CASH CREEK CLUB LIVE!

Ft. Heidi Newfield, Andrew Pope, Cash Creek, RT Johnson, and more!

Wednesday February 2, 2022

@ The Nashville Palace in Nashville, TN

(Review by: Jeffrey Kurtis)

As the Cash Creek Club Live! continued to grow in popularity over the second half of 2021, welcoming such headliners as Heath Wright (Ricochet), Tim Rushlow (Little Texas), Ty Herndon, Carolyn Dawn Johnson, and more, they blasted into 2022 with their first show of the new year this past month featuring the legendary Wade Hayes.

Reconvening inside the iconic walls of The World-Famous Nashville Palace for this month’s edition of the live show, Cash Creek welcomed headliner Heidi Newfield to play alongside their good friends The Rollers, Andrew Pope, and Rusty Van Sickle, while also spotlighting the top-notch emerging talent of their CCB Nashville label including RT Johnson, Megan Mullins Owen, and Jamey D (who doubled in his usual role as emcee of the show).

Presented by CCB Nashville and The Nashville Country Television Network, Cash Creek kicked off the night with their up-tempo, toe tapper, “Let Me Lay You Down,” before sliding into their roles as the backing band, supporting each artist that took the stage starting with emcee, Jamey D.

With a rock kissed country edge that’s been stamped as his signature sound, Jamey D leaned into the raw, honesty wrapped within his vocals to kick off his 3-song set with “Good Girl at Home.”

“Thank y’all so much for joining us tonight at the Cash Creek Club Live!” began Jamey while welcoming the crowd. “I’ve lived more than half my life right here in Nashville and I’ve seen the city change a lot in that time; for the good and for the bad…and I wrote this song about that,” he finished as he played “Boomtown,” the song which was recently announced as his next single and one that takes a very real look at what’s going on not only in Nashville under the guise of “progress,” but in every city across the country right now.

“This last Friday was a big day for me,” Jamey said before explaining, “A couple years ago I shared some songs that I had written with Kimo (guitarist/vocalist of Cash Creek) and last week we were able to release my debut single,” he excitedly said as he closed his set with “Workin’ My Way Back Home,” leaning on the drive in the verses to deliver the punch of the chorus as the song struck a chord with those in the audience who have a job that takes them out on the road and away from their loved ones.

FULL SET LIST

1) Good Girl at Home

2) Boomtown

3) Workin’ My Way Back Home

Rusty Van Sickle is a regular performer at the Cash Creek Club Live! shows, but he’s mostly seen playing acoustic guitar on the road alongside country superstar John Michael Montgomery.

As such, his sound often leans into a modern twisted, 90’s branded country feel as was evident the moment that he jumped into his set with the boot thumping “Money to Burn,” before he quickly switched gears and showcased his diversity when he slowed down the tempo to show off his vocals on the softer side of “Oil and Water.”

During his introduction of Van Sickle, Jamey D mentioned that he would be playing his personal favorite song during the set, and in many ways Van Sickle saved the best for last as he leaned into a 90’s country sound while dipping into a swampy, muddy feel to close his set with “Wild Side.”

FULL SET LIST

1) Money to Burn

2) Oil and Water

3) Wild Side

Husband/Wife duo The Rollers, made up of Jason and Kalii Roller, have recently placed their toe across the bluegrass line for their most current project, and they instantly showcased it with “What You Do To Me” to open their set.

However, and perhaps even more importantly, they immediately delivered an onstage chemistry that radiated across the venue to capture the hearts of the audience as they looked at each other in a way that only a husband and wife can look at one another while they performed the heartfelt song, elevating the lyrics that much more as their strong connection became evident to everyone inside the Nashville Palace.

“When I moved to town, I was doing a solo country thing and that’s actually how we met,” Kalii mused while talking about her and Jason. “He was hired to play for me, but he didn’t call me back, so I almost fired him. Glad I didn’t,” she said with a smile, further showcasing their connection and love story to the audience.

“I really wasn’t sure when we started this bluegrass project that I could even do it, but then I saw how much he gets to play when we were doing bluegrass music and that’s why I love it…I get to listen to him play,” she crushed as they went into “Broken Promises and an Empty Glass,” a song which Kalii prefaced as being one of Kimo’s favorites that they hadn’t played on the show in a while.

“We’ve been working on this project for a long time, and we keep sending songs to radio and we keep hearing the same thing…it’s not bluegrass enough,” Kalii said with a chuckle. “So, we did two things; we wrote the most bluegrass song we’ve ever written, and I got to write one like Rebecca Lynn which I’ve always wanted to do,” she finished as they closed their set with “Willow Tree.”

FULL SET LIST

1) What You Do To Me

2) Broken Promises and an Empty Glass

3) Willow Tree

“You can normally see this next act on the road with Alabama playing fiddle, mandolin, and singing background vocals,” began Jamey D as Megan Mullins Owen, who plays fiddle with Cash Creek as part of the backing band for the Cash Creek Club Live! shows, slid to center stage and into the spotlight.

With a quick “Howdy” from Mullins Owen, she immediately got the crowd revved up and onto the dance floor as she began her quick two-song set with her autobiographical single, “All-American Family Band,” before offering the crowd a taste of things to come with “This Good Is Gettin’ Better,” a western swing tilted song that she wrote with Troy Johnson and Bonnie Baker and officially released on Friday February 4 through the CCB Nashville label.

FULL SET LIST

1) All-American Family Band

2) This Good is Gettin’ Better

With each passing show we see him play, the crowd’s ovation for RT Johnson has continued to grow louder and louder the moment that the North Carolina native hits the stage; this night was no exception.

“Y’all can get up and dance if you’d like to…there’s no law against it,” Johnson encouraged with a smile as he provided the perfect remedies for the other wise cold and rainy Nashville night, bookending his set with “Summertime Hangover” and “Thirsty Weather,” the latter which he enthusiastically led the crowd in a clap along moment during the final chorus.

However, it’s what Johnson sandwiched in between his two summertime anthems that once again allowed his performance to make such an impact on the audience when he played his current single, “You Can’t Go Wrong,” singing lines that boldly challenged us to remember that it’s the simple things in life, such as making a baby laugh, a Saturday relaxing with a fishing pole in hand, and churchin’ on Sunday, that truly matter most.

FULL SET LIST

1) Summertime Hangover

2) You Can’t Go Wrong

3) Thirsty Weather

Having been the backup band all night and giving us only a quick glimpse of what they themselves bring to the table as a band with their earlier performance of “Let Me Lay You Down,” Cash Creek then stepped into the spotlight as they dove into their 4-song set with Monty DeVita on leads for the chugging, honky-tonker “Hello Heartache,” lifted from their 2019 album, Duality: The Center and the Edge.

Kimo Forrest moved over to the leads for their current single, a cover of Maggie Rose’s incredible “It’s You,” and you could’ve heard a pin drop as the crowd sat in silent awe while he delivered the heartfelt lyrics with the complete passion and unbridled love that they call for, instantly allowing the song to capture an entirely new depth in its emotion and point of view.

“We have a special guest in the audience tonight,” began Forrest. “We met this guy while out on tour with Alabama, and his energy is so high...and he brought it with him all the way to Nashville,” Forrest finished as he brought a very energetic Chase Mitchell to the stage for a rousing rendition of the Alabama classic, “I’m In A Hurry (And Don’t Know Why)” during which Mitchell hopped around the stage, front to back – side to side, and revved up the crowd and enticed them with his infectious energy while getting them to sing along.

Certainly, Mitchell was a tough act to follow, but the guys in Cash Creek were able to deliver as DeVita slid back into the lead vocal position and closed out their set with barnburner, “All Wrapped Up.”

FULL SET LIST

1) Hello Heartache

2) It’s You

3) I’m In A Hurry (And Don’t Know Why)

4) All Wrapped Up

“This next act is from the great state of Alabama,” began emcee Jamey D. “He plays what I call stone cold country, so if you like that then you are going to love this guy,” he exclaimed, getting an ovation from the traditional loving crowd.

“He’s released a couple albums and a couple singles, and his next album is going to be produced by Shooter Jennings,” Jamey D finished as he introduced Andrew Pope and his outlaw branded country to the stage as he then proceeded to pull us through gritty country songs about living rough around the edges, and small-town life in Alabama, before pausing to talk to the crowd ahead of his final song of the night.

“Anyone out there know who John Schneider is? Bo Duke!” he asked. “I did this album a few years ago and had the honor of John recording this next song from it and singing it across the street on the Grand Ole Opry, so that was really cool for me,” he finished as he closed with “Stoned on The One.”

Heidi Newfield has always been known for her spitfire energy and honky-tonk swag, and she immediately put it on display as she opened her set with “I Could Fall for U,” a rollicking honky-tonker from her latest album, The Barfly Sessions, Vol. 1, which saw her bopping back and forth across the stage as the distinct sound of boot heels clicking on the wooden dance floor radiated throughout the venue.

Newfield than spoke of the greatest love story and couple of country music, before stating that she was going to take a big 180 degree turn from that last song to this one as she strapped on her acoustic guitar and delivered her incredible smash “Johnny and June,” a very recognizable song from its radio success, but one that early on in her set also allowed her to really showcase her vocal range as she held notes at length several times throughout the song bringing an ovation from the crowd each time.

“This next little tune, we have to go all the way back to the TP days,” Newfield said (alluding to her days fronting Trick Pony) as she led the crowd in a sing along with “On A Night Like This.” 

“Here’s a little something off the brand-new record. It’s a bluesy type of thing that I wrote with my producer Jim “Moose” Brown and Rivers Rutherford,” she finished as she tilted her set to a Louisiana meets Chicago blues moment with “Three Things.”

Armed with her harmonica, Newfield gave the crowd a dance along, groove heavy sound on “Bring This House Down,” a song which she introduced as being a funky tune that was about those daytime love sessions that just have to happen sometimes. However, this song also stood to showcase the many different layers that The Barfly Sessions, Vol. 1 offers to the listener, all while still maintaining that signature Heidi Newfield touch.

“Earlier we played the quintessential love song (referencing “Johnny & June) and now we’re gonna play that quintessential whiskey drinking, honky tonk song for you,” Newfield said. “This song was born in a pool room. I sat on a pool table, and it must’ve took about a solid hour and half for us to write. Little did we know that it would become our first single,” she finished as Jason Roller pulled us into “Pour Me” on the back of the familiar lead in guitar lick.

Throughout the song, Newfield’s infectious energy had the audience bopping along while the rhythm kept her leg moving and hips swaying as she sang us through with all the right hints of sass in her voice as the night came to a close.

FULL SET LIST

1) I Could Fall for U

2) Johnny & June

3) On A Night Like This

4) Three Things

5) Bring This House Down

6) Pour Me

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