A little later in the evening, Cody Johnson calls Emily Ann Roberts the next big thing in country music. For her part, the Knoxville, Tennessee, native is simply “tickled to be here”. That homely charm comes through in everything she does.
A version of Collective Soul’s “Shine” plays over the PA before she arrives, toting her acoustic guitar and looking ready for the honky-tonk. There’s a country knees-up on offer, and “Whole Lotta Little” wastes no time getting it started.
“Jack & Jill Daniel’s” brings the knowing humour, before a crowd-pleasing version of Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5” becomes a singalong because, well, of course it does. Roberts is every bit as keen to introduce the new songs, though. She likens herself to a new mama who wants to show off her babies as she introduces “Thread”, the title track of her new EP.
“Garden Grow” follows, and it might be the best thing on that collection. There’s something wonderfully natural about her delivery, whether she’s showing off those newer songs or explaining that “Whipped” is why she’s stayed with her fella for so long.
“He Set Her Off” underlines just how comfortable she is with the honky-tonk stuff. Time will tell whether Johnson’s prediction is right, but on this evidence, it’s difficult to argue against it.
Parker McCollum is playing his first UK shows, some 4,897 miles from home, by his reckoning. The Texan tells us he wrote every song we’re going to hear tonight, and hearing people sing them back on the other side of the world clearly means something to him.
“What Kinda Man” gets things moving with its promise of being wilder than a bat out of hell, while “Young Man’s Blues” is blue-collar to its boots, the slide guitar providing the perfect accompaniment. With huge video screens behind him for “Burn It Down”, McCollum already looks equipped for the big shows.
The piano on “Big Ole Fancy House” changes the feel completely. Then “Meet You in the Middle” comes with instructions: if you’re two-stepping out there, this is the song for you. The fiddle is a lovely touch, too.
There’s a more vulnerable moment with “Hell of a Year”, dedicated to Aubrie Sellers, who normally sings it with him but has had to return home because of a family emergency. With just his acoustic guitar, McCollum becomes a troubadour, and it suits him. The slower songs have real emotion in them, something “Pretty Heart” reinforces, although its guitar solo deserves a mention as well.
“I wrote this next song about doing it,” he smiles before “Killin’ Me”. There’s a pause. “My father-in-law doesn’t love it.” The song itself has a soulful, late-night feel, while “Solid Country Gold” looks back with considerable pride.
“We’ll play a drinking song before we get out of here,” he promises, and “Handle on You” duly obliges. There’s plenty more to McCollum than drinking songs, though. “To Be Loved by You” proves the fella can write a chorus, and that this is a rock ’n’ roll band when it wants to be.
You can reasonably expect him back over here. Next time, his name might well be at the top of the bill.
During “Dear Rodeo”, Cody Johnson talks about a career spent proving people wrong. They told him cowboy hats weren’t going to come back in country music, he says, proudly wearing his and asking the crowd to raise theirs.
Up they go. Point proved.
Country is big right now, and Johnson is riding that wave. More than that, though, he understands exactly how to turn an arena full of people into part of his show.
“That’s Texas” turns Birmingham into the Lone Star State for a few minutes, while “Me and My Kind” has an energy that gets the place singing immediately. The girl in that song might be bored with cowboys. Birmingham most certainly isn’t.
“Y’all feel like dancing?” he asks before “Dance Her Home”. They do. By “With You I Am”, you can spot the couples a mile off as they share a moment together. Then there’s that voice on “Dear Rodeo”: seemingly effortless, perfectly suited to telling these stories, and capable of filling every corner of the place.
“Nothin’ on You” makes things decidedly slinky, before the instrumental section unfolds beneath thousands of phone torches. As so often at these country shows, the full gamut of emotions is covered.
There’s a hard rock version of The Charlie Daniels Band’s “Long Haired Country Boy”, before “Human” becomes a real centrepiece. Johnson introduces it as one of his favourite songs, and tonight it feels like a celebration of humanity, with all the imperfections that entails.
“Time Bomb” begins what amounts to a four-song suite from the new album, “Banks of the Trinity”. There’s a bluesy feel to that one, before the title track itself offers something closer to an old folk song. Its reverence for home feels peculiarly American. With all due respect to us English, I’m not sure we could sing about where we came from quite like this.
“Take Me Back (Leave Me There)” is number one in the UK country charts, Johnson tells us, crediting the ladies on social media for helping it get there. Then comes the quite brilliant “Horseback”. You’d need a vaccination against its chorus. It’s that infectious.
“The Fall” takes things somewhere darker, before “People in the Back” celebrates the little people with a blue-collar anthem and another demonstration of Johnson’s command of the crowd.
“I’m Gonna Love You” has Carrie Underwood’s contribution piped in on the video screen, before “By Your Grace” brings religion to the forefront.
As I’ve said before, I’m probably one of only a few atheist, left-wing socialist country music fans out there. Johnson is quick to make clear, though, that it doesn’t matter what your beliefs are. Everyone is welcome here. It’s an inclusive show, and that matters. And, interestingly, there’s not a single swear word in the whole evening.
The band introductions that follow are brilliant. Jody Bartula on fiddle and guitar, lead guitarist Jake Mears, bassist Joey Pruski, drummer Miles Stone, keyboard player Seth Wilson and steel guitarist Harrison Yount each get their moment, with the solos taking in Eminem, ZZ Top, AC/DC and Metallica. Country musicians can rock with the best of them, and this lot make that abundantly clear.
Then “Dirt Cheap” arrives and threatens to reduce the place to tears. Dirt might be cheap, but you can certainly make a gold-plated song out of it.
Johnson knows how to structure a set, too. “The Painter” and the superb “‘Til You Can’t” are the two huge singalongs that finish the main set, with the singer even finding time to sign autographs along the way.
The encore begins with Bruce Robison’s “Travelin’ Soldier”, before McCollum returns for “Good Time Charlie’s Got the Blues”. The two Texas boys recorded the Danny O’Keefe song for McCollum’s latest album, and their easy rapport carries over to the stage.
Johnson jokes that if McCollum had put him on an album earlier, he might have won Album of the Year a lot sooner. He’s only half-joking, you suspect. There’s a confidence about Johnson that comes from knowing exactly what he and this band can do.
“Diamond in My Pocket” brings things to a close, but it’s the wider message that stays with you.
Johnson talks about his dream of taking country music around the world. He talks, too, about the way we shouldn’t be divided. We’re all here because we love the music, and for the time we’re together, that’s what counts.
That positivity runs through everything he does. He promises that if the crowd give him everything, they’ll leave saying it was “the best damn country show they’ve ever seen”. It’s a bold claim, but Cody Johnson is a phenomenal live performer, backed by a band who can turn their hands to seemingly anything.
Tonight, he gives Birmingham every reason to believe him.
