One Liner: One of the great modern soul singers
Poster Position: HEADLINER!
Both Weekends.
Friday at 6:30.
AmEx Stage.
Thoughts: I think Leon Bridges is phenomenal - great voice, cool vibe, impeccable sound. But a headliner is whack. In my own personal opinion, a headliner ought to be either someone that everyone everywhere knows or an EDM thing that no one knows. It should not be this kind of generally good artist who couldn't sell out a stadium. He is not currently on tour, so I can't see what kind of venues he is playing and whether they are sold out - and maybe I'm full of shit and he could easily sell out Madison Square Garden for 5 straight shows - but my feel is just that this is a stretch to have him in the big print.
Now, having gotten that off of my chest, let's talk about how great the guy is instead. He was here in 2015 for ACL, and here is what I said at that time after seeing the show: "This guy is the freaking truth. I normally would never aim for soul music, but this stuff is beautiful and soulful and so spot on well done. My friend leaned over to me and asked if we had gone back to the future to hear the band from Back to the Future. The whole band was great, from the backup singer (spot on harmonies) to the drummer in the huge cowboy hat. And Leon likes to dance - you could tell he just wanted to groove up there with us. Silky smooth voice - so damn pretty. Hard to believe he was just recently gigging for change, with that voice. Would have been a cool find for people in Fort Worth. My one beef with the show was that the microphone was having some troubles - it would glitch out every once in a while and no one did a thing about it. When he ended with "River," I thought people were going to cry. So beautiful."
Todd Michael Bridges is his name. Back in 2015, he only had a four song EP to listen to, although it was fantastic. At the time, just 25 years-old, from Fort Worth, and with one of those backstories you just want to love. Those four songs all ended up on his debut album, 2015's Coming Home. The album went platinum and was nominated for best R&B album that year at the Grammys. I won't hit them all, but you need to hear these two. "River" is just the slightest guitar strum, a heavy tambourine, and his wonderful voice filling the song up. Such a pretty, soulful thing. 399.4 million streams.
That article above has a great quote from the guy who helped Leon make his first music, saying how while he knows every Sam Cooke song, he didn't recognize this one or how this random cat was sounding so amazing in the Magnolia Motor Lounge on a Tuesday night in Fort Worth. "Better Man" is more retro soul badassery. Those horns and the organ! I mean, total old school action that is just spot right on with every little detail. And then the burner "Lisa Sawyer." The background singers, with that "bop bop!" refrain down behind his soulful singing. And then the sax flits through the room. So cool! Great sax on a lot of these, he just takes the finer points of a classic sound and smacks a home run with it. So good.
After that debut, he has released two more albums, and both are excellent. 2018's Good Thing has the stone cold smoove groove of "Bad Bad News" for the soundtrack of the chillest me I can be. Just try this on for size. 98.5 million streams.
That snaking little bass line, those whispered hi hats, that sly little guitar lick: the intro to this song is super dope. His vocals are silky, and then that guitar solo about a minute or so in - I know this is well trod stuff, a classic throwback to an old style of soul and R&B, but damn it sounds good. Although that video was stressing me out... This album was also nominated for Best R&B Album of the Year.
His fly-ass grooves like this one are what I want more of. "If It Feels Good," the Anderson Paak-esque "You Don't Know," or even the slower groove of "Beyond" are where I want to be. And it looks like most people agree with me, as "Beyond" crushes it with 352.4 million streams.
Then you get 2021's Gold-Diggers Sound. Texas Monthly had an excellent article about Bridges in 2021 that really dove into him and now I like him even more than I already did. It was just very humanizing to read about his history - a nervousness about performing, but a steely need to get himself out there. There was an awesome anecdote in there about how some of his friends chastised him about acting shy, saying "that shy shit is disrespectful of your gift." I love that. His voice is so damn pretty, and some of these arrangements just match it perfectly. "Steam" is the jam, and "Motorbike" is damn good too. But I'm going to give you "Sweeter," with features someone named Terrace Martin. 22.5 million streams. I suspect it is on a few playlists.
A beautiful song, a powerful song. "somebody should hand you a felony, 'cause you stole from me, my chance to be. Hopin' for a life more sweeter, instead I'm just a story repeated." Ah, Martin is the sax player who worked with Kendrick Lamar and then helped out on this album. I read about him. Great song. This album was also nominated for Best R&B Album of the Year (in a recurring bit here).
He has also released some top tier singles, like the cover of "Ohio" with Jon Batiste and Gary Clark Jr., or Bob Marley's "Redemption Song." And a lot of the tunes on his Spotify now are him being featured on other people's tracks - like fellow 2024 ACL'er Carin Leon, who has the most recent single on Leon's Spotify right now. or others like DeJ Loaf, Luke Combs, Noah Cyrus (her track July is so good, and his contribution is lovely), John Mayer, Diplo, Miranda Lambert, or Mez. Feels like he has become the go to guy for a soulful bridge. But the combo that has made the most waves over the past few years, at least on the radio stations I listen to, is his work with fellow ACL headliners Khruangbin.
They released a 2020 EP - Texas Sun - that is super yummy. Texas Sun came out just right before the pandemic, and something about it just nailed a vibe that we needed in my household at the time. The kids would roll their eyes at this tune by now, but it is freaking beautiful. "Texas Sun," with 246.7 million streams.
Phenomenal performer and artist. I'm sorry to be a crybaby about his position on the poster. If he had been on the third line, then I'd be calling this a huge victory for us all, but when he's taking a spot that should have a much bigger draw in its place, that bums me out.
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