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Stephen Wilson- Globe

Writer's picture: Paul GaineyPaul Gainey

Those who have been lucky enough to experience Stephen Wilson Jnr’s fabled live shows often speak about wishing they could bottle up that feeling, so they can dip into his indescribable mixture of euphoria, endearment, pain, conviction, and vulnerability whenever they need to.


Wilson opened the show with his eclectic mix of songs that sit right at the intersection of where Nirvana meets Johnny Cash meets The Cadillac 3. Ending his 2024 UK tour at the Globe in Cardiff, Stephen offered an unforgettable journey of emotion, storytelling, and song.


The venerable venue, renowned for its intimate setting and exceptional acoustics, held an audience of 200 people. This gathering of souls was treated to a performance that transcended mere musical exhibition; it became a shared experience of human expression and connection.


A vastly experienced singer/songwriter from rural Southern Indiana who self-describes as “Death Cab For Country”.


His guitar and a very hard-working pedal, steel guitar player Scott Murray and drummer Craig Blundell raised the roof with a two-hour 15-track set that included a cover of Nirvana’s “Something In The Way” and his own fan favourite “Year To Be Young 1994”. He turned Nirvana’s shoe-gazing 90's angst into something right out of the hills of Appalachia.


With his teeth cut in indie rock band AutoVaughan and the writers’ rooms of Nashville, he is a seasoned musical craftsman who produces a sound that is meticulously curated, whilst also sounding like it was born with its owner. Very much in a similar vein to such blue-collar heroes as John Mellencamp, Steve Earle, and John Prine, his songs are gritty, honest, and strike a nerve.


Wilson has written songs like ‘I Can't' for Caitlyn Smith and ‘Make it a Good One' with Brothers Osborne and is married to Leigh Nash, the lead singer of Sixpence None the Richer, so this Southern Indiana native is immersed in music, and it shows.


‘Calico Creek' is the perfect opener, giving the tight three piece a chance to blow off some cobwebs and loosen all the necessary muscles. It built to a thunderous drum explosion on a bed of guitars and pedal steel whilst Wilson stalked the stage.


‘Billy' kept the mood and vibe going and it even finished in a furious elongated jam session which saw Wilson whipping up a frenzy like a man possessed; while “Cuckoo” is about the working person and how hard life can be.


Armed with gut-string acoustic guitar, and one almighty pedal board, Wilson Jr. has no place to hide for the next two hours as he unfolds tale after tale. His music is dark, a combination of country mixed with elements of grunge and alternative rock. There are plenty of choice pickings from his current album “Søn of Dad”. He has some startling material that takes the listener on a journey.


The opening lines of “Twisted” have stayed with me since I first heard it, “The woman I love can be mean sometimes/The dog I feed has been known to bite/One keeps me safe, One keeps me warm/ Some things are just a double-edged sword/ Yeah I make enough to cover my bills/Upside drowning underwater still/ I'll get ahead when I ain't so behind/Damn sure ain't going nowhere tonight.”.


Stephen breaks all our hearts with his introduction to the haunting ballad “Father’s Son”, in which he tells the tale of losing his own father, in a song as wide reaching as the plains of America’s heartland. Saying goodbye to his dying father on an iPhone 8 on the side of a Kentucky highway as he raced to be at his bedside. This was the emotional, beating heart of the show, perhaps Wilson’s most meaningful and personal song.


“I've never known better, yeah / 'Cause every bone's tethered / You wanna change my name? Gotta drain my blood / 'Cause everything I am's everything you was”.


And continues: “I wear his blue jean jacket & his name like a badge of honour/I used to hate being called Junior/but I don’t mind any longer” – all played out over Murray’s weeping lap steel, is something that lingers on long after the night ends.


There’s a story that Stephen likes to tell that’s essential to who he is today as an artist. When Wilson received word that his father was dying, he raced home in his car to Indiana from Tennessee to see him one last time. He didn’t make it — and instead was forced to call his father for a final conversation.


“I said goodbye to my dad on an iPhone 8 in my car in the middle of Kentucky,” Wilson has said, and it’s that attention to detail — the precise location, the model of his phone - that has made his songwriting such a powerful addition to country music.


Just to lift the spirits, he sings “Hometown” and “Holler from the Holler”. Both are tales of dead-end hometowns where the option is get away or die inside. His delivery invokes Springsteen’s drawl on his acoustic album” Nebraska”, which is why it’s a perfect combination of style and substance.


Raised by a single father who was a boxer, Wilson Jr. was a Golden Glove kid himself whose path to middle Tennessee did not come through country music, but in the pursuit of a microbiology degree at MTSU in Murfreesboro. While at college, he started an indie rock band but eventually left after graduating to become a full-time scientist. But then decided music was more his speed and stationed himself in Nashville.


The chorus to “The Devil” – one of my favourites - again reveals his songwriting talent, “A snake will crawl the earth to shed its skin/To make more room for the poison/And the filthy rich will rob you clean/Until you raise your voices/And the louder onе above the rest/ Will call himsеlf the rebel.”.


Picking up the pace a little, “Year to Be Young 1994” was led by Wilson Jr. stating, “There was not much to do in my hometown but drugs and roller-skate, sometimes both at the same time.”.


A set-ending of “Hometown”, “American Gothic,” and “Holler from the Holler” was a perfect three song run that was equal parts uplifting and yet tinged with bittersweet vulnerability, celebratory anthems of self-discovery and defiant individuality. The latter a foot-stomping, dirty, down home southern classic in waiting and was a terrific way to round off a performance.


The intensity and power didn't stop there though. An encore double whammy of new song “Gary” and set closer, “In the Beginning” brought things to a breathless conclusion.


Non-conforming maverick, storyteller, comedian, and a damn fine musician. This tour will undoubtedly be remembered as the beginning of an extraordinary chapter in Stephen Wilson Jnr’s ascending musical journey.

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