Show Reviews

 

NWTF Kickoff Party

Ft. Hannah Dasher, Sweet Tea Trio, Jared Hovis, and more!

Wednesday February 15, 2023

@ The Nashville Palace in Nashville, TN

(Review by: Jeffrey Kurtis)

The Music Valley area of Nashville, a 10-mile jaunt Northeast of the downtown Lower Broadway district, is booming rich with history that’s steeped in country music tradition.

The fixture of the valley is naturally the Grand Ole Opry House where the show that made country music famous still resides today, but located just a stone throw away sits another country music mecca, the legendary Nashville Palace.

Many of the country music faithful make the pilgrimage here, if not just to visit the place where Randy Travis once worked as a cook, then to hear some of the best country music from a healthy balance of today’s hottest up and comers fusing together with artist’s wrapped in traditional country flare.

However, every year when February rolls around, the renowned Music Valley smashes its country music traditions with the influx of turkey hunting enthusiasts who descend upon the area with the National Wild Turkey Federation’s annual conference, which celebrates their 50th anniversary this year at the nearby Opryland Hotel.

The Palace transforms into the official gathering place for after-hours parties with incredible music all week long, including Hannah Dasher, Sweet Tea Trio, Jared Hovis, and many more during tonight’s official kickoff party.

The shoulder-to-shoulder crowd that had started packing the venue a full hour before the event was a clear indicator that this hallowed ground was the hotspot, place to be!

Bobby Johnson, the co-host of the night’s festivities with Leith Loftin, kicked off the opening writer’s round by embodying the spirit of what these walls held within them as he gripped the crowd with a cover of Waylon’s “Waymore’s Blues,” instantly setting the overall tone of what would follow from Jared Hovis and Leith Loftin.

Hitting the crowd with the songs they know and love, Hovis took on Alan Jackson’s “Don’t Rock the Jukebox” and Mark Chesnutt’s “Blame It On Texas,” while Loftin and Johnson would combine late in the set with a spot-on cover of “Seven Spanish Angels.”

But once the trio of singer-songwriters had gripped the crowd through very well-timed cover selections, they then slapped it home with their original material, striking the right chords as they put on a pure display of the vast country music talent that runs through Music City.

Johnson injected the round with the incredible “Horses in Heaven,” leaning against a toe-tapping melody that offered a glimpse of the amazing things that await us on the other side.

Leith Loftin carried a down-home feel within his originals, reminding us to appreciate what matters most on “Down Here,” leading a nostalgic heavy sing along on “50 Years Too Late,” and encouraging us to stay the course despite what may come against us as he turned the rowdy Wednesday night venue into a Sunday morning church during “Don’t Let The World Win.”

Jared Hovis embraced the dusty honky-tonk atmosphere through the swampy grit and two-steppin’ rhythm on one of his newest creations, “Honky Tonk Therapy,” while stamping down an exclamation point on the opening round of music as he closed it with “Evansville,” a song which carried a softer pace that expertly allowed his crisp country drawl to make a spotlight impression.

Hannah Dasher hooked the crowd with her aura and confident sass as she ran through an autobiographical introduction to who she is with “You’re Gonna Love Me,” before then rolling through a heaping helping of new music that she excitedly said with relief in her voice, “I’m so thankful that this new music is finally coming out this spring!”

The ultra-catchy “Cryin’ All The Way To The Bank,” which is rumored to be her next single, had everyone’s heads bobbing along with the insatiable bounce of the melody, while the tempo-driven “Good Ol’ Boy” spoke directly to the “handsome men” as she introduced it would before playing, and “I’m Gonna Whoop Your Redneck Ass” earned hoots and hollers from the ladies as she rolled up her sleeves to take on the trashy woman that her ex left her for.

But like Johnson, Loftin, and Hovis before her, the iconic vibe of being on stage at the Nashville Palace wasn’t lost on Dasher as she dropped into a medley of Charlie Daniels hits, “Simple Man” and “Long-Haired Country Boy,” after boldly stating that she was raised on good country music which saw the crowd erupt and lift their bottles high into the air in salute the country music legend.

Chris Hennessee has spent 10 years on the road as the guitarist for Jamey Johnson, but he’s also used that time to carve out his own niche through very well-received original material; some of which he humbly delivered to the ultra-enthusiastic crowd over his quick, 20-minute set.

Flanked by the unmistakable cry of the fiddle, Hennessee gave us a piece of his storyteller grit and fiery branded country styling on “The Gospel According To Lane,” while eliciting cheers at the mere mention of Cody Jinks who recorded his song “Ramble.”

He let the fiddle fly in the spotlight to a supportive eruption of hollers and boot heel stomping, before leaning into “Wrong End of the Rainbow” and then turning the bar into a Sunday morning church for the second time of the night with his closing number, “Gospel Songs.”

As they continue to make strong impact on the Music Row CountryBreakout Chart with “All Hat, No Cattle,” the Sweet Tea Trio brought their incredible voices and exuberant energy to the stage and immediately earned whistles of support as they flawlessly blended their vocals into “Seven Bridges Road” before Charity Bowden slid into the lead position on “Tulsa Time,” allowing the lower depths of her voice to perfectly walk alongside the higher harmonies from Kate Falcon and Victoria Camp to give new flare to the Don Williams classic.

“This song came out a few years ago, but it’s a pretty good depiction of our love lives,” stated Kate with a shrug of her shoulders as their three-part harmony hit the sweet spot through the hip-shaking melody of “Needle in a Haystack,” igniting the crowd as they began to move along in rhythm.

“We wrote this next one about the women in our lives who mean the most to us…our mama’s!” shared Falcon as the trio slowed the pace through intro of the written letter styled lyrics of “Love, Mama,” before then kicking into the danceable, head bopping rhythm of the song that kept the crowd invested and moving in the pocket of the groove right alongside the trio.

After talking about how grateful they are to always be part of the National Wild Turkey Federation events and telling those who are in town for it how they are part of their country music family, they led a rebel rousing sing along of Hank Jr’s “Family Tradition” before closing their set with the ultra-catchy “All Hat, No Cattle,” a song they said was inspired by the phony, city-slicker cowboys they encountered when they first moved to Nashville from Alabama, which also saw Kate display her famous turkey calling abilities before playing, enticing the turkey hunting enthusiasts in the crowd who let our a rousing ovation.

With a built-in stone country grit to his style, J. Edwards surrounded the blue-collar, gravel tilt of his voice on “DuckBlind” with such uniqueness that he brought the late-night crowd to a stand-still while commanding the stage with his songwriting prowess and total control of the know-how of what he brings to the table.

“I spent most of my life saying that I wasn’t going to do it like everyone else,” told Edwards. “But then about five months ago…well, I did it like everyone else and this song ended up charting on Music Row,” he excitedly shared to a healthy amount of applause as he hit his set with the boogie-woogie led country rock-n-roller, “Your Heart of Stone.”

With Louisiana swampiness combining with a bluesy country inspiration, it’s easy to see why J. Edwards is one of Nashville’s most endearing songwriters as he walks a modern traditionalist vibe alongside blurred genre lines to offer an attractive, fresh take on an old idea while branding a distinctive style to call his own.

In true Nashville fashion of “ya never know who’s going to show up,” while J. Edwards was supposed to be the closing act, hitmaking songwriters Brent Cobb and Adam Hood showed up and delighted the crowd with a couple of songs to close the night. 

Hood slid right into his irresistible front porch groove, pulling the crowd into the vibe of his southern kissed vocal and down-home flare on “Flesh & Blood,” “Grandpa’s Farm,” and “Flame and Gasoline,” while Cobb delivered songs such as “Keep ‘Em on They Toes.”

The blending of traditional country and modern neo-traditionalist styles smashed perfectly into Christian and Gospel infused territory several times, giving the night an encouraging sensation while keeping the restless crowd invested from the first note played to the last.

Bobby Johnson and Leith Loftin continue to put together these kickoff nights, bringing an amazing gathering of great artist’s, songwriters, and everyday country folks into a wonderful start to what is surely going to be an incredible week in Nashville for the NWTF.

 


 

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