Illinois native Bailey Zimmerman first burst onto the country music scene via TikTok, before finding success with his singles ‘Fall In Love’ and ‘Rock And A Hard Place’ and being nominated for New Male Country Artist of the Year at the ACM Awards.
He released his debut EP, ‘Leave The Light On’, in October 2022, reaching the Billboard top 10 in the US. Follow up, ‘Religiously. The Album,' has cemented his place as one of the rising stars of Country music and shows with Morgan Wallen & appearances at festivals like this year's Stagecoach, have only served to cement his ever growing reputation. With current single, ‘Where it Ends' currently at number 4 in the Country airplay charts, Zimmerman arrived in the UK on a wave of anticipation and sold out venues!
With a sound more similar to the wave of post-Grunge Pop / Rock bands of the late 90s and early 00s like The Calling, Hinder and SR71, Bailey Zimmerman arrived onstage in Birmingham in grandiose, bombastic fashion. An all white stage, including the shiny floor, was matched by an all-clad-in-white showman for the opening part of the show. ‘Religiously' and ‘Never Comin' Home' were rolled out with some force, the video screens ably augmenting the songs but with just Zimmerman, a bassist, guitarist and drummer up on stage playing their hearts out and spinning around like whirling dervishes this wasn't one of those shows where you took a great deal of attention to the screens!
Bailey Zimmerman is a force of nature, to be sure. Leaping around, telling the stories of his songs to the crowd with his body language and belting out the melodies with a powerful, clear Southern tone to his voice. ‘Get to Gettin Gone' saw his first ‘costume' change with the showy white ensemble replaced by a simple jeans and hoodie look but as the intenisty of the show increased I'm not sure he didn't come to regret that choice! The double-whammy combo of ‘Fall in Love' and ‘Chase Her' left him drenched in sweat as the energy of the crowd and the veracity of their singing feed back to the band on stage and only served to increase the ferocity of their own performance. ‘Chase Her,' in particular, was a delight to watch, with its big rock finish which saw Zimmerman rocking out with a Flying V guitar and the steam cannons pumping akin to classic era Motley Crue!
Introducing ‘Fix'n to Break' as the ‘favourite song that he has had anything to do with,' kept the intensity high and the crowd there with him on every note, something that seemed to surprise Zimmerman when he introduced the next song, ‘Holy Smokes!' “I guess you do know this one then,” he exclaimed to the crowd as they took over his vocals on his most recent release as well.
Sitting on a stool for a mid-set acoustic breather of ‘Waiting' and ‘House on Fire', Zimmerman spoke to the crowd about how grateful and humble he felt to be in the position he is right now. He also told the Birmingham crowd that he'd played 107 shows last year but not one of them matched the energy and intensity that he was getting back from them during this show! And of course, the Birmingham crowd sang their hearts out on both songs!
The show climaxed with Zimmerman in a third outfit (again, much needed and functional rather than a Vegas-style affectation – this boy works and works and sweats and sweats!) and a three song run of ‘Never Leave,' ‘Where it Ends' and ‘Rock and a Hard Place,' which saw the band and it's leader rocking out with ultimate intensity: throwing shapes, jumping off the risers and prowling the stage from side to side. Lights, screens and steam cannons augmented the songs but the intensity and connection with the crowd was all down to Zimmerman himself as he held them in the palm of his hand with his energetic and effervescent performance. I've rarely seen such a strong and immediate connection between a performer and a live crowd but something upliftingly symbiotic happened in the room in Birmingham last night that was a pleasure to be a part of.
Bailey Zimmerman came to town with arena-sized ambitions and fire inside him to impress last night. Alongside the showmanship, though, is the talent to be able to write songs that connect with and entertain people: he has that too. His vocals were clean, strong and powerful and, despite never standing still for long enough to take a break, his delivery of them never faltered. This ‘new kid on the block' is here to kick the genre up the ass with his genre-blurring mix of Rock, Pop and Country and judging by the fervent and intense reaction of the Birmingham crowd last night, he's doing a damn fine job of that already. There's a new kid in town and if I were the booking agent for the C2C festival in London or any other festival in the world looking to add to my roster of artists I'd be kicking down Bailey Zimmerman's door to secure this force of nature for any amount of money that he demands – what a show and what a showman!
Setlist: 1. Religiously 2. Never Comin Home 3. Change 4. Warzone 5. Fall in Love 6. Get to Gettin Gone 7. Chase Her 8. Fix'n to Break 9. Holy Smokes 10. You Don't Want That Smoke 11. Waiting 12. House on Fire 13. Never Leave 14. Where it Ends 15. Rock and a Hard Place Venue: O2 Institute Birmingham UK Date: Saturday 11th May 2024
