Tyler Childers introduces new side of himself at the Armory

Tyler Childers performed at the Armory in Minneapolis on Wednesday, June 14, 2023.Steve Cohen for MPR

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June 15, 2023

It was hard to miss the scores of fans heading toward the Armory Wednesday night. Decked out in boots, cowboy hats, and Canadian tuxedos, concertgoers snaked around the venue as they eagerly waited to see country superstar Tyler Childers. They had a right to be excited: After COVID lockdowns canceled his 2020 tour with Sturgill Simpson, the show marked Childers’ first Twin Cities performance since he sold out First Avenue in 2019. Throughout his two-plus-hour set, Childers balanced the songs that earned him global notoriety with a bold new sound.

Before Childers began, opener Marcus King kicked off the evening with a raucous, seemingly never-ending swirl of good old-fashioned Southern rock. Boldly walking onstage to the whistling soundtrack of Clint Eastwood’s The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, King immediately launched into a blistering rendition of “It’s Too Late” off of his 2022 release Young Blood. He shifted between gritty, Stevie Ray Vaughan-inspired blues, honky-tonk Nashville rock, and quietly powerful country ballads. Along the way, he earned cheers of admiration for his soaring and complex guitar solos that broke up nearly every song for minutes at a time. While King’s jamming was technically impressive, his regular solos were at times overpowering, occasionally trodding over the equally stunning output of his band. Regardless, the group’s energy was infectious as they swaggered around the stage throughout their set. After leading a jubilant call and response with the audience at the end of his 45-minute set, King tipped his massive white cowboy hat to the crowd and thanked them for listening.

Marcus King plays an electric guitar. — Marcus King was the opener. Tyler Childers performed at the Armory in Minneapolis on Wednesday, June 14, 2023.
Steve Cohen for MPR

If King’s tracks were loose, free-flowing, and sprawling, Childers’ was tight, cohesive, and measured — in an exciting way. As he partook in his own fair share of riffing, Childers’ performance felt like the inflection point of an artist exploring and expanding his own sound.

Following getting sober in 2020 during the process of recording his fiddle album, Long Violent History, Childers turned away from his previous albums’ themes of substance abuse to create music focused on unity and human connection. In addition to this thematic shift for his latest album, Childers also shifted slightly away from his Kentucky bluegrass roots in favor of the Southern Baptist gospel music on which he was raised. The resulting 2022 triple album, Can I Bring My Hounds to Heaven?, feels like the natural progression of an artist already steeped in Southern music tradition, but is now armed with a newfound sense of self and spirituality.

Childers didn’t leave behind older popular songs in his live performance. In fact, after taking the stage with just his acoustic guitar, he frontloaded his set with a series of fan favorites. Cheers rose from the crowd and voices immediately joined him at the first notes of each track, creating one massive sing-a-long. As he sat surrounded by cattails, moss, rocks, and plants, Childers created an environment more akin to a backyard listening session than a sold-out concert. As he explored themes of heartbreak, painful truths, and enduring love, Childers managed to infuse greater meaning with simple volume adjustments, allowing his voice to ring out over the audience at one moment before shrinking down to a whisper the next.

After the first five songs, the rest of Childers’ longtime backing band — the Food Stamps — joined him on stage. In a surprising addition to the setlist, the full band kicked off the new phase of the show with “Whitehouse Road,” a song rumored to have been permanently stricken from the setlist after Childers went sober. While Childers commanded the stage on his own, the addition of a full band brought a new level of groove and excitement. Most songs received somewhat of an extended cut, with Childers seeming to step back in favor of each member of the band taking their own turn to solo. As they passed lead from person to person, it was clear that years of playing together had created not only a trusting balance, but also a high degree of respect for each other’s musicianship. From intensely groovy basslines and thundering drums to bouncy pedal steels and bright fiddling, the Food Stamps shifted the quiet backyard atmosphere to one more like a rollicking barn dance.

Tyler Childers sits in a chair, strums acoustic guitar, sings. — Tyler Childers performed at the Armory in Minneapolis on Wednesday, June 14, 2023.
Steve Cohen for MPR

Childers played several more crowd-pleasers with the full band before eventually turning toward more covers and his latest material. This transition brought several standout tracks from his new work and gave Childers the opportunity to play with his new gospel sound live, but some of the initial crowd energy seemed to wane. Whether that was a result of his audience not being as familiar with his new work, preferring his old work, or simply being on the back half of a long set on a Wednesday night, a downshift in crowd energy was palpable.

A crowd gathers in front of a lit-up stage. — Tyler Childers performed at the Armory in Minneapolis on Wednesday, June 14, 2023.
Steve Cohen for MPR

Still, Childers kept the entire show lively. He didn’t stray far from his mic stand, and channeled all of his energy and emotion into his voice. His unique ability to apply his signature Appalachian holler to add depth and conviction to each of his songs was most apparent on new track “Way of the Triune God.” Childers sang as a man enveloped by a zealous fervor for the Lord, saying on the opening lines “I don’t need the pills you take / Just to feel the spirit move / Brother, I ain’t slept in days / All without the drugs you’re usin’ / Fit me for the builder’s use / Use me for the great commission.” He sang ferociously, practically howling as he strained into each note as though he was at a religious revival. His forcefulness carried a degree of power that felt incredibly genuine and captivated the crowd.

Before playing a cover of the Charlie Daniels Band’s “Trudy” as his final song, Childers, who had moved quickly through the set without much crowd engagement, paused to sincerely thank the audience for attending. “I know there’s 10 million other things you could be doing tonight,” he said, “but I’m grateful you chose to be here.” Judging by the number of raised baseball caps and cowboy hats to Childers at these words, there was no other place the crowd would rather be.

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