Canada-based country songwriter Colter Wall’s momentum and growth have been quite linear since his debut EP Imaginary Appalachia in 2015 and his self-titled album from 2017. Wall had played Lubbock in the past with a performance at The Blue Light Live back in 2019. Originally, Colter Wall had his Lubbock return for two nights in the backend of March 2020. However, due to factors outside of his control like a global pandemic, Colter Wall ultimately had to cancel his show. His makeup show in 2021 was also canceled due to visa issues from Canada’s border rules following the COVID-19 pandemic. The city was extremely desperate for a makeup date, and in late 2023, Colter Wall announced he would be making a stop at Buddy Holly Hall during his Little Songs Tour. Andrew and I knew that we had to be there from the day it was announced, and it lived up to the hype.
Since its completion in 2021, Buddy Holly Hall has brought in numerous big-name acts, but Colter Wall’s show was the most packed we had ever seen at the venue. Colter Wall was seemingly booked on a perfect night with Lubbock being below freezing with fans eager to hear his songs warm them up. The line for merchandise wrapped around the concourse where fans were eager for shirts, vinyl, and the limited edition tour poster.
Zack McGinn of Dolly Shine set the stage playing laidback country tracks and previewing some of his new solo work. His sound seemed to fit perfectly with Colter’s, and the crowd seemed to enjoy Zack’s set quite a bit.
After a quick set change on stage, Colter Wall and his band came on stage to a massive uproar of excitement. From the pit to the mezzanine and balcony, the audience stood with excitement to see one of the best country artists in modern music play. As Colter Wall introduced himself, he jumped straight into the title track of his new album “Little Songs” followed by “Evangelina”
Colter Wall mentioned his three shows in Denver at the Mission Ballroom and how glad he was to have a quieter and tamer crowd in Lubbock, however, the concertgoers took that as a challenge and began to cheer like it was a Texas Tech Football game. Colter Wall went on to play “Let’s All Help the Cowboys (Sing the Blues)” and “Rocky Mountain Rangers” before diving into “Plainsman” and “Henry and Sam” and a cover of “Good Time Charlie’s Got the Blues”.
One of my favorite tracks off of Little Songs is the cover of Ian Tyson’s “The Coyote & The Cowboy”, so to see Colter Wall perform it live was a dream come true. The audience all sang along song after song and were fully immersed in the concert. Colter Wall’s live performance of his songs translated so well to a stage experience at a venue like Buddy Holly Hall where the crowd could sit and be entertained. Pulling from his 2019 double A-side single, Colter would go on to perform a cover of Mike Beck’s “Happy Reunion” before covering the classic folk song “Wildwood Flower”.
Colter Wall would give his band a quick break and perform a few solo songs before bringing his band back out. Colter and company would perform songs like “Motorcycle”, Andrew’s favorite “Western Swing & Waltzes”, and “Cowpoke”. Colter would close out his main set with his breakout hit “Sleeping on the Blacktop” which had me worried he would burn the building down.
After a brief moment off-stage, Colter came back with a fantastic cover of Billy Joe Shaver’s “Georgia On A Fast Train” and closed out with “Cow/Calf Blue Yodel” which I thought was a great way to end his show with his yodeling.
I have seen quite a few shows at Buddy Holly Hall now, and I am excited to see the venue become a place for high-caliber artists to perform and rock out. Colter’s show, after all the hype of his return for four years, lived up to the expectations and gave Buddy Holly Hall one of its biggest shows since it opened that we had ever seen. Colter Wall’s western cowboy sound translated into an amazing experience for the 806.
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