Sturgill Simpson and Cris Jacob at the Horseshoe Tavern

Photographs by Dakota Arsenault.

Kentucky singer-songwriter Sturgill Simpson managed to make the Horseshoe Tavern feel like a southern swamp last night on his second of two sold-out Toronto shows and not only with his brand of country, bluegrass, blues, boogie and soul.

While on the opposite end of the country spectrum from the Lady Antebellum gig I attended last week, I am now fully convinced that country fans really bring the party to their gigs and Toronto is surprisingly fertile soil for this music.

I had only heard Sturgill’s latest album once, the critically acclaimed Metamodern Sounds In Country Music.  My massage therapist played it during a recent session and recommended going to the gig.  

The Horseshoe was packed even for opener Cris Jacob’s well-received set of him solo on acoustic guitar with a beautiful voice that begged to be hear in a hall that demanded attention.  This solo act is not an easy task given the Shoe’s setup.  The low ceilings make it easy for the back part of the room getting lost in its own chatter because sightlines are pretty limited.  And all the tall fellas came out last night.

The soul and R&B classics (James Brown, Stevie Wonder, and Michael Jackson) that preceded Simpson were surprising but fitting given the groove he and his band would lock into times over the course of the night.  Taking the stage promptly at 10, the crowd erupted with roars and sweat.  The room got so hot I’m pretty sure I lost weight, but found it hard to peel myself from the packed-in-like sardines feeling for a breather in the back because of Sturgill Simpson’s voice.

Looking like a younger Nick Offerman, Simpson was pretty unassuming when he took the stage but his commanding voice, whether it was the low traditional drawl to the room-hushing soars when he really got to belting it out.  Hushing the room was hard because everyone came to party singing all his songs back to him, including an unrecognizable to me version of When In Rome’s 80s classic “The Promise”.  But there was little hushing this crowd as this was a party with a few hundred good friends. 

His band were tight jumping from style to style, for me the rhythm section really making the distinction that’s making Simpson stand out and get noticed on the indie scene as well.  Or it could have been the almost-psychedelic jams the band would occasionally break into at the end of a song.  Whatever it was, there was an almost magical vibe going on between band and audience that no amount of sweat could dampen.  

Playing for almost an hour and a half, Simpson delivered a night of swampy country that this crowd needed.  While one punter offered to his friend that the room smelled like an armpit, no-one could be bothered other than offering their all for their evening and Simpson delivered that passion right back and then some.  

Thanks to Embrace Presents for media access.