ANNE WILSOM

Wednesday September 25, 2024

@Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, TN

(Review Written By: Jeffrey Kurtis)

“My hope is that every song we sing tonight comes back to this one simple truth… “Jesus loves me this I know…” encouraged Anne Wilson during “Sunday Sermons,” setting in place the poignant message of her hour and thirty-five-minute set.

With the Mother Church of Country Music, the Ryman Auditorium, acting as the perfect backdrop to every moment that the sold-out crowd entered the aura of a Sunday morning church, the incredible positivity of Wilson’s personal God story radiated the warmth of her heart through inspiring turns that boldly encouraged standing strong in who you are because of whose you are.

As part of THE REBEL TOUR, Wilson’s inaugural headlining performance at the legendary venue saw the “Hey Girl Nation” out in full force as she hit the stage with a 1-2 punch that aptly introduced who she is through the fist-pumped anthem “Rebel” and the autobiographical “God & Country.”

Using the first 1/3 of her set to hit an energy induced mark that instantly amped the diehard crowd, her unbridled charism and dashes of confident sass raised the excitement to deafening levels during both “Hey Girl” and “Red Flag.”

Memory making connection moments between her and the crowd led the early part of the night when during the former she leapt off stage to come down and be amongst her fans, walking the entire first floor of the venue as she slapped high fives and met everyone face to face, even bringing one little girl back up to the stage with her to a huge ovation.

Then, as she slid into the opening notes of the latter, a look of surprise shined upon her face when everyone in the crowd began waving the paper red flags that had been placed on their seats prior to the show.

Acting as a segue to the middle part of her set, “Strong” scaled into a softer glide that induced a breathtaking chorus of harmony that spread the entire venue as arms raised and tears flowed, bringing the Ryman into an invigorating worship session that invited the spirit to make its known entrance.

"Whatever it is your walking through, God is your strength,” inspired Wilson. “I don't know what you came in here carrying tonight, but I want you to know that you can lay it all at Jesus' feet and He'll give you rest," she further encouraged.

Sharing pieces of her own life story, her God testimony, from growing up on the farm in Kentucky to the tragedy of losing her best friend when her older brother Jacob died in a car accident, Wilson teared up when lifting her eyes toward heaven and praising God, thankfully, for helping her navigate through it.

“Some of you know this from reading my book, but the first time I ever sang in front of anyone was at my brother's funeral,” she transparently shared. “I never thought this would be what I would be doing. I wanted to be an astronaut. But after he passed away, I had this moment of where I needed to worship God in the midst of my pain and knew that singing was how I could do that,” she testified to a tremendous ovation.

The middle of her set presented a stripped back acoustic session that anchored the depths of her story as she walked visuals of overcoming when she painted a heaven picture on “Dirt Roads In Heaven,” led a church choir atmosphere with traditional hymns “What A Beautiful Name” and “How Great Thou Art” (w/ opening act Jordan Rowe), and honored not only her own father but also those in the crowd through her touching thank you note, “My Father’s Daughter.”

A stunning version of her breakout country hit “Rain In The Rearview,” flanked in an audible backdrop of rain falling and thunder rolling, displayed the power of her voice as she belted each next note with the vigor needed to deliver the overcoming drive of the lyrical tone, where both her newest single “Stand” and edgy anthem “Songs About Whiskey” ignited the crowd to their feet as they passionately echoed the harmony.

In a moment that can only be dubbed as one that happens “Only In Nashville,” Wilson teased with a smile on her face, “Nashville, I’ve got a surprise for you,” before then bringing out country music superstar Jordan Davis as they sat side by side, center stage, swapping their respective lines to mimic the album cut of fan favorite, “Country Gold.”

Wilson bridged the gap between modern country and Contemporary Christian, fluidly moving between the sonic aspects of both sides of that coin while unashamedly pointing everything back up, never losing sight of her bigger purpose in all of this, Raising His Name!

Ushering an alter call before playing her incredible new Christian single, “The Cross,” lives were visibly transformed across the venue when praise filled the Mother Church as sections of people rose to their feet with eyes closed and arms raised, stamping then the exclamation point two-songs later with her career-defining hit, “My Jesus,” gripping tightly to that powerful movement of transformation as the Holy Spirit filled the hearts in the venue one last time before the lights came on.

FULL SET LIST

1) Rebel

2) God & Country

3) Sunday Sermons

4) Hey Girl 

5) Red Flag

6) Strong

7) Dirt Roads In Heaven

8) What A Beautiful Name

9) How Great Thou Art (w/ Jordan Rowe)

10) My Father’s Daughter

11) Rain In the Rearview

12) Country Gold (w/ Jordan Davis)

13) Stand

14) Songs About Whiskey

15) The Cross

16) Devil

17) My Jesus