Cannonball,” off 2007’s The Story, which was just her with her guitarists and frequent co-songwriters Phil and Tim Hanseroth on stage in a very stripped down arrangement.

Carlile’s set wrapped up with a terrific four-song punch of “Right On Time,” her Grammy-nominated lead single off In These Silent Days, “Sinners, Saints and Fools,” off the latest album, “The Joke,” her Grammy-nominated single off By the Way, I Forgive You and “Party of One.” Carlile’s voice particularly soars unlike any artist I’ve ever seen perform live on “Right On Time” and “The Joke.”

Carlile returned to the stage for a four-song encore that kicked off with a slowed down version of Joni Mitchell/Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young’s “Woodstock.” She performed a sweltering (an apt word for the entire evening in 100-degree Texas heat) version of “Hold Out Your Hand.” Before she finished with a terrific version of “Stay Gentle” and a cover of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” she told the Texas audience to take care of themselves, especially in today’s political climate and that she’s found people are often so much better than their leaders.

Carlile is without a doubt the most talented vocalist I’ve ever seen live, and her show definitely made my five-hour trek to Dallas well-worth it.

Celisse opened the evening of music at 7 p.m. local time and performed a short four-song set of her soulful R&B showcasing her lovely and powerful voice and fantastic guitar playing. The highlight of her set for me was her wonderful cover of Bill Withers’ “Use Me.”

Lucius is a bit more pop than I’d typically listen to, but they had some performances I enjoyed like their opening “Next to Normal,” the lead single off their most recent album Second Nature, which was co-produced by Carlile. My favorite performance of their set was their easy-going cover of Gerry Rafferty’s 1978 hit “Right Down the Line.” 

by Julian Spivey
I’m not the biggest fan of mid-year lists because I don’t like to spoil my end of year list, which I spend so much time and energy on, so for this reason I won’t rank these 10 standouts of Americana and Country Music from the first half of 2022. They are listed alphabetically. 

“Broke Again” by Joshua Hedley
Joshua Hedley’s debut album Mr. Jukebox in 2018 had countrypolitan ‘60s sound. His sophomore release Neon Blue, released in April, takes the sound of ‘90s mainstream country music. I prefer Neon Blue to Mr. Jukebox and my favorite track thus far has been “Broke Again.” This would’ve been a no. 1 smash in the ‘90s. It’s honestly a good song for 2022 with prices skyrocketing due to inflation, but also fun enough to briefly forget all that crap. 

“Carousel” by Miranda Lambert
Miranda Lambert loves circus imagery in her music, most notably her 2013 single “All Kinds of Kinds.” “Carousel,” off her latest album Palomino, is the best of her circus imagery songs thus far with its tale of a romance between trapeze artists. Co-written with Luke Dick and Natalie Hemby it makes a perfect album ender, especially with a line like “every show must end/every circus leaves town.” 

“Chicamacomico” by American Aquarium
American Aquarium’s B.J. Barham sure knows how to write an emotional song. “Chicamacomico,” the title track of the band’s newest album, might be his most emotional yet as it tells the tale of a couple trying to get back on track after the loss of baby (likely via miscarriage). It’s a raw portrayal of something experienced by so many couples in this world and Barham and the band sound terrific. 

“Collateral Damage” by Shovels & Rope
“Collateral Damage” is my favorite track off Shovels & Rope’s sixth studio album Manticore. The song, written by Cary Ann Hearts, explores the difficulties of life and doing one’s best to get by. I particularly love the song’s chorus: “I get a little hazy on the details/how the whole thing went off the rail/and it got pretty slippery in the deep end/I crawled out of my skin and started over.” I love how the duo Hearst and Michael Trent are a married couple and they sound so great together on this number. 

“Fancy Boys” by Ray Wylie Hubbard feat. Hayes Carll, James McMurtry & Dalton Domino
Three of my favorite singer-songwriters and Dalton Domino get together for “Fancy Boys,” off Ray Wylie Hubbard’s latest duets release Co-Starring Too, a brutal takedown of mainstream country stars like Luke Bryan, Florida Georgia Line, Thomas Rhett, etc. (even though it doesn’t call them out by name) who “prance around on stages where Waylon once stood.” 

“Feelin’ the Miles” by The Wilder Blue
“Feelin’ the Miles” is my favorite track off The Wilder Blue’s sophomore, self-titled album, but in some ways it’s the least country-sounding track on the record. You can even hear some disco vibes in the song (something I generally would turn against). The Wilder Blue have reminded me occasionally of the Eagles on certain tracks and if that analogy continues this would be their “One of These Nights.” Vocalist Zane Williams’ vocal is one of my favorites of the year. 

“Outta Time” by Orville Peck
I had a hard time picking just one song off Orville Peck’s Bronco for this list as it’s one of the best overall albums of 2022 thus far. I settled on “Outta Time,” a gorgeous song with a catchy, simplistic chorus that’s easy to listen to and verses with the kind of specificity I enjoy from a songwriter like the second verse mentioning a woman trying to chat the song’s narrator up and mentioning she doesn’t like Elvis. 

“Sing Me a Song” by William Prince & Serena Ryder
The duet “Sing Me a Song” by William Prince and Serena Ryder is simply adorable. It’s so “simplistic and gentle,” Prince’s own words to The Sound Café, but it works beautifully. Prince and Ryder’s voices meld terrifically, and you’ll instantly fall in love. It’s the best duet I’ve heard thus far this year. 

“Wild-Eyed George Bailey Heebie Jeebies” by Izaak Opatz
There are a couple of things I love about this song right off the bat: 1) it’s reference to “It’s a Wonderful Life,” 2) it’s strange as hell (which fits perfectly for a song with “heebie jeebies” in the title). The song recounts the tale of a relationship in which the woman is ghosting or even gaslighting the guy into thinking it never happened. I particularly love the verse about checking names on gravestones looking for Harry Bailey, George’s brother in the Frank Capra classic who would’ve died if his older brother hadn’t been there to save him. It’s a creative as hell idea for a song.  

“Whose God Is This?” by Will Hoge
Will Hoge is no stranger to using his acid-tongue pen for good in songs I love like “Still a Southern Man” and “Thoughts & Prayers,” and he’s done it once again with “Whose God Is This?,” a comical, spoken word take on a particular type of toxic religion that seems more prevalent in Trump’s America.