The other night I got a small inkling of what some foreign citizens must have experienced had they been sat next to a patriotic Scottish person at one of our gigs abroad. It was only 30 seconds before the woman sitting beside me in the Grand Circle at the Jason Isbell gig in Edinburgh gave out a shriek which would have sent the ghosts of the old town scurrying down the nearest vennel. Immediately she got her phone out and proceeded to loudly proclaim her love for Jason while scrolling through her messages. With fans like that….
In fairness there was much to get excited about. Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit played a beautifully curated two hour show which could not have possible left any fan disappointed. My Grand Circle neighbour continued her excitement and as time went on I did recognise that she was a real fan. Her ecstasy grew as classic song followed classic song. Alabama Pines– stand up. Elephant – scream. At Decoration Day she lost it. I felt a tap on my arm. ‘I apologise. We’re from Alabama.’ I got it.
Jason’s songs of the south connected with more than the lady in the circle. You could tell, even on the coldest of Auld Reekie nights, that there was a warm connection to the humanity in these songs. I loved the fact that Jason and the Four Hundreders never let it just become a big rock show. No sooner had the big guitar solos on The King of Oklahoma faded than he strapped on an acoustic guitar and played a beautiful version of Strawberry Woman. It was all the songs we wanted to hear and I’ll try to play some highlights on this week’s show.
There were probably a few ladies from Alabama all over The Bridgestone Arena for the CMA Awards night last Wednesday too. I watched the stream the next morning and though I understand why the BBC are showing the whole thing, my heart sinks at what the people who might just have fallen in love with country music might be thinking if they saw it. All the best and worst was there to see but the worst seemed to win through. I suppose we can expect corny hosts but why the hell did Lainey get involved ? We can also expect token nods to the new African American community without any getting remotely close to winning anything, or in Beyonce’s case, getting nominated. What does Shaboozey have to do to win song of the year when 17 weeks at No 1 isn’t quite enough? However let’s celebrate the good and I’ll be playing Luke Combs, Kelsea Ballerini, Kacey Musgraves (utterly jaw dropping) and Megan Moroney over the course of the show.
If all that’s not enough we’re starting to feel like Christmas with a special moment from our friends Chapel Hart and their holiday release which they will tell us all about. Finally a nod to the excellent Bonny Light Horseman who had a Glasgow audience in rapture last Friday at the QMU. All this in two hours? You’ll need to join me to find out how we do it. Tune in on BBC Radio Scotland or BBC Sounds from 8 this Tuesday.
