I was driving ten miles an hour below the speed limit on the way to New Braunfels to see Chris Stapleton as the rain pounded the car windshield. Halfway there, I got an email saying the concert was still on but if you couldn’t make it, you would be reimbursed. The event was going to be outside at the River Road Ice House but instead the sound crew had to work mercilessly to move everything inside to give Stapleton and his fans the show they deserved.
Still a naive honky-tonk-goer, I rounded up my buddies to get to the Ice House at 6:00 immediately when the doors opened because why not show up early to get good spots to see Chris Stapleton?
I’ll tell you why.
When you buy a ticket, make sure you look at the number of opening bands. There were four. That’s four separate hour-long sets that you have to sit through before the main act goes on. For a brief moment, we questioned our commitment to guarding our spot with a perfect view; however, once the first band started playing, we knew the five hours of waiting for Chris Stapleton wouldn’t be too bad. The highlight of the openers was when Jason Eady and Adam Hood joined to form the Southern Brothers band. By the end of their set, the house was packed. People were shoulder to shoulder and the crowd was so massive that up people were watching from the outdoor patio in the rain.
Okay… Finally it was 10:00 and they began readying the stage for Chris Stapleton. We stood in the same spot for 4 hours. We were hot. Our legs were tired. And our heels ached from standing in our uncomfortable boots. It took another hour of setup and although our patience wavered, our excitement for Chris Stapleton didn’t. Did I mention that I was standing next to Jordan Shipley who also waited like us?
Almost exactly when the clock on my iPhone hit 11:00, a burly figure with a majestic beard and a perfectly weathered cowboy hat appeared to the side of the stage. You could tell he was an introvert as he kept his eyes steady on his feet as he walked onto the stage. His wife and background singer, Morgan Stapleton, strutted onto the stage after him, carrying a glass of red wine. The drummer and bass player followed. It was clear that Stapleton wasn’t much of an entertainer. He was going to let his music do the talking.
Stapleton kicked off the show with his attitude-filled “Nobody to Blame.” Immediately you could feel the chemistry between Chris and his wife as they held eye contact for half of the song. Next, he played his title track, “Traveller.” At this point in the show, you could tell that Chris and Morgan were shocked at the crowd response. They were wide-eyed a giggly. It was like it was the first time every single person in the audience knew every word to each song. Then came the song I was waiting for, “Fire Away.” The world stood still as Mr. and Mrs. Stapleton had me in the palms of their hands. I could’ve left after those three songs and the five-hour wait would have still been worth it.
By the end of the night, it was clear that all the critical acclaim Chris Stapleton has received this past year was truly deserved. I feel incredibly sorry for the people who decided not to fight the rain and come to the concert because they missed out on one of the most intimate concerts they’d ever see.
This was a great post! You really brought me in and made me feel like I was standing next to you at the concert. I totally know the feeling of having to stand through many opening acts at a concert, but the good thing about that is that usually the night gets progressively better as you get closer to the main act. I don’t think I have every heard any Christ Stapleton songs, but this post certainly makes me want to go listen to some! I always appreciate when an artist can take a large crowd and make each and every person feel connected to them. I’m glad you made the trek through the rain because it led to me getting introduced to a new artist through this post! Great job.
Sounds like a fun night! I completely related to your experience of waiting, standing through opening acts, sort of wondering if it’s going to be worth it, and then being a 1000% sure that it was! This weekend in Dallas I had that sort of experience at a Luke Bryan concert. I haven’t heard a lot of Chris Stapleton’s songs, but after reading this post I’ll definitely be taking some time to listen to more of them. I think it’s really cool that you noticed how genuinely surprised/excited he and his wife were at the response they got from the crowd. That is always so cool to see in person, because it’s not scripted and makes the performers seem more relatable. Sounds like a great concert and experience!
Nice post! I have totally made the mistake of arriving at a concert wayyyy too early and having to stand there for hours. It usually is worth it though! Pretty cool that you were standing next to Jordan Shipley too. I like how you talked about him and his wife together–I can definitely tell that this was an intimate and special show. It’s so awesome being surrounded by a group of people who love the music as much as you do. I haven’t listened to a lot of Chris Stapleton before but now I’m definitely going to have to check him out. Thanks for sharing!