Whiskey Myers has been called the “New Torch Bearers for Southern Music.” Their debut at the Mother Church of Music just proved it.
There’s no faking authenticity when it comes to the American South. Outsider knows it, we Southerners live it, and Whiskey Myers does, too. So when the opportunity came for their debut at Nashville’s premiere stage, it felt a no-brainer.
With back-to-back sold-out shows, the white-hot country-rockers just brought The Ryman down. Nashville’s unparalleled, timeless venue hosted the boys over the September 10-11 weekend after fans snatched up tickets instantly for their Mother Church debut.
To honor the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, Whiskey Myers would open with their Navy-Seal-inspired groove, “Frogman.”
It’s a move fitting of their “ascent towards Country Rock royalty” as American Songwriter cites. From the start, Whiskey Myers fans let loose, singing along to every lyric echoing within The Ryman’s unmatched acoustics.
From there, the crowd’s energy would only grow alongside tracks from Whiskey Myers’ self-titled album. To 20 hit “Gasoline” lit the torches, with “Bury My Bones” cementing this setlist as a historic one.
The latter track holds a “haunting chorus… Successfully mixing Southern gothic with Southern rock,” emphasizes Rolling Stone. And The Ryman felt every note of it.
Incoming Ryman Royalty Debuts New Song: ‘Heart of Stone’
Then, with a fitting not to Nashville’s nearby Entertainment District, “Bar, Guitar and a Honky Tonk Crowd” brought in a Broadway-apropos infusion from albums Firewater and Mud.
From “Deep Down in the South” to “On the River,” Whiskey Myers is Southern musical authenticity at its finest. RIAA Gold-certified “Broken Window Serenade” being Exhibit A.
Yet fans were also thrilled to hear newer hits from the band. “Die Rockin’” hit hard alongside “Bitch.”
Earlier Southern serenades like “Early Morning Shakes,” “Virginia,” “Mud,” “Home” and Gold-certified “Ballad of a Southern Man” followed.
The highlight of the evening, however, came as Whiskey Myers’ Cody Cannon took fans on a road trip to their forthcoming album. The front man broke down their brand new song, “Heart of Stone,” into a haunting acoustic rendition perfectly suited to The Ryman’s aura.
Several tributes to the band’s own musical heroes would pepper their debut, too. ZZ Top’s “La Grange” and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ “Refugee” sounded as if Myers wrote them themselves.
Whiskey Myers at the Ryman: Full Set List (Sept. 10-11)
- Frogman
- Gasoline
- Bury My Bones
- Bar, Guitar and a Honky Tonk Crowd
- Deep Down In The South
- Broken Window Serenade
- On the River
- Die Rockin’
- Early Morning Shakes
- Virginia
- Mud
- Ballad of a Southern Man
- Home
- Bitch
- Heart of Stone
- La Grange (ZZ Top)
- How Far
- Stone
- Refugee (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers)
For more information and a full list of upcoming shows, visit www.WhiskeyMyers.com and stick with your fellow Outsiders for all the latest from the band.