Last night a full house packed the City Winery for a night of country music. As the lights went down right at 8:00 p.m., Charlie Worsham came out on stage and started the night off thanking the audience for such a warm welcome and asking for a five-minute show delay, to allow rest of the audience (who was still filling in) to find their seats. He promised for an even better show if the crowd agreed, and as promised, at 8:05, he came back on stage and the audience cheered, excited for a great night.
Charlie started his set with the upbeat and moody song, Please People Please, off his newly released album, Beginning of Things (April 2017). He followed that up with the heart-touching, Young to See, from his debut album, Rubberband (2013).
Worsham played for a full hour and the audience got to see his playful and goofy personality as he gave shout-outs to his family, friends, and Nashville-based songwriters in the audience, whose songs he performed throughout the evening. A memorable moment was when Worsham used the performance as an opportunity to admit to his landlord, who was there, that there was hole in the wallpaper from a night of drinking. He continued by sharing that his mom (also in the audience) had agreed to help maintain the new wallpaper if it was installed.
Worsham showed his immense talent throughout his solo set, by providing all the “drums” and backup instrumentals using only an instrumental loop and his guitar. The audience sang along to his hits and cheered as he played guitar solo after guitar solo, seamlessly switching between guitars (even mid-song).
At the end of his set, which also included his new single, Cut Your Groove, Worsham jumped off stage and made his way through the crowd to the merch table in the back where he greeted the audience until Brandy Clark’s set began.
Brandy Clark took the stage and immediately played her three “saddest and slowest songs,” including Love Can Go to Hell from her Grammy-nominated album, Big Day in a Small Town (2016).” She joked with the audience that she prefers to get those songs out of the way so that the set can only go up from there.
Clark played for an hour and half, sharing her down-to-earth and relatable songs with the audience. As she wrapped up her hit song, Girl Next Door, Clark told the story of getting to travel and meet people throughout her music career, most notably, she recalled meeting Maureen McCormick. McCormick is known for her role as Marsha Brady on The Brady Bunch. While in L.A. for a show, Clark relayed that McCormick had come to her dressing room and candidly told her that she wasn’t “Marsha Brady,” either (a reference to Clark’s lyric from Girl Next Door).
Expert from Girl Next Door:
“Sorry I ain’t sorry
That I ain’t your Marsha Brady, uh-uh
If I ever met her, bet she’d probably hate me
‘Cause you’d wanna date me”
Worsham was invited back on stage by Clark, and the two took turns playing classic country covers showing the strength of women. Worsham started with a rendition of Jeannie C. Riley’s Harper Valley P.T.A., and Clark followed that with her rendition of Blame It on your Heart by Patty Loveless. Worsham stole the show when Clark requested he play Kenny Roger’s Sweet Music Man.
Clark finished the evening, sharing her love of a good revenge song. She noted that even though the song she penned, Mama’s Broken Heart, was a big hit for Miranda Lambert, she is most excited for the sweet and lengthy revenge found in the song Daughter (Big Day in a Small Town).
See more from Brandy Clark and Charlie Worsham at www.brandyclarkmusic.com and www.charlieworsham.com. The two will be touring together and have dates listed through mid-June 2017.
