Since the middle of 2016, the legendary Charlie Daniels was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and came out with a new album called “Nighthawk.” Later this year he will release his first autobiography “Never Look at the Empty Seats.” With all that’s been going on, Daniels and his band have remained a constant touring outfit. The Charlie Daniels Band made their first Hudson Valley area appearance in many years in front of a near capacity crowd.
Opening up with “Southern Boy” off of 2010’s “Redneck Fiddlin’ Man,” it was a perfect song to set the tone for the rest of the night. They added “Fire in the Mountain” back into their set as Daniels stated it’s been years since they played it.
Each member of the Charlie Daniels band took turns in taking the spotlight. With a few instrumentals thrown in, ”Black Ice” and ”William Tell Overture, ” guitarists Bruce Ray Brown and Chris Womer were both able to showcase their talents some. Drummer Ron Gannaway powered through a drum solo before Daniels came back out to dedicate ”Hallelujah” to the late Leonard Cohen.
Daniels praised the military and went into “Blue Star,” and an audience member brought up an America Flag that a touring member came out to grab and proudly displayed it on stage. Daniels switched back and forth between his Gibson electric guitar and his fiddle all night long.
When someone is nice to you they always should be remembered. Daniels continued to go on talking about how Johnny Cash was the only person who stood out in 1967 when Daniels first arrived in Nashville.
Of course, the song that Daniels is most associated with is “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” and the crowd went nuts as the opening strings were played. It must be said that The Charlie Daniels Band has not lost anything off of their fastball. They still deliver a high energy performance and the setlist was the most diverse of anytime I have ever seen the band. A great performance by one of the true legends in music.
Setlist:
Southern Boy
Drinkin’ My Baby Goodbye
Redneck Fiddlin’ Man
Fire in the Mountain
Trudy
CaBallo Diablo
Simple Man
Peac e in the Morning
In America
Wooly Swamp
Blue Star
Black Ice (instrumental)
Drum solo
Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen cover)
Folsom Prison Blues (Johnny Cash cover)
Long Haired Country Boy
A Few More Red Necks
How Great Thou Art (Carl Gustav Boberg cover)
William Tell Overture (Instrumental)
Encore:
Devil Wet Down to Georgia
We would like to thank Paula Szeigis from Charlie Daniels Mgmt. Team or the credentials to review the show.
