Every lover of live music should have a concert buddy, especially one who has great taste, travels to other places, and keeps a keen eye on who is coming to town. One group text later, four of us are set to catch southern California’s masters of southern rock, Robert Jon & The Wreck.
The five piece band tours extensively in the US and Europe, and, aside from the industry issues of earning a keep through recorded songs, a band that plants their flag solidly in mid-70s rock ought to be able blow people away from the stage. RJ&TW does just that. On a more modern note, think Chris Stapleton, Marcus King or Blackberry Smoke.
The band played three songs off their 2024 release, Red Moon Rising, all winners, but “Ballad of a Broken Hearted Man” sounds like not only a song that they’ll someday get tired of having playing it for years – but one that other bands should surely start covering. The same could be said of “Oh Miss Carolina,” a 2020 release, that, title aside, showcases the kind of songcraft that should make it a Southern rock standard.
Live, Robert Jon delivers the vocals, perfectly suited to the genre and the material. Appreciated, too, is a setlist that satisfies for being tight and polished for the lyrical portions and raw and powerful when the band cuts loose.
A more than credible rhythm section powers the band, and Jake Abernathie’s keys fill in spots and are periodically featured. And then there’s Henry James, the band’s lead guitarist. Kudos to Robert Jon for ceding the spotlight and letting James do his thing. My concert buddy helpfully pointed out “you want to stand right here,” between Jon and James, having been there and seen that.
Tuneful, intricate, melodic, fluid, warm, tasteful, emotive, masterful, soulful… adjectives abound. But most importantly, he knows how to serve the needs of the song, whether within a short passage or an extended jam. I’d say he’s worth the price of admission, but like so many bands, they deserve a larger stage and a bigger paycheck. So catch the band wherever you can (one fan said it’s their tenth time).
And you can hope and pray that they’ll continue to play the Allmans-infused “Cold Night” as their closer. Jaw dropping.
Setlist:
Encore:
Opening for a powerhouse like Robert Jon & The Wreck is no small task, but Parker Barrow didn’t just warm up the stage—they set it ablaze. This band brings a raw, high-energy blend of Southern rock, blues, and soulful grit, led by Megan Kane’s powerhouse vocals and Dylan Turner’s fiery guitar work. Both bands mine the same genres and sound similar, but Parker Barrow is heavier on riffs, more aggressive and feature a grittier and higher-energy vocal swagger compared with Jon’s gritty and full-throated delivery. This was a fantastic one-two punch.
Setlist:
