There may
have been no clinking glasses, incessant chat and blending machines mixing
margaritas, but Cheley Tackett accepted the challenge of the less than daunting
and placid St. George’s Hall Bewdley instead of the more raucous venues
frequented back home. Some American performers acknowledge a minor unease at
the extreme politeness of many joints in the UK hosting touring artists, yet
this was one Nashville guest delighted to grab the chance of spreading her
music. Granted the opportunity to play shows over here with a helping hand on
this occasion from compatriot musician Hannah Aldridge was an opportunity not
to waste, and across a seventy-minute playing time those attending this latest
Music in the Hall presentation learnt a lot more about Cheley Tackett: the
songwriter, the performing artist and the person.
Any critique
of her stage performance has to begin with one undeniable and underlying fact:
Cheley Tackett is country music to the core. Not folk, nor Americana or
non-descript singer-songwriter, but the epitome of somebody born to strap on a
guitar and pour her guts into simple songs, taking the literal rather than
metaphorical route. No more than twenty years ago or even less this artist
would have a mainstream tag, but in these glistening excessive corporate times
of molding female country artists into a model of Carrie Underwood, Kelsea
Ballerini and Maren Morris, the ilk of Cheley Tackett are marginalised – give or take the odd Ashley McBryde breaking through.
The irony
of the last name is that Cheley has worked with her in the recent past and she
was namechecked during this show alongside others worked with, most notably
Randall Clay. He and Cheley worked together on the unifying song ‘The Healer’, one of a select bunch of
numbers shared with this Bewdley crowd, no doubt many listening to her for the
first time.
Looking back
at Cheley’s recording catalogue, releases span almost twenty years with a
handful of songs heard this evening including ‘Sky is Falling’, ‘Jerusalem
Ridge’ and ‘Fried Chicken’ dating
back to a 2005 album. Bringing things up to date, songs from 2017’s BUCKEYE
album (a suitable title for an Ohio native) proved popular choices with the
aforementioned Clay co-write joined by tracks like ‘$2 Bill’, and two of the three standout moments from the set in
the murder ballad ‘My Best Dress’ and
the feel good pre-encore number ‘Magic
Still Happens’.
The other
highlight is a song that means a lot to LGBT activist Cheley Tackett with the ‘Right Side of History’, apart from being
a proudly commissioned piece, still raising money for those young people from
her community facing serious issues such as homelessness and discrimination.
You get the impression that Cheley has had to fight hard to survive in the cutthroat
world of Nashville, with the odds on many fronts stacked against her. However,
you sense she is no shirker and a brazen confidence and steely persona give her
songs a tough coating to transmit profoundly from feisty performer to receptive
listener.
Opening the
show this evening was the Ryan Sparrow Band, a local Midlands-based four-piece
outfit erring on the side of experimental indie rock flushed with a dark moody
persona. Ryan Sparrow was seen live playing solo a couple of years ago, but the
addition of bass, drums and a rather impressive innovative lead guitarist took
his act up several notches. The sound filling the hall from their set was maybe
a little different to what regulars are used to on these evenings, and the
polar opposite to the single acoustic guitar of the main act. Yet it went down
well and spiced up a rounded evening of fine entertainment.
Finesse was
probably one word not associated with Cheley Tackett, but we witnessed a
thoroughly passionate heart-on-sleeve artist channeling every sinew of her
talent into songs that tell the simple story of real life. This is how country
music is best represented and artists like Cheley Tackett are worth more than
any array of pseudo acts masquerading under a pretense of ‘three chords and the
truth’. Music in the Hall took a chance in this booking; Cheley Tackett took a
chance in venturing overseas and many audience members took a chance in
offering up their Friday evening. All parties were handsomely rewarded.
www.cheleytackett.com
"Right Side Of History" By Cheley Tackett
