After two decades as one of the genre’s premier folk-country-rock bands, Old Crow Medicine Show continues to expand the boundaries of Americana. I’ve always heard the band as a modern extension of the folk groups of the early 1960s, complete with string-band instrumentation and Bob Dylan covers. Old Crow’s 2017 live album 50 Years of Blonde on Blonde does a good job of updating Dylan’s groundbreaking 1966 foray into rock-country, and you might also recall the band’s signature song, “Wagon Wheel,” which co-founder Ketch Secor co-wrote with Dylan. Their 2025 Christmas album OCMS XMAS features a set of Secor originals along with a cover of the Plastic Ono Band’s “Happy Xmas (War Is Over).” Meanwhile, Secor released a 2025 solo album, Story the Crow Told Me, that finds him exploring country-folk-hip hop in tunes like “Dickerson Pike.” Old Crow’s New Year’s Eve shows, which began in 2009, have become part of Nashville lore — the band’s albums are excellent, but they might be best experienced live, with Secor’s showmanship and the group’s ensemble playing brought to the fore. The 502s and AJ Lee & Blue Summit open Tuesday’s show, while The Creekers and Shovels & Rope do the honors Wednesday.
Dec. 30-31 at the Ryman
116 Rep. John Lewis Way N.
