Manchester is certainly a country conscious place. Often, cowboy boots and pearl-snap shirts are reserved for a Lainey Wilson listening party at Bunny Jackson’s, or when Megan Moroney takes over The Ritz. Even The Red Clay Strays, perhaps more indebted to Elvis’ rock ‘n’ roll, gave Mancunions the excuse to wear their boots – something you never see on Market Street or Deansgate.Â
On 16th October, Manchester was transformed into America. One arena played host to WWE, whilst the AO Arena hosted Chris Stapleton’s All-American Roadshow has been one of the most anticipated events in the city since its announcement 12 months ago.
After a fun, old-school country and western set by Marty Robbins, a large riser was pushed forward with an array of rugs laid across the floor like someone’s living room, and a collection of microphones and instruments set up across the stage. After Emmylou Harris’ ‘Two More Bottles of Wine’ was pumped out of the PA, the lights dimmed and Chris Stapleton led his band onto the stage.
Powering through a 2 hour 30 minute set, only stopping to introduce the band during a teasing introduction of the classic ‘Tennessee Whiskey’, Stapleton moved between ‘White Horse’, a soaring rock number from latest album Higher, to singalong favourite ‘What Am I Gonna Do’, before performing a string of songs on his own, a man and a guitar, with an arena of people focused, listening, undisturbed. ‘Fire Away’ saw phone lights in the air, crowd singing acapella as Stapleton took a moment to admire his own work.
The show transitioned between tones and tempos, the funky ‘Think I’m in Love With You’ getting the crowd up and two-stepping, meanwhile ‘Broken Halo’ felt like a stadium-ready anthem, a contrast to Kevin Welch cover ‘Millionaire’, which was an intimate, emotional affair.
In a recent interview with Rolling Stone between Zach Bryan and Bruce Springsteen, Bryan speaks about how Springsteen is at once a rock musician, a country musician, an indie musician, encapsulated in one man, brought together by his songwriting. And, on a rainy Manchester evening, Chris Stapleton proved he also belongs in this category. His music is loved and has global appeal because of the songwriting, not because it fits into a certain genre.
There are very few artists who can perform for such a length of time, with a sprawling, career-spanding 25-song set, and have a crowd hanging onto every word. No gimmicks and very few visuals; Chris Stapleton’s All American Roadshow is just a brilliant band, a brilliant singer and a brilliant songwriter – and sometimes, that’s all you need.
