On December 6, 2017, Shooter Jennings and Jason Boland rocked the Soundstage on the very first night of their joint tour. The opener was Sean K. Preston (not Britney Spears’ son as he mentioned) and he was equally as amazing. With a sound somewhere between Johnny Cash and Elvis, songs of divorce and snakeskin boots, and incredible vibrato, Preston set the stage perfectly for Shooter and Boland. Preston’s classic country sound complimented the mellowness of the genuinely heartfelt performance that ensued. Both Boland dressed in a customary cowboy hat and boots and Shooter dressed in his usual rocker style in a leather jacket and sunglasses came out onto stage together. Boland joked that he won the “pick flip,” and started the acoustic set off. Shooter lightly sang the lyrics to Boland’s song in the background and complimented Boland’s voice. The two country rocker’s styles blended really well together, so it made the act of trading off the spotlight so each performer played their own songs individually seem really natural. As one man’s song was trailing off, the other man’s song was phasing in.
The setting of the show was really intimate, so Shooter and Boland constantly called out to the crowd, dedicating songs to people in the front rows. The crowd continuously shouted out songs that they wanted to hear and Shooter and Boland complied, rearranging their setlists accordingly. Picking on his guitar, Boland sang “When I’m Stoned” and “Tennessee Whiskey” and the crowd roared for these two tracks. Shooter sang his classic “4th of July,” and two songs that symbolize Shooter’s background of having and Outlaw country musician as his father, “Gunslinger” and “Outlaw You.” Both performers paid tribute to Hank and the crowd absolutely loved it!
The voices of Shooter and Boland were incredible and each seemed like they were in their natural environment. They were both so comfortable on stage, which is what helped to make the aura of the room so calm. When it was time for Shooter and Boland to leave, they thank the crowd as the crowd was yelling “one more song!” Jason Boland and Shooter Jennings left Baltimore to continue their tour, but their sound is forever in the minds of their crowd.
