ROCK’N’RODEO
9 CAN’T-MISS CONCERTS DURING NFR
SHE possesses a “Heart Like a Truck,” and she’s going to run you over with the thing. Emotive country wunderkind Lainey Wilson has been penning tunes since grade school and released her first EP when she was just 14.
It was called “Country Girls Rule,” of course.
These days, the 31-year-old Wilson is living up to her words and then some.
The bohemian singer is having a banner 2023. She took home four trophies in May at the Academy of Country Music Awards, including being named female artist of the year and winning album of the year for her latest full-length, “Bell Bottom Country.” Wilson followed that up last month with five wins at the Country Music Association Awards, including Entertainer of the Year.
Now Wilson returns to town for four shows at The Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas from Wednesday through Dec. 16 in what will surely be one of the hottest tickets during NFR.
Here are eight more notable concerts:
Miranda Lambert Bakkt Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort, Dec. 9, 10, 14, 16
Still “Actin’ Up” after all these years, as the first track of her latest album “Palomino” explains, Miranda Lambert remains one of country’s most fiery, take-no-guff presences. She resumes her “Velvet Rodeo” residency just in time for NFR, and when she plays “Gunpowder & Lead” toward the end of her set prepare for the sparks to fly for real.
Garth Brooks Colosseum at Caesars Palace, Dec. 8, 9, 13, 15, 16
The Oak Ridge Boys, Billy Joel, Bob Seger, Randy Travis, Lady Gaga, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Marvin Gaye — you never know where the cover tunes will come from during one of Garth Brooks’ Vegas residency gigs, you just know there will be a lot of them, in addition to his many fan favorites. To borrow a line from Confucius, or maybe it was the Beastie Boys, Brooks has got mad hits like he was Rod Carew.
Carrie Underwood Resorts World Theatre, Dec. 8, 9, 13, 15, 16
“Beautiful, wonderful, perfect Allamerican girl,” Carrie Underwood sings on “All-american Girl,” one of the 20 songs regularly featured in concert during her Resorts World residency. She may as well be addressing herself, as Underwood is undeniably wholesome, like eating your broccoli. But she has an edge, too. Hence, when “Cupid’s Got a Shotgun,” Underwood is quick to return fire.
Cody Johnson MGM Grand Garden, Dec. 8
“She gets excited about all my crazy dreams,” Cody Johnson sings on “The Painter,” the first single from his new album “Leather,” a song dedicated to his wife. Her enthusiasm is warranted, as Johnson has made his dreams of country music stardom come true.
Cody Jinks Dolby Live at Park MGM, Dec. 8, 9
“What makes NFR time so fun is that people travel out there, it’s a destination, they want stuff to do while they’re out there, they want to go see shows, they want to go gambling,” Cody Jinks told the RJ last year before two sold-out shows at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. “In Vegas, man, they’re coming from all over. It’s just party time.” With the NFR back in town, it’s party time once more.
Gary Allan
The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Dec. 8
“I’m a different kind of man,”
NFR regular Gary Allan explains on the title track to his platinumselling, breakout third record, 1999’s “Smoke Rings in the Dark,” his voice rising above tendrils of lap steel that fades in and out of the mix like said smoke rings. This is certainly true of this honky-tonk throwback, whose voice is supple yet lived in, radiofriendly but shot through with grit and gravitas: Think of a rose blooming from a field of burlap.
Ray Wylie Hubbard Golden Nugget Showroom, Dec. 10
From one outlaw country great to another, Eric Church himself inducted this gritty Americana lifer into the Texas Heritage Songwriters Hall of Fame, a well-deserved honor for a man who’s penned numerous tunes for the likes of Lucinda Williams, Pat Green and Waylon Jennings.
Charley Crockett The Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, Dec. 12
As indebted to R&B icons such as Curtis Mayfield and Nina Simone as to country legends such as George Jones and Hank Williams, Charley Crockett’s catalog is as bluesy and soulful as it is rootsy and Americana-influenced.