Hot Ticket…
Southern rockers JJ Grey & Mofro and blues guitarist Jonny Lang brought their co-headlining 18-date summer tour to the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. Joining in the festivities were the North Mississippi Allstars.
Jonny Lang ripped thru the streets of Nashville with his screaming guitar cords attacking every note like a man possessed. It only took a few cords before the sold-out venue was on their feet in anticipation of what was to come next. The entire set was packed full of energy not only by Lang but also from the crowd wanting more. From his expressive vocals to his screaming blues guitar, Lang left Nashville wanting more than just one night of musical ecstasy.
Jonny Lang is a blues guitarist from Fargo, North Dakota, who released his solo debut album; Lie to Me, when he was only 15 with A&M Label. He has gone on to create 8 additional albums with his latest being Signs via Provogue Label. His sixth studio album, Fight for My Soul, peaked at number one on Billboard’s Blues Albums chart.
Jonny Lang Set List from the Ryman:
- Don’t Stop (For Anything)
- Signs
- A Quitter Never Wins
- Rack ‘Em Up
- Snakes
- Red Light – Everything Is Going to Be Alright
- Living for the City
- Still Rainin’
- Bring Me Back Home
- Breakin’ Me/Lie to Me
JJ Grey & Mofro band brought their blend of front porch soul and down-home storytelling music to the Ryman Auditorium as he opened his set with his attention grabbing harmonica playing. The soul-bent swamp rocker was just getting the evening started. The rawness in his vocals commanded the attention of the masses as young and old were drawn into the fierceness and intimacy of his live performance.
From their first record, Blackwater, in 2001 via Fog City Records , to the latest, Ol’ Glory through Provogue Label, Grey delivers his songs with compassion and a relentless honesty. Grey says “I wanted that crucial lived-in feel, for Ol’ Glory. I like an album to have a balance, like a novel or like a film. A triumph, a dark brooding moment, or a moment of peace—that’s the only thing I consistently try to achieve with a record.”
JJ Grey & Mofro Set List from the Ryman:
- 99 Shades of Crazy
- Every Minute
- This River
- Seminole Wind
- Lochloosa
- Jookhouse
- The Sun Is Shining Down
- Brighter Days
- Ol’ Glory
North Mississippi Allstars is an American rock/blues jam band from Hernando, Mississippi, founded in 1996 by brothers and current members Luther and Cody Dickinson.
Their self produced eighth studio album, Prayer for Peace, was released on June 2, 2017 via Sony Legacy which reached number one on the Billboard Blues Albums Chart that same month.
Since then, the band has been hard at work on their newest record called Up and Rolling with New West Records. The band says “its the sound of modern Mississippi.” Luther hopes, “the music is rooted, but spreads evasively from the kudzu jungle grown over Junior’s concrete slab and Otha’s porch boards thru the Zebra Ranch’s razor wire chain link fence. Transcending time and space, music reaches out into the dark of night like the wisteria vine, looking for free-hearted souls to latch onto and wedge into the foundations of hate, slowly tearing down walls a generation at a time.”
The record will debut October 4th, 2019 featuring guest appearances from Mavis Staples, Jason Isbell, Cedric Burnside, Duane Betts, and Sharde Thomas.
North Mississippi Allstars Set List from the Ryman:
- Goin’ Down South
- Meet Me in the City
- Psychedelic Sex Machine
- Prayer for Peace
- Shake ‘Em on Down
- Tina Nina Nu
- Deep Elem Blues>Going Down the Road Feelin’ Bad
Photos and review By Kim Cilluffo