Within a sea of cowboy hats and cowboy boots, staunch country fans from across Queensland converged on Brisbane's The Fortitude Music Hall on Saturday night to delight in the unique vocal stylings of rising country music prodigy Wyatt Flores.
Country fans flocked to the sold-out venue (21 February), spending several hours devouring every country twang and guitar strum the Mexican-American troubadour drawled, and we loved every minute of it.
The venue was packed to the rafters, with one attendee remarking "country fans are built different" when he was trying to find the best place to watch the show in the standing-room-only venue – and they definitely are.
This writer had the distinct enjoyment of making a few casual friends during thew show, all of us sharing an admiration for the genre, a love for the singers, and a general kindness and respect for each other that allows for that kind of open, easy connection that Australians are so well known for.
It was an evening of grassroots, drawling country songs that have defined both Flores and support act Kashus Culpepper's blossoming careers, which make for easy listening about relatable topics.
You could feel it in the air as the crowd crooned along with the performers, all of us bridging the gap of anonymity in our shared enjoyment for and understanding of such relatable songs.
Opening the evening was Culpepper, an Alabama-born country star with the most appropriate and well-suited name for the genre who is known for his deep southern drawl and sandpaper growls.
He delivered delicious Southern music – country, soul, blues, folk and rock all rolled into one fabulous package. Kashus warmed up the crowd with crooned renditions of tracks off his recently released debut album, 'Act I', including fan favourites like 'After Me?' and 'Alabama Beauty Queen' that had everyone singing along in accompaniment to his mesmerising vocals.
Named an artist to watch by 14 different industry moguls including Apple Music, you can only assume Culpepper's performance will be just one of many in a career as promising as his music is enchanting, and I'm very much looking forward to watching him launch into the stratosphere of country music fame.
Upon completion of Culpepper's set, the country fans in the room proved again they really are built different, and it tickled this writer to see how fans belonging to other genres of music might've flocked to the bar, the loos, or nipped out for a quick vape.
However, country fans know the value of finding a good spot with a great view in a standing-room-only crowd and packed-out venue. Nary a soul moved for the length of the intermission, but for the occasional group member nominated to buy the next round.
The main event of the evening, the talented and moving man of the hour himself took to the stage a little after nine o'clock, kicking off his set with his 2024 hit single 'Don't Want To Say Goodnight' that immediately had the fans chanting the lyrics with him.
Seamlessly flowing through 'Break My Bones' and the heart-wrenchingly poignant lyrics of '3/13', as he crooned the agonising apology "I'm sorry you're my last call," amid a song that speaks to a horrific car crash that had fans sombre and teary, even as they poured their hearts into bellowing every lyric along with Flores.
Australian fans of Flores have been treated to a region-specific set list throughout the shows he's played on Aussies shores, and the Brisbane crowd was treated to the live version of 'Hate Myself' much to our delight.
In classic Australian fashion, cries of "Aussie! Aussie! Aussie! Oi! Oi! Oi!" rang through the down moments that had the band laughing, the musicians proving their mettle with moving solos on the violin and harmonica throughout the night's set. I know I wasn't the only one awed by their talent.
A thrilling highlight of the show for many, this writer included, was the trust Flores placed in all of us when he chose to leave the stage and wander amongst the crowd.
Those of us on the upper level of the Music Hall were treated to Wyatt wandering amongst us, dancing with many, shaking hands, and slapping high fives, while laughingly telling us between lines of 'Oh Susannah' that staying in one spot onstage all the time got too boring.
This writer may not wash her hand for a little while after being one of the lucky ones who shook Flores' hand as he made his way in a full lap of the upper level before rejoining his band onstage.
The move was both an exciting and not-oft seen action in this day and age and displayed the level of trust Flores has in his fans, and the connection country fans share with their favourite artists.
Back onstage for 'When I Die', track two off his 2024 album 'Welcome To The Plains', Wyatt shared he'd so often told his extended family how honoured and excited he was for the chance to play on Australian soil that many members of his family, including his 80-year-old grandmother, had flown out from Oklahoma to be with us.
They had had an amazing time enjoying Australia's rich and unique wildlife, not the least of which included Flores being absolutely stoked about an encounter with a wombat.
The anecdote was the perfect segue as Wyatt invited his father Noe Flores (once a drummer in a local band back home) to join him onstage to perform a cover of the well-loved Shenandoah hit 'Two Dozen Roses' that had the crowd singing along.
As seems to have become tradition at many concerts in Australia in recent years, the crowd took the chance to shout and plead for Flores to "do a shoey" and heckled him with emphatic booing when he (rightly) refused to cave to the peer pressure.
Although he teased us all by having a beer brought out onstage to make us all think he'd do it. Thankfully, good sense and decent hygiene prevailed as he kicked us into 'Sleepless Lullaby'.
Amid the next several hit songs, including 'West Of Tulsa' and 'Welcome To The Plains', Flores dropped the positively poignant line: "This is live, this is raw, this is real," in celebration of the true gift of live music performed with raw vocals, and talented musicians in an unedited setting.
'Running Out Of Time' provided another moving segue into a speech from Flores centred around mental health and the struggles that he, and many of us, face in this fast-paced, high-performing rat race we're all running in.
Heavily focused on the reminder to us all that life is precious and we all matter, and the impact suicide has upon the lives of everyone left behind when someone makes that terrible choice, Flores had many in the crowd, this writer included, quietly sniffling and whisking tears from our cheeks before he struck a blow in everyone's soul with his emotional and raw cover of The Fray's 'How To Save A Life' that "hit you like a bullet through your heart".
He followed that with his most well-known hit single, 'Please Don't Go' the set list perfectly mastered so lyrics 'won't you stay with / I can't keep going if you leave,' shattered listeners despite the bouncy, upbeat melody.
Able to bring the crowd back up from such emotional upheaval is a talent, and Flores and his band unleashed a secret weapon before the encore when they hurled several inflated pool toys in the shape of Ibis birds into the pit.
He declared it to be "bin chicken time" before leading into encore song, 'Running On E' whilst accompanied onstage by someone in an inflated alligator suit that had us all laughing, cheering, and singing along to round out a glorious evening full of raw talent, live music, and gripping emotion.
- written by Ellie Duck
