Out May 5th, it's got the best parts of the genre: softness within toughness.
Co-produced with Dave Cobb, who's made a name for himself doing rock-solid, tradition-minded work for Sturgill Simpson and Jason Isbell, Traveller is easily, and naturally, the year's strongest country debut. This year, Stapleton is finally releasing an LP all his own: Traveller. Who else can say that? The songs he writes aren't lead singles, usually-they're the substantial, soulful cuts without which there would be no justification for someone's album in the first place. George Strait recorded a Chris Stapleton song, but then so did Adele.
In Nashville, where he moved from Kentucky 15 years ago, he's penned songs for the upper crust of country: Tim McGraw, Kenny Chesney, Sheryl Crow, Luke Bryan. Want to read more stories like this? A Tennessean subscription gets you unlimited access to all the latest music news, newsletters with the inside scoop from Music City, a personalized mobile experience and the ability to tap into stories, photos and videos from throughout the USA TODAY Network's 109 local sites.Chris Stapleton is one of those songwriters. Mayer and his band bowed as confetti filled the arena - the final note on a night that should leave his (and Stapleton's) faithful buzzing for days to come. The set wrapped with a two-song encore, 2006's "Gravity" and Mayer's 2018 disco-inspired single, "New Light." He treated the audience to select covers, earning a particularly stirring - and completely appropriate - ovation for a take on Tom Petty's anthemic "Free Fallin'." More: David Berman: For 19 years, one of Nashville's most vivid, singular songwriters "I wouldn't say that I'm pandering to Nashville and its rich musical heritage by playing this song," he began, "but it mentions whiskey in the title not once, not twice, but three times." (cue 2012's "Whiskey, Whiskey, Whiskey). He opened the show with a blues-tinged jam before leaning into 2006 track "Belief," injected a vivid piece of playing during 2017's otherwise modest "Changing" and - drawing cheers that neared Stapleton's appearance - crushed a take on the funk-influenced "Helpless." This tour lands comfortably in the middle.īacked by an eight-piece band, Mayer doesn't hide his ability to hold an arena strictly on guitar playing.
It's not a rip-roaring jam session à la his stadium act, Dead and Company, but it's not a showcase of wedding reception pop, either. More: Subscribe to The Pick, a new music newsletter from The TennesseanĪ love-it-or-leave-it music stronghold for nearly two decades, Mayer's latest show mirrors where middle-aged star stands in his career. Stapleton's electric appearance notwithstanding, Mayer put on a career-spanning no-frills showcase Thursday night - performing exactly two years removed from his last performance at the downtown arena. The "Traveller" penman stuck around, too - aiding in a show-stopping collaboration of Mayer's 2006 track "Slow Dancing In A Burning Room." The pair wrote the track Wednesday, Mayer said, during a day off from his summer tour. Stapleton joined Mayer late in his 26-song set for the untitled track, a soft-to-the-touch piece of pop-rock that featured Stapleton on the second verse and chorus.
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