Charles Wesley Godwin Brings Family Ties to Little Rock's The Hall in a Can't-Miss Show

by Julian Spivey

Julian Spivey Photo

 
Singer-songwriter Charles Wesley Godwin brought his brand of homespun Appalachian-inspired country music to The Hall in Little Rock, Ark. on Wednesday, May 8, for an incredible evening of music.
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The 30-year-old from West Virginia has released three albums in his half-decade-long recording career and has proven to be one of the best up-and-coming singer-songwriters on the outside of the mainstream of country music.

Godwin has toured and recorded with his friend Zach Bryan, who’s become perhaps the biggest act on the outskirts of mainstream country music, and it’s surprising to me he hasn’t reached the same heights as his buddy because he’s arguably better.

Much of Godwin’s set these days comes from his most recent album, the exquisite Family Ties from September of last year. The album can truly be considered a concept album in that the whole project is the theme of his family and how the life of a touring musician can impact that life.

The show began a little after 9 p.m. in the jam-packed club-style venue with “Cue Country Roads,” which pays tribute to Godwin’s home state and its most famous song, John Denver’s “Take Me Home Country Roads,” both of which appear on Family Ties.

Godwin performed most of Family Ties on Wednesday night. Honestly, it’s the kind of album he truly should consider performing from start to finish and then put some of his other album tracks either before or after it.  

My favorite songs on Family Ties are the title track and “All Again,” which were probably my favorite performances of Godwin’s set, but the entire show was so good it’s truly hard to pick favorites. “All Again,” clearly written for his wife, reminds me so much of mine – and my wife who attends almost all of these shows with me said it reminded her of me, as well, which made for a lovely moment. And, when Godwin gets to the epic “strike me down” line in “Family Ties” makes for a very memorable in-concert moment with the entirety of the building shouting along.

Other highlights from Family Ties during the set were his beautiful tribute to his daughter, “Dance in Rain,” the tribute to his father, “Miner Imperfections,” and the incredible performances of the entire Allegheny High band on “The Flood” and “Another Leaf.”

Godwin might be the face, the frontman, but the Allegheny High already should have a reputation as one of the best backing bands in country music, all contributing beautiful on their respective instruments while leading to a fun, camaraderie onstage you just don’t see all that often.

The band is led by guitarist (and the group’s co-producer with Godwin) Al Torrance, who even took the audience by surprise at one point on Wednesday night by appearing in the mezzanine for a solo. Max Somerville is on piano, Nate Catanzarite on bass, Read Conolly on pedal steel and banjo, Eric Dull on guitar, mandolin and one very kickass trumpet solo and Joe Pinchotti holding things down on drums. I’m not sure how long all of these guys have been playing together but it feels like a tight-knit group of like-minded individuals who were meant to be brothers on stage.

One of the crowd’s favorite moments of the evening was clearly when Godwin performed “Jamie,” a song he collaborated with Bryan on for Bryan’s 2022 EP Summertime Blues. He immediately then performed “Jesse,” which Bryan had collaborated with him on for Godwin’s 2021 album How the Mighty Fall.

Godwin and the band performed many of their best tracks from their previous two albums, Seneca (2019) and How the Mighty Fall (2021) throughout the night including “Lyin’ Low,” “Temporary Town” and “Strong” from the 2021 release.

It was Seneca that introduced me to Godwin’s work and the tracks “Seneca Creek” and “Hardwood Floors” on that album both appeared very high on my list of best Americana and Country songs of 2019 for this very website.

So, I was thrilled when Godwin placed both songs into the later portion of his set. The Allegheny High took a break for Godwin to perform “Seneca Creek,” a tribute to his grandfather who fought in the Korean War and came home to his wife to help build a family and homestead, alone just him and his guitar.

The band would come back for a terrific two-song encore that consisted of “Hardwood Floors,” a terrific barn-burner about just wanting to spin his wife around the floor of a dance hall, and finished off with their cover of the aforementioned Denver classic that has become West Virginia’s state song.
It was a fantastic evening of terrifically written and brilliantly performed country music that was completely true to Godwin’s way of life and inspired almost wholly by those he loves most. Family ties truly run deep in him.

If you ever have the chance to see Godwin in your neck of the woods do not pass it by.