by Julian Spivey

Judging by the reaction from vocalist Evan Felker, the Turnpike Troubadours put on one of their most-attended shows yet at the Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion in Rogers, Ark., on Saturday, July 25.
The sold-out crowd of dedicated Turnpike fans was entertained by 22 of the red dirt country group’s finest songs.

The band’s latest album, The Price of Admission, which came out last year, was heavily featured in the band’s set, which actually surprised me somewhat, as I’d last seen the band following its 2023 album Cat in the Rain, and they didn’t play many songs from that release. The Troubadours are kind of known for playing “the hits” in concert, which means a lot of songs from their first few albums. It was nice to see some new stuff on Saturday night.

Five songs from The Price of Admission, including my favorite songs from the album: “Heaven Passing Through” and “On the Red River.” Also featured were “A Lie Agreed Upon,” “Be Here” and “Ruby Ann,” which was co-written by Lance Roark, one of the show’s openers, who joined the band onstage for this performance.

“The Hits” were definitely featured on  Saturday night at the AMP, with “The Bird Hunters,” off The Turnpike Troubadours, kicking off the show. Potentially the band’s most popular song, it was the only selection from that album during the concert.

Diamonds & Gasoline, which is sort of the band’s de facto debut (they did have an album prior that is out of print), always features heavily during the band’s live shows, with six total tracks appearing at the AMP, including my all-time favorites “7&7,” “Kansas City Southern,” “Every Girl” and “Whole Damn Town,” songs I wouldn’t want to leave a Turnpike show without hearing.

Among my other favorite performances of the evening were “A Tornado Warning,” my favorite track off 2017’s A Long Way From Your Heart, “Mean Old Sun,” off Cat in the Rain, and “Good Lord Lorrie,” which is probably my second favorite Turnpike song after “7&7,” though the group did bring Arkansas native Waylon Wyatt, one of the show’s openers, out for the song, and honestly I’d have preferred a band-only performance.

The band finished the evening, tight on time, with an apparent curfew for the outdoor amphitheater of 11 p.m., with a rather lifeless cover of my favorite Robert Earl Keen song “Feelin’ Good Again,” the fan-favorite “Long Hot Summer Day” and the perfect show-ender of “Pay No Rent,” which, though initially written for Felker’s beloved Aunt Lou, doubles terrifically as a tribute to the group’s fan-base.

Turnpike Troubadours have come back from their few-year hiatus from around 2018-2022, while Felker was getting sober, bigger than ever with new listeners apparently finding their music while the band was away. This has led to the band going from small venues around the country to arena and amphitheater tours. The band’s intensity performing live seems to have lessened as it has gotten bigger, which is a little disappointing for me, who began my tenure as a fan of the group in the small venues, up close and with more raucous performances. It’s probably for the betterment of the group, especially Felker cleaning up, so it’s something I’ll need to learn to live with.

Roark was a fantastic opener, performing a short set of some of his finest songs like “Big Bad Heart” and “Oklahoma Blacktop,” both of which he co-wrote with Turnpike Troubadours bassist R.C. Edwards.
Wyatt, a 19-year-old singer-songwriter from Hackett, Ark., has seen a meteoric rise in the independent country music scene after his song “Everything Under the Sun” went viral on TikTok (you know, the way it’s done these days). His debut album, Dustpiles, was just released this month. I don’t quite get the uproar about him yet, but maybe I’m too old for what he’s putting out. 

by Aprille Hanson-Spivey

Noah Kahan has built his brand around diving “heart” first into the depths of despair with deep and sad lyrics — after all, most artists do not have a tour shirt that says, “I went off my meds at Noah Kahan’s 2026 North American Tour.” But the vibes were pure adrenaline and joy on July 14 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. It was the first of two sold-out shows, drawing about 40,000 fans each night at the historic venue. 

It was the seventh stop on his 22-city tour, fresh off performing a four-night run at his favorite venue, Fenway Park in Boston. 

It was my first time seeing Kahan, an artist I fell in love with after hearing “Paul Revere,” an extra recording on his 2023 Stick Season (We’ll All Be Here Forever), expanded from 2022’s breakout Stick Season.

What is fascinating about Kahan is his ability to command a crowd of 40,000, while still feeling like a small-venue artist. Because his songs are so personal and lyrical, I was curious how they would feel in a venue that large. It was entirely different from what feels like individual musical therapy sessions guided by his voice coming through the car speakers. 

While he said during the show that he’s not there to spread optimism, helping people feel heard and seen through music brings hope, and that’s exactly what fans felt at his concert. The crowd’s bright, flashing wristband lights mirrored the hopeful energy woven into his entire setlist. 

With little talking, he blazed through 24 songs, including the typical fan favorites like “Dial Drunk,” “Orange Juice,” “The View Between Villages” and new favorites from his latest album, The Great Divide, starting with “American Cars,” “Doors” and later “Downfall” and “Deny, Deny, Deny.” 

Aside from the iconic “Stick Season” to close out the show, “Dial Drunk” seemed to be the most fun for both the crowd and Kahan, as he was “thrown” into the back of an old police car on stage, singing directly into the camera inside the car for a bit of the song. It was electric singing what’s considered for Kahan to be a banger, along with everyone in the stadium. 

But the moments that truly lived up to one of his tour T-shirts, “Noah Kahan Made Me Cry,” were his surprise song of the set, “Call Your Mom.” ‘Mom’ was an extra song from his 2023 extended ‘Forever’ album, and centers around the desperate lengths someone will go to to save someone they love from succumbing to suicide. It’s a song I hadn’t really listened to much before this concert, and it was the only one that made me cry. It’s a pleading song, emphasizing, “All lights turned off can be turned on.”  For those who have lost someone to suicide or know someone who has attempted, it’s a song that taps into both helplessness and hopefulness. 

“Orbiter,” off of ‘Divide’, performed with Kahan lit up in a spotlight on a part of the stage extended into the crowd right before “Call Your Mom,” set the tone for a quieter part of the set, with “Dan” also added to the mix. 

His three-set encore included “End of August,” “Homesick” and “Stick Season.” 

While there’s only so many songs he can add in, “End of August” has consistently been a part of his encore on each stop, which is a bit surprising. It’s the first song off of ‘Divide,’ but it seems a little too slow and new to kick off the encore. I would have loved to hear “Paul Revere,” “Everywhere, Everything,” “Headed North” or “Growing Sideways” (his surprise song the next day in Chicago) instead. 

But truthfully, it’s hard to create a more perfect setlist than what Kahan fashioned for this tour. It was the little things, like the wristband lights, his name, tour dates in Chicago and “sold out” spelled out on the iconic Wrigley scoreboard, his openers, Annabelle Dinda and Gigi Perez, setting the right tone for his fans in the blazing heat, that made the experience special.