Live music review: Charley Crockett and the Blues Drifters taped a magical ACL TV episode
Last Wednesday, July 28, Charley Crockett and the Blues Drifters taped their debut Austin City Limits (ACL TV) episode. The performance was magical. Crockett and his band entered ACL Live at the Moody Theater primed for the taping, coming off a month-long run that included a number of dates on the West Coast, were ripe for a masterful performance.
The self-described Gulf & Western outfit has gone through a number of iterations before settling on a sound that oscillates from Texas honky tonk to authentic country/western and blues thanks to a roster of experienced, talented players. After expanding their audience to a wider variety of music fans with the pandemic-released hit album, Welcome to Hard Times, Crockett kept the pedal to the metal as the record raced up Billboard’s Heat Seekers chart and a bevvy of booking opportunities made themselves available.
The band was about to go up on a rocket ship and fly they did, first booking a few locally produced live streams, then weekend jaunts into the far reaches of Texas before launching a full-fledged West Coast tour culminating in last week’s taping and a pair of shows at the legendary Gruene Hall just to the south of Austin. It’s been a monumental year for the group and it’s only going to get better.
Crockett’s band lead off with a mariachi horn from multi-instrumentalist member, Kullen Fox who manned keys, trumpet, accordion and whatever else was handy during the performance. Each member has skill reflecting their years of dedication to their craft and it shows. The horn signaled first song, “Run Horse Run,” which immediately went into “5 More Miles” with it’s similar tempo.
“Goin Back to Texas” and “Borrowed Time” came next continuing the honky tonk section of the set which featured the steady playing of upright bassist (he plays electric bass too) and Musical Director, Colin Clark Colby and some fine accordion work from Fox who kept the instrument on for a cover of Miss Lavelle White’s soulful ballad, “Lead Me On.” The Blues number signaled a change in the set with Crockett continuing with three covers from his mentor, James Hand. Crockett recorded a record of all Hand covers to honor his now deceased friend entitled, 10 For Slim: Charley Crockett Sings James Hand.
The band delved back into Crockett’s own material next with “Welcome to Hard Times.” It should be explained that prior to the performance, ACL TV producer, Terry Lickona announced that for the first time since Dale Watson appeared on the TV program’s stage, there would be dancers, authentic, Texas two-steppers on the floor with the audience. The slight change in format lent a welcome dance hall feel to the performance as dancers rotated on and off the makeshift dance floor marked in chalk. Those fleet feet got moving for the title track of Crockett’s latest release. it’s a crowd-pleaser for sure.
The band wound up the memorable performance with another cover, “Jamestown Ferry,” made famous by Tanya Tucker and even better by Charley Crockett and the Blues Drifters in our humble opinion. Everything about this band, Nathan Fleming’s masterful pedal-steel work, Alexis Sanchez’s impressive guitar skills along with Mario Valdez’s expertly, flavorful work on the drum kit all come together to invoke a sort of communion the band shares with their audience. It’s the kind of feeling that gives live music fans like us, chills down the back of our necks.
Look out for Crockett’s upcoming release, Music City USA while you wait for this episode to air this fall on your local PBS station. It’s gonna be a damn, fun time that’s for certain.
All photos by Scott Newton courtesy of ACL TV
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