On July 28th, I was finally able to see the Chris Stapleton, live.
Ever since I first heard "Whiskey and You," last summer, I was obsessed. I wanted to know who this man was and, more importantly, where he's been all this time. He has this sound that no country singer today has. He doesn't sound like "pop-country," or whatever that is. He isn't some 40-year-old man or older, wearing too tight skinny jeans and trying so hard to prove to everyone through his music that he's country.
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Stapleton stole the hearts of nearly every country music fan with his rendition of George Jones' "Tennessee Whiskey." While I'm a huge fan of classic country—to say the least—I prefer Stapleton's version of "Tennessee Whiskey" over George Jones' and David Allen Coe's, and that's saying a lot coming from me.
Chris Stapleton has written songs for various artists from King George Strait to Adele to Alison Krauss, but his only album is "Traveller." With just that one album, the Wal-Mart Amphitheater in Rogers, AR was jam-packed. As soon as Stapleton strolled out onto the stage with his guitar, everyone–and I do mean everyone–from to pit to the lawn, was on their feet. And all throughout the night, people from the audience were constantly raising their drinks to him.
It might have taken some time for his career to ignite, but with just that one album, he has an amazingly huge fanbase, which you better believe I'm a part of.
Most of today's country singers' songs all sound the same for the most part. They all have that pop, high school feel to them, singing about drinking away broken hearts to dancing on tailgates at parties. For Stapleton, that's not the case. None of his songs are even remotely the same, nor do they even sound alike. His songs range from "Daddy Doesn't Pray Anymore to Fire Away," to my recent favorite, "You Are My Sunshine," which is lead by Morgane Stapleton, his wife. She, by the way, is also an amazing artist and shouldn't go unnoticed.
I honestly think Chris Stapleton is what country music has been needing so desperately. The peak of country music was during the time when Waylon, Merle Haggard, Willie, Johnny Cash, George Jones, Conway Twitty, etc. were being played on the radio and their music was what everyone was singing. And while I'm also a fan of '90s country, country music has just continued to declined since then. We've had pop-country artist after pop-country artist after pop-country artist. All with the same sound and feel. That is, until Stapleton's voice was finally heard. My only hope is that more artists follow his lead and country music regains that feeling that all those classic country artists had.
I've been a Chris Stapleton fan for about a year now, but after finally seeing him live, I have more of an appreciation for him. He sounds exactly the same live, maybe even better, than he does edited and tuned up on my iTunes account. He didn't stand up there on stage and talk about himself, or his accomplishments or his shortcomings. He sang his heart out for his fans and put on an amazing performance. He also did something I've never seen another artist do: He took the time and effort to introduce his band to his audience by singing their introductions to the exact sound and music of "Tennessee Whiskey." And more importantly, to me, he introduced his wife in the same way, but his love for her was heard and felt by everyone in the Wal-Mart Amphitheater.
Chris Stapleton is a class act and deserves the title of a country artist. I can't wait to see what he surprises us with next.
He is the rebirth of country music.
