We first saw Stephen Wilson Jr supporting Brothers Osborne on their UK tour in 2022. (Read our review of that show right here) The thought, power and intelligence behind his music made a big impression. We described his music as sitting at the intersection where Nirvana meets Johnny Cash meets The Cadillac 3. Our first interview with him (here) saw us go deep into his history as a child boxing champion and guitarist for Indie rockers AutoVaughn. We also talked about his marriage to Leigh Nash, lead singer for Sixpence None the Richer.
Our second interview last year focused on his ‘bon aqua' EP and his return to the UK to play The Highways festival (here) but even since then, his star rose in a seriously steep ascendency with the release of his debut album, ‘søn of dad,' an album that ended up on virtually every platform's ‘Best of 2023′ lists. It was a big thrill to see him on his first headline tour rolling into the heart of England in Birmingham with his unique brand of grungey mountain music.
Taking the stage in Birmingham at a sold out show on your first headline tour must have given Stephen Wilson JR a huge thrill and it was clear, from the off, that he intended to transport this ‘heart of England' crowd to the mountains and hollers of the rural mid-west. ‘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, from left to right and back again, whooping it up as the song demands. Similarly, ‘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. ‘I've eaten a lot of squirrels in my life,' he told the crowd before the start of ‘Billy,' explaining to them that his intention was to de-construct the term ‘hillbilly' in order to reclaim it from its current usage as a kind of slur.
The rural mountain music continued with ‘Cuckoo' and it became clear at this point that Stephen Wilson JR had the crowd in the palm of his hand. A thunderous delivery of this grungy rural anthem was met with delight from them as they clapped and sang along in all the right places. Indeed, throughout the show, the Birmingham crowd did a fine job of showing their support and admiration for this talented and unique artist which makes it odd that the town is sometimes left off the roster of touring Country music artists.
One of Stephen Wilson JR's USPs is how he interacts with the crowd. Sometimes you can see the intensity and awkwardness of the former scientist that he was, sometimes you get the Pentecostal showman and sometimes the stand up comedian. It's an intriguing and beguiling mix of personas. In the intro to ‘Twisted' he told the crowd that he had survived two tornados, the last one being close to Christmas, which he felt didn't seem fair. ‘Life is twisted, man' he declared before launching into the song. Here was the crowd's first chance to breathe after a tumultuous and intense opening although this song still hit home with its anthemic chorus built around the ‘God is good, life is twisted' mantra.
Elsewhere, Birmingham was treated to the echoing, plaintive sounds of ‘Kid' and the vulnerable and raw ‘Patches' before a double whammy acoustic segment featuring ‘The Devil' and ‘Father's Søn.' This was the emotional, beating heart of the show, perhaps Wilson's two most meaningful and personal songs. The former was preceded with the story of Wilson's Pentecostal upbringings and how he used to see exorcisms in his local church every Sunday morning and then bump into the same people ‘at the store' in the afternoon. A pause for comedic effect and then a simple, ‘so that was awkward' had the crowd in bits. ‘Father's Søn,' meanwhile switched the mood and by the end of Wilson's explanation about saying goodbye to his dying father on an iPhone 8 as he raced to be at his bedside you could have heard a pin drop. This is the genius of the man, switching moods, tugging at emotions and telling the kind of stories that Country music was invented for.
An anthemic ‘Year to be Young 1994,' with the other two members of the band now back on stage, heralded the arrival of the final third of the show in fine style and was followed by a cover version of ‘Something in the Way' by Wilson's favourite other three piece which was as powerful and as intense as any of his own songs. You can see the spirit of Kurt Cobain resides within Wilson: that drive to entertain, that intensity – thankfully without any of Cobain's demons.
An set-ending run of ‘American Gothic,' ‘Hometown' and ‘Holler from the Holler' was a perfect ‘all the hits' three song run that was equal parts uplifting and yet tinged with bittersweet vulnerability. Before ‘Holler from the Holler' Wilson told the crowd that he'd ‘crossed an ocean' the night before and had only had three hours sleep. ‘I'd do it again a thousand times to play this music for you,' he declared, eliciting a huge cheer from this noisy and supportive crowd.
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. If ‘Gary' is anything to go by, the next album from Wilson will be an evolution from ‘Søn of Dad' that feels appropriate and deserved. Wilson talked about the ‘lack of Garys' in the modern world, but what he was really talking about was change, using the name as an analogy for the passing of time and the decline of a particular way of life. The first two thirds of the song was delivered solo, with just Wilson on a guitar and then the band joined him for the frenetic final third which almost blew the roof of the venue with its arena-sized pretensions. Ambition and daring: those were the words running through my head listening to this new song. The next album is going to be something special, this is my receipt, right here.
Stephen Wilson JR is a fascinating character and Country music needs more of them. An oddball, a storyteller, a comedian and a damn fine musician. He's just about everything that the labels on Music Row would be largely confused about and yet he makes connections, strong, binding connections, with every crowd I've ever seen him play in front of. Last night was no exception. He's noisier live, louder, channeling the spirit of Cobain, Grohl and Novoselic within his rural, Pentecostal persona but that ability to reach people's deepest emotions in a careful and measured way one moment and then tear their faces off with some incendiary guitar the next is what makes this artist one of the most interesting and unique voices to emerge from the American south in this generation.
Setlist: 1. Calico Creek 2. Billy 3. Cuckoo 4. Twisted 5. Kid 6. Patches 7. The Devil 8. Father's Søn 9. Year to be Young 1994 10. Something in the Way 11. American Gothic 12. Hometwon 13. Holler from the Holler 14. Gary 15. In the Beginning Venue: O2 Institute 2 Birmingham Date: 24th October 2024
