He ended his two-hour performance Friday night at the Peake with “Tennessee Whiskey.” Oh, Stapleton did return for an encore, but it was anticlimactic after “Tennessee Whiskey,” which has become his signature song among a collection of hits.Īt one point during the show Stapleton told a cowboy in the crowd, “I don’t know what you are saying, but thank you for taking off your hat. But Stapleton has made the classic song his own for a generation of country fans. The hits off that album include the title track “Traveller” (He said the words for the song came to him as the sun came over the horizon while driving in the desert), “Fire Away,” “Parachute,” “Nobody to Blame,” “Might As Well Get Stoned” and, of course, “Tennessee Whiskey.”ĭavid Allan Coe was the first to record “Tennessee Whiskey.” George Jones’ version was great. Since Stapleton missed playing that way, he said he decided to start doing it more on tour, and it was perfect for his performance of “Whiskey and You,” one of the many great songs from his debut Traveller album. He told the Oklahoma City fans on Friday night that he started, and often misses, performing solo on stage with just a guitar before a small audience. Stapleton didn’t always fill big arenas playing with a talented band.

The Brothers Osbourne, who warmed the crowd up immediately before Stapleton, also returned to the stage to sing “Get Down to Arkansas” with him. He brought his opening act, Kendell Marvel, back on stage to sing “Hard Livin,” which Stapleton co-wrote with Marvel. Stapleton and the talented band kept the Oklahoma City crowd on their feet much of the night.

It was my first time to see Stapleton in concert, and I knew going in he was a gifted songwriter and vocalist, but I did not realize he was just as amazing on the electric guitar. Anyone who has owned a good dog will relate to it. He also included the even newer “Starting Over” and “Run Maggie Run” on Friday night, the latter a song that Stapleton said was about the loss of a dear friend, a faithful four-legged companion. “Everybody else in the family tree, turned out the opposite way from me,” Stapleton croons in his raspy, blues voice. He performed “Bad Side of the Blood” which he started playing on tour this summer. Judging from the response to the newer songs Stapleton may have a third smash record in the future. The Kentucky-born Stapleton performed several hits from his first two studio albums, the triple platinum and critically acclaimed “Traveller” in 2015 and Grammy Award winner “From A Room: Volume 2” released in 2017, and even treated the Chesapeake crowd to some of his new stuff. Stapleton brought his All-American Road Show to a sold-out Chesapeake Energy Arena on Friday night, and even though he said he was feeling a little under the weather, no one was asking for their money back.Ī true artist of substance, Stapleton on Friday night showcased why he is one of the biggest acts – if not the biggest - in country music today.

My answer today for anyone with the same question is just listen to a Chris Stapleton song. In the past, if anyone would ever ask me what makes a great country song, my usual answer would be it must include a fiddle or a steel guitar, and preferably both.

Tennessee whiskey song debut