If Miranda Lambert is anything, she’s an original. An authentic country star. The whole package. Write, sing, play guitar, perform . . . but also she connects with her fans in a way I’ve only seen a few big-name contemporary country artists, namely Chris Stapleton, Eric Church, and Kacey Musgraves. I know, you’ll say there are others (everyone staunchly defends their fandom), but I’ve been covering this country beat for more than a decade. So I’ve been watching—in person. Miranda’s concerts aren’t about the spectacle of production, as much as they are about the spectacle of music. This isn’t a nostalgia tour. This is a real-time affair. Case in point: Miranda’s show at FirstBank Amphitheater on April 28 in Franklin, Tenn. (about 25 miles south of Nashville).
Everything about the show exemplified why Miranda is the reigning ACM Entertainer of the Year. The capacity crowd (somewhere around 7,500) at the stunning natural stone amphitheater (it’s an old rock quarry) danced and sang the night away, as Miranda treated them to more than 20 tunes. The people came to see Miranda, explicitly. And that’s what she gave them, sans a couple of mid-set collaborations with her Pistol Annies’ bandmate Ashley Monroe on “Heart Like Mine,” and The Cadillac Three (they opened) frontman Jaren Johnston and Ashley on “Willin’,” a Little Feat throwback.
Everything about the night was exceptional—music, weather, setting—except the logistical nightmare of getting to and from the venue. What a logjam, but I guess when “Traffic Improvements” is a subhead on the venue’s website, it shouldn’t come as a surprise. I digress. Back to the exceptional music.
Is she was a 🤠 she’d be 👑 @MirandaLambert as cool as ever celebrating tonight’s release of #Palomino. pic.twitter.com/o1PpmJZwND
— Outsider (@outsider) April 29, 2022
Miranda the Entertainer
Miranda opened the first half of her 22-song show with tunes from her early catalog, including 2005’s “Kerosene” and 2007’s “Famous in a Small Town,” as well as a sampling of three songs—”Actin’ Up,” “If I Was a Cowboy,” and “Strange”—from her brand-new album, Palomino, which dropped today (April 29). The fans ate it up . . . every bit, including singing along to the new tracks.
“I know I’ve thrown a couple new ones at y’all tonight,” said Miranda Lambert from the stage. “Thanks [for] singing along to those, by the way. I was thinking about songs that mean the world to me and the times in my life when I really needed them. I always go back to this one because I’m a sucker for a sad song.”
Of course, Miranda was referencing her 2017 ACM Song of the Year, “Tin Man,” which she performed acoustically, before launching into crowd-favorite, “The House That Built Me.” And yeah, there was plenty more from Miranda, including “Gunpowder & Lead,” “Mama’s Broken Heart,” and “Little Red Wagon.”
Certainly, Miranda Lambert is worthy of her ACM Entertainer of the Year title. There are 50,000-seat arena tours you can catch this spring and summer. Go ahead, have a good time. But Miranda’s upcoming The Bandwagon Tour with Little Big Town—which largely takes place at amphitheaters—is a must-see show . . . for lovers of the music.
🔥Pour some “Kerosene” on your Friday, courtesy of @MirandaLambert.
— Outsider (@outsider) April 29, 2022
“Life ain’t hard, but it’s too long, to live it like some country song…” pic.twitter.com/ZRYFw4wHiP
Set List
- Actin’ Up
- Kerosene
- Fastest Girl in Town
- Strange
- Settling Down
- Famous in a Small Town
- If I Was a Cowboy
- Bluebird
- Only Prettier
- Vice
- Tin Man
- The House That Built Me
- Automatic
- Heart Like Mine feat. Ashley Monroe
- Willin’ feat. Ashley Monroe and Jaren Johnston
- Tequila Does
- That’s the Way the World Goes ’Round
- Gunpowder & Lead
- Mama’s Broken Heart
- White Liar
- Little Red Wagon
- Drunk