Tuesday 28th May 2024

New Century Hall, Manchester, England

The first clue, had I recognised it as such, came the moment I entered the New Century Hall on Manchester’s Hanover Street and heard Charley Crockett’s ‘I Need Your Love’ playing over the tannoy. Further songs will be played while we wait for tonight’s musicians to take the stage, including ones from Sierra Ferrell and Tyler Childers, but it is the initial Son of Davy nudge which gives us an indication as to how 49 Winchester will set about their attack.

When I first saw Charley Crockett live, I was taken aback by how quickly he cycled through his songs, and I described it, on that Halloween night, as like a possessed jukebox. The Southern country-rockers 49 Winchester take a similar approach tonight; the six members of the band coming out locked and loaded and bursting straight into ‘Chemistry’. They immediately show why they have a reputation as a stellar live act; tonight’s ‘Chemistry’ immediately surpasses the album version. It’s a propulsive, rocking song to begin their set, and allows each member of the band to quickly find their feet. Singer-songwriter Isaac Gibson is front and centre, instantly recognisable with his trademark sunglasses and long beard. He is noticeably, commendably, leaner than in previous years. He stands legs apart and strums vigorously on his electric guitar.

Behind him, Justin Louthian sets the propulsive beat with his drums. From my vantage point right-of-centre amongst the crowd, keys player Tim Hall is not visible, though I can certainly hear his swirling organ sound. On the opposite side of the stage, dressed in a white ten-gallon hat and polo shirt, Noah Patrick provides some delicious pedal steel. Standing ahead of them, Isaac continues to sing and strum, flanked by Chase Chafin on bass and Bus Shelton on lead guitar. These are the two other founding members of 49 Winchester – the band named not for the iconic repeating rifle which won the Old West but the Appalachian street on which they formed.

You could be forgiven for recalling the rapid-fire of that famous gun, however, for no sooner has ‘Chemistry’ finished and the band drunk in the cheers of the crowd than they have started up ‘Hays, Kansas’. Isaac Gibson delivers the personal lyrics with a tender, soulful tone that’s still rugged enough to avoid being torn apart by the Skynyrd-esque guitars. There will be a display of musicianship (and songwriting) tonight that makes you want to tip 49 Winchester as heirs-apparent to Lynyrd Skynyrd, that greatest of all Southern rock bands, though 49’s sound is their own: broader, inquisitive. Sometimes rock, sometimes soul, sometimes more solidly country.

At times it can feel like the band remain one truly great song away from such greatness, or at least from establishing themselves as one of the major players in this incredible country/roots scene which has blossomed in recent years, but there’s still no shortage of crowd favourites tonight. The next song, a faster-paced ‘All I Need’, is one of them, with its line about having a “pretty good dog that don’t shit in the house” drawing a whoop from the crowd.

Pausing only for Isaac to switch his electric guitar for an acoustic, the band show their best years are still ahead of them with a fast, well-received rendition of ‘Yearnin’ for You’, the lead single from their much-anticipated new album, characterised by some fine pedal steel from Noah Patrick. The name of that album? ‘Leavin’ This Holler’, out in August, with the song of the same name next up tonight. With its slower pace and plaintive singing from Isaac, I have a feeling we’re not in Hays, Kansas anymore, Toto. This band are going places.

49 Winchester continue to spread their wings, with a funky, upbeat ‘Fortune Favors the Bold’ followed by the idiosyncratic ‘It’s a Shame’. Until this point, the band have pursued that Crockett-esque jukebox approach to the setlist, and while that may still be said of the rest of the night, ‘It’s a Shame’ is the first sign tonight yet that theirs is a many-stringed bow. In many ways, ‘Shame’ is a straight-up country honky-tonker, though between Isaac yodelling and Bus Shelton bending notes on his guitar’s whammy bar it is, first and foremost, a 49 Winchester song, and the crowd loves it.

Switching back to an electric guitar, Isaac leads the band into the bluesy ‘Everlasting Lover’, notable for a wailing guitar solo, before another highlight of the night: ‘Long Hard Life’. The crowd claps and sings along to this country-blues number, driven by a crunching guitar riff and drummer Justin Louthian’s propulsive beat. Up front, Isaac nods his head as though satisfied with the groove, a subtle but endearing tell that you can notice many a time tonight as he sings. As a frontman he focuses more on excelling as a singer and guitar-player than on lengthy song introductions or stage banter. But in truth, the reserved showmanship makes it all the more thrilling when Isaac does choose to kick loose, as he does at various points tonight with a literal kick into the air or an open-mouthed rush towards Bus on lead guitar.

“Let’s hear it for Drayton Farley,” Isaac says, drawing cheers and applause from the crowd. Drayton Farley had been tonight’s opening act, and while in front of the microphone he had confided the uncertainty that comes with being a solo acoustic act on a stage, it was a strong performance from the Alabaman singer-songwriter. Opening with ‘Something Wrong (Inside My Head)’ and closing with ‘Pitchin’ Fits’, the highlights of the 11-song set included ‘Lucinda’ (“every country singer has to have a murder ballad,” Farley says) and a tender ‘Blue Collar’. But it is the unreleased ‘Dream Come True’ which proves his stand-out song. Drayton introduces it by confiding the story of his wife’s miscarriages and their eventual success in starting a family, and the hopefulness and gratitude in the song silences the crowd.

Later on in the night, the crowd primed by Farley’s performance and by a 49 Winchester halfway through their own set, Isaac Gibson says he’s going to “slow it down now”. He must have a different perspective on speed than the rest of us, for the next number, ‘So Damn Sweet’, is still pretty rocking, with Bus and Chase swapping positions as they stalk across the stage. And, the song over, the crowd is hardly likely to want to behave mildly for the next one.

“I want you to sing along to this next one if you know it,” Isaac announces, and the crowd oblige, joining in from the very first line of ‘Russell County Line’. I mentioned earlier how it can sometimes feel like 49 Winchester is one song away from true greatness, and while that song may remain elusive, out there in the creative ether for Isaac Gibson to pluck at some appointed time, ‘Russell County Line’ has come pretty damn close. There’s a remarkable alchemy found in music that means with a few chords those of us who have never been within an ocean’s-width of Russell County, Virginia, can be made to feel deeply homesick for the place when hearing the song. The strings of Bus and Noah punctuate Tim Hall’s piano notes as the song builds and builds and then, in that magnificent Southern-rock moment, breaks, with Isaac himself taking the cathartic solo on his electric guitar. There are deserved claps and roars from the crowd at the end of the song, drawing a fist pump from Isaac.

Their essence distilled in ‘Russell County Line’, the band now change tack, with some surprisingly adept harmonies announcing ‘Annabel’. The piano lead-in for its follow-up, ‘Damn Darlin”, prompts Isaac to ask the ladies and gentlemen to give a hand for Tim Hall on the piano. The crowd obliges, and after Isaac counts them – and the band – in, they also sing along to this fan favourite. The song is made by Tim’s swirling organ sound.

Next up is another major highlight of the night, with Justin’s drums announcing a new song, a crunching rocker called ‘Make it Count’. It’s a fantastic number with a guitar riff that recalls the Rolling Stones, the echoes of those ageless rockers an irony given that Isaac’s lyrics are about growing up and “creeping up on 30”.

After this song, the band return to a more familiar 49 Winchester sound, with the epic Appalachia-soul of ‘Second Chance’ and ‘Don’t Speak’. The former in particular is excellent in a live setting, the sort of song Isaac can just belt out with soulful abandon and fill the room. The band follow this one-two punch with another strong new song that suggests the August release date for the new album cannot come soon enough. ‘(I Think I Should Have Stayed In) Tulsa’ distinguishes itself with a fine guitar solo from Isaac.

“Laast caaallll,” Isaac drawls into the microphone, announcing the final song of their set. ‘Last Call’ is a straight-up rocker, with a guitar line that recalls ZZ Top even more than Isaac’s beard does, and it’s a fine way for 49 Winchester to sign off. The band leave the stage to well-earned cheers, Isaac grinning from ear to ear. As a live act, they’ve knocked it out of the park.

Tonight’s songs have been delivered fast and furious and, unusually for a guitar band of this makeup, there have been no extended solos or other indulgences. The band have hewn close to the album cuts of the songs, and the setlist, I learn later, is also identical in both content and sequencing to other dates of the tour. When I consider these two observations, I do find myself wishing the band had explored themselves more on the stage, confident in their excellent musicianship. But what you cannot deny is the sheer energy of the set; the crunching rhythms and the soaring organ, the guitar solos and Isaac’s soulful vocals. Each moment enhances the album cuts with greater vigour and live power.

And they’re not done yet: Isaac slinks back on stage like a hillbilly Conor McGregor, the band joining him. They attack their encore song with characteristic gusto, ‘Hillbilly Happy’ proving one final, full-energy treat for the crowd. “I wanna get a picture of y’all,” Isaac says, and the crowd collectively raise their arms in the air as the band’s photographer captures the moment. When they formed their band a decade ago on 49 Winchester Street in Castlewood, Virginia, I doubt it would’ve even occurred to them that they might one day be playing packed venues on the other side of the ocean, making a horde of Britons feel homesick for a Russell County line they’ve never even seen.

The band leave the stage, this time for good. ‘The Party’s Over’ comes on over the tannoy as the crowd begins to filter out. “All good things must end,” Willie Nelson sings, but you get the sense that 49 Winchester are only just getting started.

Setlist:

(all songs written by Isaac Gibson, unless noted)

  1. Chemistry (from III)
  2. Hays, Kansas (from III)
  3. All I Need (from Fortune Favors the Bold)
  4. Yearnin’ for You (Gibson/Matt Koziol) (from Leavin’ This Holler)
  5. Leavin’ This Holler (Gibson/Stewart Myers) (from Leavin’ This Holler)
  6. Fortune Favors the Bold (from Fortune Favors the Bold)
  7. It’s a Shame (from III)
  8. Everlasting Lover (from III)
  9. Long Hard Life (from III)
  10. So Damn Sweet (from The Wind)
  11. Russell County Line (from Fortune Favors the Bold)
  12. Annabel (from Fortune Favors the Bold)
  13. Damn Darlin’ (from Fortune Favors the Bold)
  14. Make it Count (Gibson/Myers) (from Leavin’ This Holler)
  15. Second Chance (from Fortune Favors the Bold)
  16. Don’t Speak (from The Wind)
  17. Tulsa (Gibson/Myers) (from Leavin’ This Holler)
  18. Last Call (from Fortune Favors the Bold)
  19. Encore: Hillbilly Happy (from Leavin’ This Holler)