Chris Stapleton

One Liner: Bad ass country star

Poster Position: 3
Slot: Sunday at 6

Thoughts: I love this guy.  I don't even need to go back and listen to the album again, because I already know the whole thing.  I reviewed it last year and pretty well named each individual song to explain how each one was great.
I first found out about Stapleton through a friend who played "Whiskey and You" for me on the back porch of a little cabin in the Hill Country while we watched a massive rainstorm pound a canyon wall in front of us.  Which was a cool time in itself, but that song just clicked and made me want more.

"One's the devil, one keeps driving me insane, sometimes I wonder, oh, if they ain't both the same." I want to sign that in full throat at any given time.  Its not just the boss lyrics, the sound is just soulful and strong and warm.  Hard to believe this guy had to make his money writing for other people for years, with a voice like this tucked away in his arsenal.  His most popular track by a bunch is his cover of "Tennessee Whiskey," which cranks up to 40.8 million streams.

Nice tune, although I prefer his original tunes quite a bit more than that one.  Stapleton came up in Nashville writing songs after moving there in 2001, and became part of a bluegrass band called the Steeldrivers.  According to Wikipedia, over 150 of his songs have appeared on albums by folks like Adele, Darius Rucker, Tim McGraw, Luke Bryan, and Brad Paisley.  This debut album, which was released in 2015, won a bunch of the CMT awards - Best Male Vocalist, New Artists of the Year, and Album of the Year.  He also won the Grammys for Best Country Album and Best Country Solo Performance.  Last year was a pretty good year for the guy.  I don't know if you recall his performance at the Grammys, with Gary Clark, Jr. and Bonnie Raitt.  Electric and good stuff.

Right behind "Whiskey and You," I think "Daddy Doesn't Pray Anymore" is a killer track.  So great.

Those lyrics just kill me, man.  Couldn't sound more like a country anthem, with prayer, and daddy, and a break between the two.  Oh, and then I also found a Tiny Desk for Stapleton, which is excellent.

Hell yes.  That L.A. Nights track ("When the Stars Come Out") is good stuff too.  Cool tidbit about that video, that is his wife, country singer Morgane Stapleton, doing some sweet harmonies with him in the Tiny Desk.  Love it.  A lot of these songs are soulful and intimate, so we'll see how that translates to the big stage and crowd of thousands, but I want to see it happen.  Can't wait to see this show.