Review and photos by Kyle Brown
Reviewed by Erica McNatt
Cowboy hats, flannel shirts, and beer filled St. Andrews Hall in Detroit, Michigan, Friday night as two country artists came to town playing for a sold-out venue for the Till I Return Tour.
First up was Nolan Taylor. As a Cincinnati, Ohio native, Taylor was no stranger to the area. The singer-songwriter was unsure about the reception he’d get early on in his set, as he kept saying his set is 45 minutes and then he’d get out of the crowd’s hair. It only took two songs before Taylor and the band realized that the crowd enjoyed him and wanted him on stage. The loud applauses seemed to take the band aback, and Taylor responded, “It’s not every show we get that respect. We walk onto the stage not knowing what to expect. This is awesome, so thank you.”
Taylor led into his song “500” by telling a story about his audition for the TV show The Voice, weed, and quitting his job. The song began with Taylor showcasing his vocal talents and led into a fun keyboard solo that the crowd seemed to really enjoy.
No stranger to trauma, Taylor writes songs based on his personal experiences. Things most people don’t like talking about, Taylor writes about. He creates dramatic song lyrics and tears, not only from himself but the crowd as well. It is that type of magic that made Taylor’s performance so special. He is able to translate his own troubles and hardships into music and craft it in such a way that the public can relate and connect to it—that is what separates a good songwriter from a great songwriter.
As a five piece band, it was really easy to hear all the musical elements. From the guitars to the keyboard, drums, and singing, every aspect was heard clearly and loudly, though not overbearing.
As Detroit was the band’s last night performing for a few months, Taylor made sure to thank his band, the sound board, the lighting director, and the crowd for all their support. The crowd was electric and very responsive throughout the set, which is what any artist or band wants when they come on stage. You could tell it fed the energy to Taylor and his band.
After his set, I noticed his band helping put everything away. I personally liked that, as I’ve seen many bands just walk off and not help out. Whether that’s a personal choice of the band or simply because they didn’t want to hire anyone to do that, I respect the band for helping clean up their set.





Sam Barber came out onto the stage alone and immediately made sure the crowd knew this was the biggest crowd he has played for while on tour. Barber played acoustically for the first song, “Million Eyes.”
Barber’s band came on the stage after, and he explained to the crowd that this is actually pretty new to him. Barber usually played shows acoustically. He brought a band for this tour and mentioned how he was still getting used to it. Barber then apologized in advance, saying, “If I mess up, it’s not them. They know everything better than I do.” Immediately after, he went into going through his band members and who they were. To me, that showed the respect he has for them, and the show would not be what it is without them.
Much like Taylor, it only took two songs for Barber to see how special this night was going to be. As Barber tuned his guitar for the next song, he went on to say, “I can already tell this is probably going to be my funnest show I’ve ever played, so thank you, seriously.” Taylor went on to say that he never really left his hometown before touring, so traveling around and touring has been the time of his life, and it wouldn’t be possible without the fans coming out to see and support him.
Much like many country singers and songwriters, Barber found inspiration in songs while on the road. Barber explained his next song “Streetlight,” came about while sitting at a “diner or restaurant of some sort” and seeing a streetlight in the parking lot. He went to where he was staying for the night and wrote a song about it.
The sound of the band is pure country. It reminded me of the late 90’s/early 00’s country music. It didn’t have any element of pop country or newer-styled country music on the radio today. I, for one, loved that. I grew up on that era of country music, and I feel like that was the genre’s best era. Hearing Barber bring back that era’s feeling was the change I was looking for.
Barber sang his newest song, “S.O.B.,” which was released in early February. It was easily viewed as one of the crowd favorites with a huge applause when Barber said it was next. The song got the crowd’s arms up in the air, fists clenched, reciting the lyrics as loudly as they could back to Barber. The only song that may have been sang louder was his most well-known song, “Straight and Narrow.”
When Barber’s band had a instrumental solo, thunderous cheering and applauses came with it. The biggest applauses came with the violinist. She then began to sing, and the reception she got blew the roof off the venue. As a newbie to having a band, Barber had it down pretty well on how to give spotlights to each member. Each one had their moment to shine.
“Dancing In The Sky” was one of the songs I hoped would be played. Barber initially sang it as a cover song and posted it on social media. The song immediately began to blow up his socials. It was not until he had a close friend pass away that the song had much more meaning to him. It personally means a lot to me, as I have recently had one of the most important people in my life pass away. I can honestly say I loved the song so much more live, and I cried with how beautifully it’s written.
Barber called the night “the greatest touring night of his life” and spent a lot of time thanking everyone in attendance. He went on to say how cool of a feeling it was to see all the faces in the crowd singing back to him song after song. The entire band fed off that energy as each member smiled ear to ear and had a blast on stage.
That is why country music is like no other genre, and that is what makes it so special. Country music is storytelling at its finest. Both Taylor and Barber get that, and it makes country music better for it. Both artists had great chemistry with their bands, and they were great with the crowd interactions. Keep an eye on both Taylor and Barber. I feel they will be the next generation of country music and are here to stay.




