Charley Crockett Dazzles the Ryman

There's no single style or category that fully and accurately defines Charley Crockett, either as a performer or a songwriter. His exciting and consistently impressive concert Saturday night at the Ryman — the second in a two-night stand — reinforced the reality that Crockett easily operates in multiple idioms, sometimes even within the same song.

Backed by his tremendous five-piece band The Blue Drifters, Crockett gave a sold-out audience a dazzling show that ran over 90 minutes, plus a two-song encore. In the process, he also demonstrated his musical eclecticism as an instrumentalist, and versatility and acumen as a storyteller and lyricist. From the earliest strains of the opening number “$10 Cowboy," Crockett sang with a mix of conviction and nonstop energy. His music is deeply rooted in traditional country, but there's also lots of blues expressiveness in such songs as “Hard Luck & Circumstances,” “City of Roses” and his version of fellow Texan Country Willie Edwards’ “Midnight Cowboy.”

Throughout the performance, Crockett took the audience on a powerhouse journey through his extensive catalog. Occasionally he turned reflective or biographical, offering poignant tributes to being moved by finally playing the Ryman or reminiscing about his past life singing in New York subways or the streets of New Orleans. “I'll never write a song as well as Hank Williams,” Crockett mused at one point. If that’s so, it’s certainly not for lack of trying: Five days before the show, the prolific songsmith surprise-released Visions of Dallas, his 14th studio LP since 2015 and a sequel to his April album $10 Cowboy. By the time he finished the evening’s marathon, Crockett had earned multiple standing ovations. 

Though the crowd was clearly eager for Crockett, opening act Vincent Neil Emerson was well-received and treated with courtesy through his 45-minute set that included both older tunes and new songs from a forthcoming LP. High points included “Rodeo Clown” and “Chipping at the Stone,” both recent additions. But the finest tune was his closing number, the memorable “The Ballad of the Choctaw-Apache.” He credited the song to the stories his grandmother told him as a child, about how her tribe was uprooted from their home near the border between Texas and Louisiana in what’s now the Toledo Bend Reservoir. 

Crockett decisively showed why he's a repeat nominee for the Americana Music Association Honors and Awards — including his second nomination for Artist of the Year in the 2024 ceremony slated for September. He might have started his musical career in earnest a little later in life than some, but he seems determined to get the most out of every second.