Photo by Eric Althoff
Rarely have 90 minutes flown by so breezily as they did during Charley Crockett’s Saturday-evening performance at the Hollywood Casino in Charles Town, West Virginia (not to be confused with the state capital, Charleston, 300 miles to the southwest). The 42-year-old Texan treated the 1,200 lucky attendees at the casino’s Event Center to an intimately rough-and-tumble tour through Crockett’s catalogue—with a rather notable chunk of choices from his recent “Sagebrush Trilogy” of albums (“Lonesome Drifter” and “Dollar a Day” from 2025 and this spring’s “Age of the Ram”).
With his backing five-piece setting the stage musically for the frontman, Crockett bounded to the stage with guitar slung about his shoulders. Without much formality beyond a good-evening greeting, Crockett gleefully pulled through “Crazy Women Ridge” with “Kentucky Too Long” and “$10 Cowboy” following in quick succession.
The evening’s two dozen songs included both a bevy of Crockett’s originals as well as select covers of some tunes by the likes of Link Wray (“Fire and Brimstone”) and Charlie Pride (“Tiny’s Tempo”). Crockett even handed off his ax to a roadie for some of the covers, singing and prancing across the stage for “Don’t Tell Me That” by James Hand, solitary mic in hand.
At a time when many musicians love to show their political hand while performing, Crockett instead chose a far more inclusive celebration of the country’s upcoming 250th birthday, saying only that as a traveling musician, he continues to meet Americans from all manner of backgrounds—yet without adding any bromides about how our diversity makes us stronger, or similar. It was about the message, not the messenger, and however the 1,200 people in attendance behave in the privacy of the voting booths, they all cheered for the sentiment.
Crockett may not be as dynamic at center stage as other frontmen, but he is an expert at modulating his vocals to suit the moment—and lest anyone’s attention starts to wander. That was hardly an issue Saturday, as much of the tightly packed crowd spent much of the concert on its feet singing along to every lyric to more country-and-western tunes such as “Billy McClane” and “Lonesome Drifter.”
My enjoyment of Crockett wasn’t at all diminished when I closed my eyes to enjoy his spot-on vocals. The Texan’s baritone voice remains both on pitch and strongly distinct. I never noticed a false note or a mistake during the entire 90 minutes.
The unquestioned highlight of the night was “Trinity River” from Crockett’s 2023 album “The Man From Waco.” Featuring a lively trumpet solo from the backing band, Crockett effortlessly tackled the somewhat-demanding “Trinity” vocals, which required him to bounce from bass to tenor notes and back again on the tricky chorus. Crockett handled such back-and-forth with aplomb on the reprise: “Trinity River, and it flow because I cry; sure to keep you honest, even though you’re tellin’ lies.”
The song brought the entire casino crowd to its feet, giving Crockett the loudest accolades of the night.
Crockett’s encore entailed “The Jamestown Ferry,” a cover of a Tanya Tucker tune, and “Run Horse Run” from his 2020 album “Welcome to Hard Times.” It was a fitting close to an evening of over two dozen songs (and a thrilling set by opening Nat Myers) shared with a thoroughly appreciative audience.
Related Posts
Credit: Source link