by Julian Spivey
“The Gentle Giant” Don Williams wowed a packed house at the Tri-Lakes Center in Branson, Mo. on Saturday night (Oct. 22) with his incredibly smooth vocals that rival the best singers in any genre.
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The 72-year old recently came out of retirement to go on tour when he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame last year and honestly surprised on Saturday with his crisp vocals that sounded so good you’d think you were listening to a CD. Many artists tend to see their vocals fade with the years, but that’s certainly not the case for Williams.

The veteran kicked off his set of classic after classic with “Good Ole Boys Like Me,” a No. 2 charter from 1980, which I consider to be his best song. In today’s country music it seems every young male artist likes to tell us exactly what the South is and almost always they redneck it up or get it wrong … this song gets it right.

Throughout the concert Williams played number one hit after number one hit including: “You’re My Best Friend,” “’Til the Rivers All Run Dry,” “Some Broken Hearts Never Mend,” “Lord, I Hope This Day is Good” and “Love Me Over Again.”

Some of the shows greatest performances were also number one tunes from Williams’ legendary discography like the beautiful vocals on “I Believe in You” and “If Hollywood Don’t Need You (I Do).”

Most of Williams’ songs are slower ballad like tunes, like the perfect breakup tune “She Never Knew Me,” that really showcases his timeless bass-baritone voice, hence the nickname, but he also has a few upper-beat songs like “It Must Be Love” and “Tulsa Time” that really got the crowd tapping their feet along and highlighted the show.

While playing most of his hits Williams also surprised the audience with quite a few of his lesser known songs like “I Recall a Gypsy Woman,” “Back in My Younger Days,” “In the Family” and “She’s In Love with a Rodeo Man.” His best performance of a tune that might not be known to but the most loyal Williams fans was of “How Did You Do It” from his 1998 album I Turn the Page. It’s a beautiful song about trying to get over a love that you just can’t shake.

Williams ended his set with “Amanda,” one of his fan-favorites that was also a hit for fellow country star Waylon Jennings. However, the crowd wanted an encore and Williams politely obliged with “Louisiana Saturday Night” a track that he cut, but was made a hit and is better known by Mel McDaniel.

Janie Fricke, two-time CMA Female Vocalist of the Year, opened the show for Williams singing many of her ‘80s pop-country hits as well as a good number of covers. Among her own hits she performed where the number ones “He’s a Heartache (Looking for a Place to Happen)” and “It Ain’t Easy Being Easy.” Fricke also performed her songs “She’s Single Again,” which she told the audience was almost cut by Reba McEntire before she recorded it, and “Do Me with Love.”

Among the covers that Fricke sang on Saturday night were Johnny Cash’s classic “Ring of Fire,” Glen Campbell’s “Try a Little Kindness,” Johnny Rodriguez’s “Pass Me By”  and Conway Twitty’s “The Rose.”    

by Julian Spivey
Country music singer Travis Tritt thrilled the patrons of the Arkansas State Fair in Little Rock on Thursday night (Oct. 20) with a set that lasted over two hours filled with his style of rip-roaring country rockers.
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Tritt opened the show with “Put Some Drive in Your Country” from 1992, which fittingly explains his brand of music – rock infused country.

Following the opener came classic Tritt hit after classic Tritt hit including: “I’m Gonna Be Somebody,” a top five hit from 1990, “The Whiskey Ain’t Workin’” and “Country Club,” his debut single from 1989.

In between two segments of hard charging honky tonkers Tritt stuck in a short acoustic segment, which might have been the highlight of the entire show. During this acoustic showcase Tritt performed what I believe is his finest song, “Anymore,” a soulful love song that was a chart topper in 1991. Following “Anymore” Tritt surprised the crowd with a cover of Charlie Daniels Band’s “Long Haired Country Boy,” which is a tune that seems to be covered often by country artists in concert – I’ve seen both Blake Shelton and Rodney Atkins cover it, as well.

Another thing that the acoustic segment showcased was Tritt’s fantastic guitar picking skills, which I didn’t know he had previously. I’m sure others would be surprised by Tritt’s guitar prowess, as well.

Another one of Tritt’s finest performances from the show was his top five hit “Here’s a Quarter (Call Someone Who Cares” from 1991. Also during the show Tritt performed his cover of the Eagles classic “Take It Easy,” “T-R-O-U-B-L-E,” “Foolish Pride,” one of his five career number one singles, and fan favorite “It’s a Great Day to Be Alive.”

After momentarily leaving the stage, Tritt returned for what could only be referred to as an epic encore, maybe the longest encore I’ve ever seen from any performer. The encore itself must have lasted half an hour.

Tritt began the encore with his 2002 hit “Modern Day Bonnie and Clyde,” followed by great covers of the Willie and Waylon classic “Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys,” Waylon Jennings’ “I’ve Always Been Crazy,” Johnny Cash’s classic “Folsom Prison Blues,” which is also a concert cover staple, and Stevie Ray Vaughan’s rockin’ blues tune “Texas Flood.”

Tritt’s energy during his set was definitely among the most exciting and energetic I’ve ever seen which is even more incredible based on the pretty cool temperatures on Thursday night that dipped below 50 degrees for the outdoors fair concert.

by Julian Spivey
The Marshall Tucker Band and Confederate Railroad had the folks at the Arkansas State Fair in Little Rock rocking and rolling with great Southern rock and country music on Sunday night (Oct. 16).
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Confederate Railroad who had a string of country charting hits in the early ‘90s opened up the show at 7 p.m. performing what could be summed up as their greatest hits.

The highlight of their set was when the group played their highest charting hit “Queen of Memphis,” which made it to number two on the country chart in 1992. The group also performed their first hit “Jesus and Mama,” which went to number four in 1992.

Confederate Railroad lead singer Danny Shirley has a very raspy voice which works well on faster, upbeat songs like “Queen of Memphis” and “Elvis and Andy,” but it’s almost completely shot on slower songs, which is unfortunate because many of the group’s best songs are indeed slower.

This proved to be bothersome on tunes like “When You Leave That Way You Can Never Go Back” and “Daddy Never Was the Cadillac Kind.”

The group also performed some of their singles like “She Never Cried,” “Bill’s Laundromat, Bar and Grill” and “White Trash with Money,” but their surprise of a Waylon Jennings medley including “Lonesome, On’ry & Mean,” “Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way” and “Good Hearted Woman” proved to be a highlight.

Confederate Railroad ended their set with their tacky and tasteless hit “Trashy Women,” which despite its horridness, proved to be a fan-favorite getting the majority of the crowd on their feet dancing along.

After a quick stage change, the Marshall Tucker Band, one of Southern rock’s most notable and greatest bands, took the stage.

Marshall Tucker Band kicked off their set with one of their greatest hits, “This Ol’ Cowboy,” from their 1974 album “Where We All Belong.” The song, that turned into a jam session like many of their other performances during the hour and a half set, featured great flute playing from Marcus James Henderson, who always proved handy on keyboards and with the saxophone throughout the show.

Vocalist Doug Gray, the group’s only remaining original member, actually gave lead vocals to many others in the band throughout the night as he seemed content just to bang along on his tambourine.

The highlights of the Marshall Tucker Band set where “Fire on the Mountain,” from their 1975 album “Searchin’ for a Rainbow,” and “Take the Highway” and “Can’t You See,” maybe their most recognizable hit, from their 1973 self-titled debut album.

The best performance of the night by the band was their finale of their greatest song, and personally a top 20 all time rock song for me, “Heard It In a Love Song,” from 1977, which featured Gray on vocals and a killer flute solo from Henderson.