Whiskey Myers slows down for singalongs
RodeoHouston has frequently tipped its hat to Texas artists with robust regional followings. Cody Johnson went from lastminute replacement to fivetimer. Turnpike Troubadours drew one of 2023’s biggest crowds. The halls of NRG Stadium have also hosted Aaron Watson, Pat Green and Robert Earl Keen.
Whiskey Myers joined the Lone Star club Monday night. The band originated from Palestine, a city of about 20,000 people located 2 1⁄2 hours from Houston. And nothing, not even a family wedding, was going to keep them from performing for a crowd of 60,006 on the rotating stage.
“The Wolf ” was a slow-burn opener that gradually whipped into a frenzy. The entire band is tight and focused, the result of countless shows on a variety of stages, from dive bars to crowds of more than 100,000 people at the Download Festival in England. That sense of comfort from a performer always transfers to the audience.
Cody Tate and John Jeffers were the guitar-playing stars of the show. They shredded spectacularly on every song, from “Gasoline” to “Frogman.” Singer Cody Cannon holds his own and was particularly impressive on “Broken Window Serenade,” a devastating ballad about tragic, unrequited love that had the crowd singing along. The lyrics read like an Oscar-bait screenplay (starring Sadie Sink, in my imagined movie).
Many of the uptempos (“Die Rockin,” “Glitter Ain’t Gold”) call to mind The Black Crowes, who have collaborated with Whiskey Myers in the past. “John Wayne” was a late-set standout, a rollicking cut from 2022’s “Tornillo” album that pointed the band in a new direction. A new album is in the early stages.
The mournful ballad “Stone” earned the biggest audience reaction, a singalong that almost drowned out Cannon. Houston must have been feeling a little lonely Monday night.