Doors: 8 p.m. || Show: 9 p.m.
$15: Advance || $20: Day of Show
The Bourbon Theatre presents…
::: Craig Campbell :::
Growing up in rural Lyons, Georgia, singer/songwriter Craig Campbell learned one important lesson from the ZZ Top records his mother favored: “Every girl’s crazy ’bout a sharp-dressed man.”
That’s one reason Campbell is always impeccably well tailored on stage, and at industry awards shows and events. But he says there’s an even more important reason: respect. For Campbell, caring enough to wear a pressed, button-down shirt and black cowboy hat when he performs is a show of respect for his fans, for the successful career he considers himself blessed to have, and most of all for the country music genre itself. It’s also a credit to his no nonsense, “yes, ma’am/no, sir” upbringing, which made Campbell into the Southern gentleman he is today.
That respect is amply evident on Campbell’s album, Never Regret, a twelve song set that solidifies Campbell’s standing as country music’s hippest neo-traditionalist, a niche he’d already begun to carve out with his critically-acclaimed, self-titled 2011 debut album. His sophomore project, which he worked on with producers Keith Stegall (Alan Jackson, Zac Brown Band) and Matt Rovey (CCMA Album Of The Year Producer), includes tracks penned by Campbell as well as some of Nashville’s other elite songwriters.
Among the albums Campbell says he’d most like his to be compared to are Clint Black’s “Killin’ Time,” and Tracy Lawrence’s “Sticks And Stones,” plus “Here In The Real World,” the debut album by another singer/songwriter Campbell is frequently compared to: Alan Jackson. Says Campbell of that style of music, “That’s what I absolutely love. But I need to put my own unique stamp on it. So the challenge for me back when I first signed my deal with Bigger Picture Group was how do I do that? How do I show my love for that style of music, but make it my own? I believe that’s exactly what we’ve done here.”
Never Regret, which includes six songs co-written by Campbell, offers something for everyone along those lines. The mesmerizing and catchy title song and first single, “Outta My Head,” which has been praised by peers Luke Bryan and Chris Young, tells the tale of a man trying to shake off the memory of a lost love. Just as the singer attempts to forget a woman from his recent past, the up-tempo song similarly defies any attempt by listeners to get it out of their heads after hearing it. It’s no surprise the song rose to the Top 15 on the country music charts.
