Charley Crockett @ Agora (7/22/24)
Charley Crockett is currently making his way around North Amercia to perform his $10 Cowboy tour, showcasing his recent album with the same name. Crockett has different supporting acts throughout the tour to give cities individual experiences, and for Cleveland and two of Michigan’s cities, we got the opportunity to have Drayton Farley as the opener. Drayton Farley is an up-and-coming country/Americana artist from Alabama, who released his first of two studio albums, “A Hard Life Up” in 2021. He is most well known for his “Pitchin’ Fits” and “American Dream” songs from that album. “Pitchin’ Fits” is how I was also introduced to him, but I’ve been listening to his 2023 album, Twenty on High, a lot recently.
For those who aren’t familiar, Charley Crockett is a country artist from Texas. He has released twelve studio albums, with the most recent being this year. Some of his earlier albums have more blues-styled music mixed in, and as he’s grown, he’s stepped more into an outlaw country genre. Songs such as The Man From Waco are a perfect example of said genre, and is also how I discovered him. His songs either tell a story, call back to his home, or thank those who paved the way by playing covers of their songs. His set on Monday made you feel like you were watching a movie scene being filmed, and the crowd had front-row seats.
When I had my chance to stand amongst the crowd, I admired how few phones I saw held up. There were a handful that were to record a song for less than a minute and were put away. I loved watching everyone just enjoy the music, whether they were singing along, or dancing. Even if you had never heard Charley Crockett before tonight, his set had an energy that made you want to get up and move.
Photos by Sami Butler
Drayton Farley
Charley Crockett
