Critic's Pick: Robbie Fulks

Although Robbie Fulks had the effrontery to put down Ronnie Milsap in his 1997 anti-Nashville song “Fuck This Town,” I think he understands what makes country music tick. Fulks has never written like a Nashville hitmaker, but that doesn’t mean a smart country singer couldn’t record, say, his 2016 tune “Needed.” In short, Fulks is a singer-songwriter whose literary leanings amplify his gift for pithy, funny songs. Linda Gail Lewis’ 2018 album Wild! Wild! Wild! sported a set of Fulks tunes that included “Memphis Never Falls From Style,” a concept that could prove deadly in the hands of a more pedestrian songwriter. Fulks was sufficiently au courant to name-check legendary disc jockey Dewey Phillips and power-pop band Big Star in the song, which also mentions barbecue pork. His 2016 album Upland Stories might be his best to date, but I’m a fan of Fulks’ 2025 release Now Then, a record that shows off his range. The album’s “Now Now Now Now Now” rocks out in tribute to the tempo of city life, while “Ocean City” is simply brilliant. Like Freedy Johnston, whom Fulks often sounds like, or Loudon Wainwright III, whose songwriting has a similar vibe, Fulks writes with a heightened sense of pathos that verges into humor.

9 p.m. at The Bluebird Cafe

4014 Hillsboro Pike