Originally from South Carolina, Josh Turner first arrived on the country scene back in 2003 with the release of his debut album ‘Long Black Train’, winning over fans with his distinctive deep bass vocals. Since then he’s racked up a further nine LPs – most recently his 2021 Christmas record, ‘King Size Manger’ – as well as five number one US country singles, 4.8 billion global streams and six and a half million record sales. Now, ahead of the release of his first greatest hits album in September, he’s back in the UK for his ‘Long Black Train’ 20th anniversary tour – his first trip since he made his live debut here in 2019 – including two sold-out return visits to London’s Union Chapel.
Arriving on stage around 9pm with his three-piece band, Turner opened his set with ‘Hometown Girl’ from his 2017 album ‘Deep South’. It had a more classic rock feel about it than the album version, and I was also really impressed by lead guitarist Austin’s solo towards the end. Right from the off Turner’s smooth, rich vocals were in full effect and the crowd were singing along with him for the whole song (and didn’t let up for the rest of the show!). It was a great way to kick things off and really set the tone for the rest of the night.
What followed was a journey through 20 years of musical history, with Turner throwing in cuts from across his time in the business and telling stories about his career and inspirations, such as in his intro to ‘I Pray My Way Out Of Trouble’ which he mentioned first discovering in his grandmother’s music collection. He also peppered his performance with jokes about everything from the difference between UK and US terminology (baffling us all with what a ‘dry riser’ was), the current UK heatwave – including being handed some cooling spray by a fan – and his band member Austin’s ‘English name’ at customs, as well as leaning into his appeal to certain sections of the crowd with a mention of his trip to the British Museum and ‘wearing less clothes than I am now’. The audience lapped it up and I felt like he came across as really warm and relaxed on stage, making him a very easy performer to connect with.
One thing which particularly stood out to me was Turner’s sheer versatility as an artist, whether that was seeing his playful side on the likes of ‘Firecracker’ with its guitar flourishes and the flirtatious ‘You All Over Me’, or the uplifting, soulful ‘Everything Is Fine’ and ‘Time Is Love’ with its simple yet affectionate quality, catchy chorus and fiddle touches (shout out to fiddle and mandolin player Shaun who did a sterling job throughout!). We also got some songs that we hadn’t heard on his previous visit, including the pop-influenced bouncy ‘Left Hand Man’ – a wedding song for the ages – and ‘Country State Of Mind’, which featured one of Turner’s first namechecks of the night for London as the crowd swayed along, and even a bit of yodelling at the end! It’s very easy for artists with long careers and extensive back catalogues to just stick to the hits, but I like that he threw in some different things and it was fun hearing him explore that more.
That said, all the fan favourites were still present and correct, from ‘Deep South’ which featured a ‘Biblical dance move’ as Turner two-stepped alongside his band before hitting an impressively low note, to the bright, joyous ‘Me And God’ with its celebratory feel. Elsewhere, the lively melody of ‘Would You Go With Me’ rattled along at top speed and provided a great balance to Turner’s vocals, whilst ‘Why Don’t We Just Dance’ had a bright, swinging melody that’s irresistible to sway along to, especially with Turner encouraging the crowd to clap along (though to be fair they didn’t need much help with that!).
Turner closed his set with his signature hit ‘Your Man’, which he dedicated to ‘all you ladies in Union Chapel’. The song got the biggest cheer of the night by far, and I loved the cheeky touches Turner threw in with glances to the crowd and pointing out audience members whilst delivering the song’s romantic lyrics in a way that almost glided over the music. The crowd rose to their feet as he finished and left the stage, before stamping and chanting for ‘one more song!’. With the noise of a train whistle, he returned shortly afterwards, asking “you’re still here?” before launching into – what else? – ‘Long Black Train’. The crowd were clapping and singing along over the twangy melody, and quite a few audience members could be spotted literally dancing in the aisles! After one more London mention, Turner finished the song on a long drawn-out note, accompanied by the audience, who burst into a roar of approval as he brought it to an end before tossing his guitar picks into the crowd.
Overall Josh Turner delivered another excellent performance, showing just why he’s been in the music business for so long and that he’s still absolutely at the top of his game. With those distinctive vocals brilliantly enhanced by the gorgeous acoustics of Union Chapel and still as strong as ever, as well as showing off the range of sounds and styles that have inspired his music throughout the decades and his skills as a stage performer and showman, it all added up to a fantastic evening. He mentioned early on that he’d ‘hoped to be back sooner but things happened’ – here’s hoping after this we don’t have to wait quite so long next time! And for now, there’s still that greatest hits album to look forward to…
Set list: 1. Hometown Girl 2. Firecracker 3. Deep South 4. Left Hand Man 5. Country State Of Mind 6. Me And God 7. I Pray My Way Out Of Trouble (Osborne Brothers cover) 8. I Saw The Light (Hank Williams cover) 9. All Over Me 10. Would You Go With Me 11. Everything Is Fine 12. Time Is Love 13. Why Don’t We Just Dance 14. Your Man Encore: 15. Long Black Train Performance date: 13th July 2023
Josh Turner’s new album, ‘Greatest Hits’, is due for release on 8th September 2023 on MCA Nashville/UMG.
