Kelsey Waldon @ Songbyrd Music House [DC] - 10/8/19
The fact that Kelsey Waldon was the first new artist in a decade signed to John Prine's record label tells you a lot about her, but most importantly, it says that when she sings, you ought to pay attention. And when the native Kentuckian sings, she tells stories of resilience through hard times in hard places delivered over a classic country sound that has all but vanished from Nashville.
Kelsey Waldon and her killer band performing at Songbyrd Music House in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Joel Richard / @joelscottrichard)
Recently, Waldon stopped by Songbyrd at the front end of a tour supporting her sixth album, White Noise/White Lines. Kelsey acknowledged several familiar faces in the crowd—some who had seen her in more than four visits to the DMV in the last year, including an opening set for fellow Kentuckian Tyler Childers last year. Dedicated fans and interested newcomers alike were treated to a set heavily drawing from the new record like "Kentucky, 1988" and "Sunday's Children" a song about false prophets and lazy stereotypes.
"We all want the same things
We all dream the same dreams
Don't have to be just like you
To understand universal truth"
— Sunday's Children
After some choice covers (Neil Young's "Are You Ready For The Country?" and Bill Withers' "Heartbreak Road," which she wove into her song "The Heartbreak" from her 2016 album I've Got a Way.), Waldon closed the night with one of her most popular songs from her last album "All By Myself." A mantra of fierce independence and oath of allegiance to her values and her craft, it served as an inspiring farewell.
Local folk outfit Conor and the Wild Hunt opened the evening with songs born from busking and hitching rides on freight trains across the country.
