The expectation around the return visit of Charley Crockett is palpable tonight at The Button Factory, evidenced by the size of the crowd in the venue long before the start time. The support act for Crockett’s Europe and UK tour is Oxfordshire-born Ags Connolly, an artist very much championed by us all at Lonesome Highway for a number of years. Connolly, as is the case with Charley Crockett, was hugely inspired by the music of the late James ‘Slim’ Hand and it is little surprise that he includes I Saw James Hand in his thirty-minute set. He draws mainly on material from his most recent album, SIEMPRE, which he explains is more ‘Texas Border’ than his earlier career ‘Honky Tonk’ sound. His booming baritone vocal reaches every corner of the room on Heading South and Overwhelmed from that album and he also includes what he describes, tongue in cheek, as his ‘feelgood number’ I Hope You’re Unhappy.
Texan Charley Crockett’s parting words as he left the stage to rapturous applause at The Workman’s Club in Dublin last October were ‘My first time in Ireland y’all, but believe me, we’re coming back.’
True to his words, Crockett and his five-piece band, The Blue Drifters, are back in town and this time for another sell-out show, but at a much larger venue. The age demographic at the show is also a pointer toward an artist whose sound - christened by him as Gulf and Western - has an equal appeal to all ages. That sound seamlessly blends traditional country, blues, gospel, and rockabilly, and his setlist draws mainly from his more recent albums, THE MAN FROM WACO, MUSIC CITY USA, WELCOME TO HARD TIMES, and 10 FOR SLIM - CHARLEY CROCKETT SINGS JAMES HAND.
The Blue Drifters, decked out in matching black western shirts tonight, have been Crockett’s backing band for a number of years and it’s no surprise that they are on fire tonight. The stage is brimming with instruments including acoustic and electric guitars, banjo, pedal steel, upright and electric bass guitars, drums, trumpet, keys and accordion, with Kullen Fox taking on the role of bandleader, playing keyboards, trumpet and accordion.
The set is packed with crowd pleasers, from the opener, Run Horse Run, to the pre-encore closer, I’m Just a Clown. Music City USA, The Man From Waco, Odessa, and Trinity River are highlights and in the heat of the moment Crockett, mid-song, manages to forget the lyrics of the encore, a sweet version of Crystal Gayle’s Crystal Chandeliers.
‘They call me ‘country’ now, but I was ‘folk’ when I was a hobo playing street corners, and I’m going to be ‘blues’ right now,’ he announces, before launching into a ripping take of T-Bone Walker’s Travelin’ Blues. Other covers that get aired are a trio of James Hand songs, Midnight Run, Lesson in Depression and Don’t Tell Me That and he takes a trip down memory lane and back to the 60s with an up-tempo rendition of Buck Owens’ Act Naturally, and Jerry Reed’s I Feel For You.
Switching from acoustic guitar to banjo, and banjo to electric guitar, and with dance moves that include hip-swinging, pelvis shaking, and sliding across the stage, Crockett is the quintessential showman. But it’s the quality of his vocals, the stellar players around him and the pure energy and soulfulness that they collectively generate, that capture and hold the attention of everyone lucky enough to have attended a memorable performance.
Review by Declan Culliton Photography by Kaethe Burt O’Dea