Concert Review: Jamey Johnson and Blackberry Smoke (with opener Ella Langley)

Location: Centennial Mall, Lincoln, NE

Date: 8/12/22

TL;DR: There's great news for the rest of the U.S.: this was the first night of the tour for these indie country legends.

The older I get, and the more experiences I have, the less easily impressed I am. While I came into Lincoln on the Streets (hosted by local station Kicks 96.9) expecting a solid show, I have to admit I wondered if I'd have been better off saving the money I spent on the ticket. By the end of the rollicking three and half hour plus affair, I was wondering how in the hell I got 2.5 top-notch country rock shows for the price of 1. Yeah, it was that good.

23-year-old Ella Langley opened with the shortest set of the night, but don't mistake the relative lack of quantity for lack of quality. She's a dynamic performer, with a solid voice and  incredible stage presence, and her interactions with the crowd were frequent and natural. Her music speaks for itself: the songwriting is sharp ("Hey Mama I Made It" was the highlight) and her band absolutely shreds. Keep a close eye on Langley, who already has over 1 million monthly listeners on Spotify. The sky is the limit for her.

Next up was Blackberry Smoke. I'd heard of the grizzled southern rock/roots/country band before, but sadly I'd never had a chance to listen to their music. Boy, had I ever been missing out: the approximately hour-long set featured superb vocals, crisp instrumentation, and a lot of good-humored yet insightful songwriting. My immediate reaction (besides embarrassment for not having listened to Blackberry Smoke before) was something like this: how the hell are these guys not headlining a stadium tour? Their sound is reminiscent of the legendary groups Lynyrd Skynyrd and Alabama, both of whom had massive appeal during their heyday and still do in some quarters these days. Bottom line: Blackberry Smoke puts on an unbelievably good show.

Last up was a leader of 2000s and 2010s indie country, Jamey Johnson. Johnson came out all business, and his band backed up his rough-edged but crisp vocals to perfection. He drew a lot of cheers when he briefly paused mid-set to nonchalantly but brutally diss the event hosts for refusing to play his music despite its wide appeal among country fans. Highlights of his set included "Cost of Living High" and of course his most famous song "In Color", the latter of which featured an amazing moment where the crowd (estimated to be a few thousand) carried the entire final chorus without any support from the band or Johnson. Despite the cold exterior, Johnson showed his warmer side when he announced a cover of Toby Keith's "I Love This Bar", saying he had promised the ailing country superstar that he would cover some of his songs while on tour. The crowd was absolutely electric from start to finish, and it's easy to see why: not only did Johnson's pedal steel soloist absolutely play the living daylights out of his chances to shine, but there were multiple excellent saxophone solos as well. Even if Johnson's voice isn't your favorite, the man and his band make some amazing country music.

If you love indie country, and/or you need a reminder that rock and roll isn't dead yet, make sure to get tickets for this tour. It was a fantastic show.

Rating: 9.5/10