Chris Stapleton Flexes his Country Soul at RodeoHouston

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Prior to releasing his solo debut entitled Traveller in 2015, Chris Stapleton had already spent nearly 15 years working as a songwriter in Nashville. Not all of his songs became hits, but he did land writing credits for major artists such as George Strait, Luke Bryan, Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw. It took a duet of the song “Tennessee Whiskey” with Justin Timberlake at the 2015 Country Music Awards to catapult Stapleton into super-stardom. Not only has that song achieved Platinum status, it has now been certified as Double Diamond, or the equivalent of 20 times Platinum. It is also now one the the top karaoke songs of the last decade, with fans worldwide inspired to sing the track as soulfully as Chris. It was a gorgeous Thursday evening at RodeoHouston, with a cool front rolling through the night before clearing the skies and setting the stage for an excellent show. After a wild rodeo of bull riding, steer wrestling, and mutton busting, the lights finally dimmed upon RodeoHouston’s star stage causing the audience to cheer in anticipation. Stapleton began his set with “Bad As I Used To Be,” a track that was featured on the soundtrack for the film F1: The Movie. It speaks about self-acceptance and struggle for personal change, enveloped in a soul-rock track that mixes well with Stapleton’s rugged yet unassuming persona. Wearing a simple black button-up shirt with his sleeves rolled up, Stapleton allows his voice and guitar do the talking, his eyes hidden under his distressed cowboy hat, long hair and full beard. He sits at the crossroads between outlaw country, classic rock and heartfelt soul music, creating jams that lean heavily on guitar riffs and storytelling lyrics. For most of the show his eyes were transfixed on his wife Morgane Stapleton, who as always was by his side singing harmony and playing the tambourine. His band also included a steel guitar and a harmonica player, with everyone on stage in time and in tune as the setlist rolled through his hits. Chris hit upon some crowd favorites early on, with “Millionare” and “Parachute” sounding through the booming sound system inside NRG Stadium. “Well hello Houston! Did you enjoy that mutton busting earlier as much as I did?” asked Stapleton to his fans who cheered in agreement. “Is everyone having a good time tonight?” The hits kept rolling with “Broken Halos,” “White Horse” and “Fire Away” setting the mood and maintaining the atmosphere of soulful rock and roll throughout his set. He checking in with the crowd several times, making sure everyone was having a good time. “Y’all still hanging in there?” he asked with a gentle smirk behind his mustache. “Let’s keep this party going!” Last night was Stapleton’s sixth time performing at RodeoHouston, and his night has always been fairly well attended. The official audience total for yesterday is 70,077, and it certainly felt that way when he closed the set with “Tennesse Whiskey” and most of the crowd joined in on the massive sing-a-long. Hearing a massive audience sing your song at the top of their lungs has to make the artist feel alive, and you could see the emotion building up in Stapleton’s eyes as he continued through that final track. He probably could have kept it going for hours and we would still be there rocking and rolling and feeling the love. Chris Stapleton is always a fan favorite at RodeoHouston, playing a mix of Outlaw Country, Classic Rock and heartfelt Soul music. Credit: Violeta Alvarez Chris Stapleton and his wife Morgane perform on the star stage at RodeoHouston in front of an audience of 70,077. Credit: Violeta Alvarez The post Chris Stapleton Flexes his Country Soul at RodeoHouston appeared first on Houston Press.

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