Tyler Childers Concert Review

I’ve been going to concerts for decades, and every now and then a show sneaks up on me and completely knocks me out — and that’s exactly what happened when I took my daughter to see Tyler Childers at Forest Hills Stadium.

This week on the Rock-N-Roll Show Podcast, I review that show. Going in knowing almost nothing about his music, I came away completely won over by a 21-song set packed with great songwriting, killer musicianship, striking visuals, and a totally authentic connection with the crowd.

I also discuss the unique atmosphere of Forest Hills Stadium, share some choice clips, and explain why you too might enjoy Tyler Childers' music even if you're not a fan today.

Like, subscribe, follow, and leave a comment — and let me know: what artist has surprised you the most in concert?

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Transcript

Alex Gadd 0:00

Welcome to the Rock-N-Roll Show Podcast. I'm your host, Alex Gadd, and this week I've got another concert review for you. I took my daughter to see one of her favorite acts, that's Tyler Childers at the Forest Hills Stadium in Forest Hills, Queens for her birthday, not knowing one thing about his music, and I was blown away by how good the show was. It was one of the best shows I've seen literally in years. 21 songs outside on a beautiful fall evening. It was a welcome reminder that there is still great music being made and great performers out there touring, and I can't wait to tell you all about it. So stick around for my Tyler Childers concert review coming up right now. I've been going to concerts since 1979. That's almost 50 years, and I've seen a number of really great special shows over the years. Most of those, I was expecting a great show and I got it, but every now and again, one would sneak up on me. Friends took me to see Michael Hedges at the bottom line in New York City in 1997, and I went in knowing nothing about him, only to be blown away by how great he was live. The first time I saw the Tragically Hip in 1991, I was on a ferry on Lake Champlain right off the coast of Burlington, Vermont, and I was not prepared for their intensity and their incredible performance. I went to see Joan Jett at First Avenue in Minneapolis in 2006, and was knocked out both by how good she and the reconstituted Black Hearts were, but I was even more impressed by their opening act, Eagles of Death Metal. All of that to say it's been a while since I've been truly surprised by an act and taking my daughter to see Tyler Childers, my expectations were low and I felt that the win was just making sure that my daughter had a great time. Now, let me take an aside here to note that getting to Forest Hill Stadium in Queens by car is no joy. It's deep in the center of the largest of the five boroughs of New York City, at least by landmass, and there isn't really adequate parking for this venue, which used to be the National Tennis Center. It's located smack dab in the middle of a residential neighborhood with apartment buildings and street level commercial shops all around. Interestingly, the former National Tennis Center hosted the US National Championships. Of tennis for 50 years and then after they rebranded as the US Open, hosted the US Open for 10 more years before the open move to its current home at the newly built National Tennis Center in Flushing, Queens in 1978. The Forest Hills Stadium is now part of the West Side Tennis Club grounds and host concerts during the spring, summer, and early fall, and it used to host concerts back in the day, including some pretty significant ones. Ray Charles headlined a music festival there in 1963. The Beatles played there during their first tour of America in 1964. Dylan played there in 65, shortly after he went electric in Newport. The Stones played a very short set there in 1966. Diana Ross and The Supremes and Simon and Garfunkel each played there separately in 1967, which was also the year that the Jimi Hendrix Experience opened for the Monkees there. Now, once the US opened, moved to Flushing, the stadium was used less for everything, including concerts. I saw a Yes concert there in 1983, I think, but by the late 1990s, the venue was falling into a state of disrepair. Instead of converting the land to condos, though the stadium was refurbished, and by 2013 it had become a prime music venue once again. Mumford and Sons reopened the stadium with its 14,000 person capacity. And since then, everyone from Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and the Killers and Phish have played there multiple times. Despite being able to draw much larger crowds elsewhere. There's something both weird and appealing to seeing a show at Forest Hills Stadium. It's tucked right into a residential neighborhood, as I noted. You can see apartment buildings all around the stadium when you're in the venue, which seems kind of invasive given that it's open air venue. But because of that, shows have a hard 10:00 PM curfew, so they tend to start earlier to accommodate that, and that's great when you live an hour plus away and need to drive to get there and want to see a show, especially on a weeknight. Parking sucks. Let's not fool anyone. It's a residential neighborhood. The venue itself doesn't seem to have any public parking, as far as I could tell. So you either park on the street if you can get lucky, or you find a very expensive parking lot. Last time I used a parking lot for a Sturgill Simpson concert in 2024. I paid$70 for the privilege, which is not great. On the other hand, once you're through the gates, there's ample concession stands, a decent amount of restroom capacity, so there aren't long lines and terrible waits. And while the seats throughout the bowl are traditional bleachers, meaning flat metal benches with no backs all the way around, and the floor could either be standing room, general admission or folding chairs, there really isn't a bad seat in the house. In fact, I saw Sturgill Simpson, as I said, in the same venue in 2024, a show, which I reviewed on an earlier episode of this very podcast, which I encourage you to go check out. So that's the setting for this show, for this musician who had just released his seventh album, Snipe Hunt, from which I had never heard one song, but my daughter loved this guy, seen him multiple times before. So we met up in a supermarket parking lot in Westchester County, halfway between where each of us live, and I drove us to Queens to celebrate my darling girls' 25th birthday. Things were looking up. As we got into the Forest Hills neighborhood, as I found street parking almost immediately I was amazed. And while we had to walk about 10 blocks to get to the venue's entrance, that was no problem at all. The night was clear and crisp. It was still T-shirt weather, no rain in the forecast. So everything was looking up. I had bought tickets directly facing the stage in the back of the venue, halfway up the bowl. So they weren't close. But again, not really that far away either. And getting to our seats was easy and quick. We arrived just as the opening act, a band called Medium Build was wrapping up and we settled in. Here's a picture of my adorable daughter in all of her glory. Then at 7 59, thanks to the early curfew, the lights went out. And Tyler and his band made their way on stage. He came out as the band started into the opening tune, which was"Eatin' Big Time," the lead track from his latest album. This was the second show in a row for him at this venue. So he's doing pretty well. A fact that was reinforced by how all the younger fans around us knew every word to every one of his songs. Man, did that make me feel old. Though I had never heard"Eatin' Big time" it immediately caught my attention first with the lyrics about killing a rich aristocrat who was wearing an expensive watch, but more so for the great groove and the musicianship.

7:31

So good. Like only yesterday fell out here. We're playing some music for you. Let's again. Alright. Face but ruffle. I had shot. Fucking mansion.

Alex Gadd 8:39

As I said, I wasn't sure what to expect from Tyler Childers. Is he a country act? Was he alt country? Southern Rock? Wasn't sure. The first song sounded country from the lyrics, but the music was pretty middle of the road. Rock and roll. Regardless. He was super charming and his jeans and an old cardigan sweater look were decidedly not rock and roll or country. I wanted to know more right from the jump. Next up was a definitive country tune. There was no question about this one,"I Swear(to God)" which was the first song off his 2017 album Purgatory. Again, I didn't know the song, but I enjoyed it and as with the first song, I really noticed the complex, detailed imagery showing up on the background screens, which continued to impress me throughout the night. For this song, there were various quilt designs rotating like a kaleidoscope in vibrant colors. If this had been a Phish show, the visuals would've been perfectly appropriate. And this song contains the first drug reference for the night, which left me wondering if he was kind of another jam band. But as I would learn throughout the night, Tyler writes a lot of songs about where he grew up, which is in a holler in Lawrence County in the Appalachian coal country of Kentucky. So drug use and abuse was a fact of life around there apparently. And as a recovering addict himself, his songs reflected what he had lived and seen back home. Anyway, take a listen to"I Swear(To God)."

Speaker 3 10:03

Ain't, I've rambling around. I've been choosing forest fire pupils, backhoe tire, so my money on feels working on. Sleep swear.

Alex Gadd 10:41

I didn't record any of the next song, but it was a pretty swampy tune. The last song from his latest record called"Dirty Ought Trill." Dirty Ought Trill ends up being a guy that he knew in the area around where he grew up. And this was another song about growing up in the holler. All this talk about hollers reminded me of the TV show Justified, which was one of my favorite shows. Maybe of all time with the coolest lawman in recent memory and that's Raylan Givens. Anyway, go watch that show. That was a good tune,"Dirty Ought Trill." He followed that with the title track to his previous album, 2023's Rustin In The Rain, and this one was really good again. An upbeat Country blues with a Fiddle playing the intro and the outro riff for every verse. So far, in my book, he was four for four and I was enjoying myself way more than I expected. Next, he slowed it down for the first time, and as I found out later, he writes some really killer, slow songs. This one was called"All Your'n" from the 2019 album Country Squire All Your'n" is a contraction for all yours and" as he sings,"I'm all your'n you're all mine". I take it for what it's worth. With the pedal steel, this had a country twinge, but again, it wasn't a straight country song and I still hadn't dialed in exactly what kind of music"Tyler Childers music" was. The bass line for this one had a little bit of R&B going on. The organ was kind of classic rock, whatever. It's a heck of a love song. Here's a little bit of that.

Speaker 4 12:12

I ain't.

Alex Gadd 12:33

He went through a few more songs after that, including a good one called Jersey Giant, and the first single from his current album, which is a really weird song about how he's putting together a list of all the people he doesn't like, and if he ever gets rabies, he's gonna bite all of'em. The song is called"Bitin' List." I recorded clips of both of those songs, but three frat boys who were sitting next to us were singing the lyrics so loudly to those and then stopping to talk with each other just as loudly. And my phone picked up more of them than of the band, so I decided to exclude those. For your sake more than for mine. After one more new song, Tyler and two of his band members made their way back to the B stage, which was right in front of us, which was an unexpected treat. He did three songs as an acoustic trio, including his love song for his wife, the beautiful"Lady Mae." Then"Nose On the Grindstone" and finally"Follow You to Virgie.""Nose On the Grindstone" stuck out to me as especially strong, and it's since been the song I've revisited the most. Again, the guys next to us, were singing loud, but the song is so good that I had to share a little bit of it. I hope you won't mind

Speaker 5 13:40

He off his back these days. Keep your nose on the grindstone and see the world, Lord, your you'll. Keep your nose on the grindstone. But I.

Alex Gadd 14:47

After those three songs, the guys made their way back to the main stage and went into a few songs from his 2022 album Can I Take My Hounds to Heaven, including the song,"The Old Country Church," and the title track from that album, those didn't blow me over, but the next song did. That was"Whitehouse Road." According to Rolling Stone interview from back in 2017, it's about a dude that Tyler knew from back home who made up tall tales about how wild and crazy he was, which Tyler then incorporated into the song. So while it's not a deep song, it's a heck of a good one. Check it out.

Speaker 7 15:36

And keep me. That moon shine. Bill, take my to the high throw rear against. We've slipping nothing, wind.

Alex Gadd 16:20

From there, he and his band rolled through to the finish line, starting with Down Under, which is a song about koala bears and kangaroos, and really about how far away Australia is from the us. After that was Honky Tonk Flame, which is really good. A slower song that's fairly autobiographical, very strong songwriting there. A song called Way of the Triune God, which I don't pretend to understand. Then Gemini and the title track to his latest album, Snipe Hunt, and then he stopped to chat with the audience and he was so cool that a New York audience was completely won over by a folksy country boy, in a way that felt really authentic. Here's a little bit of that rap

Speaker 8 16:58

We hope that you have made the very first, most precious memory with your very new best friend who you met at the Tyler Sugars, the medium build show here at Forest Hills Stadium this evening because Shirley. In that sea of people out there to your left, to your right, front of you, or behind you, there's at least one person that you have no idea who they're, and surely to goodness in all the time that you've been standing there, you look at that person to your left, to your right, in front of you or behind you, and extended a hand. And introduced yourself because that is just as important as everything else that's happened here today. All the beating of the drums and the playing of the bass, and the beating of the strings and the clinky Jing of the keys, and the singing of the songs and the jokes that were funny, and the jokes that weren't funny. All of that stuff just as important of any, as any of that. Is the opportunity to do a little fellowship and which we've had here this evening, right?'cause you may not have a single thing in common with that person. Your left to your right in front of you, behind you, except one thing. You both showed up to the Tyler Childers show this evening, and now my friend is what we call icebreaker

Alex Gadd 18:45

his last song was the one that really sealed the deal for me, and that was House Fire. At first, I was thought, is this the Turnpike Troubadour song? But that was my oversimplification because the troubadours also have a song called The House Fire. The difference is, is that the Troubadour song was about an actual house burning down, and Tyler's song uses a house fire as a metaphor. For a burning desire to be with a woman who sets him on fire, he's the house and his house is mighty cold, meaning he's gotten no loving lately. He and his band perform the hell out of this one. And the imagery on the screen behind the band enhanced the experience and really the perfect way. I wish all acts would give as much thought to the imagery that they project at their shows. Take a look at this one and stick with it till the solo.

Speaker 6 20:10

You can turn it center and smoke. This is house is I. You, you can turn.

Alex Gadd 21:43

With that, he thanked us and he and the band were gone. No Encore, just 21 songs going right up to 10:00 PM This was a damn near perfect show and one of the biggest and best surprises I've ever had seeing live music. So thank you to my wonderful daughter for bringing me to this one. Even if. I really brought her and go see this man in his band. They're out in Europe right now, but they'll be back in the States at the end of April, starting in Dallas before playing Jazz Fest in New Orleans. And then they wind their way through the southeast, including in the first week of June, playing three shows across Kentucky. Which seems appropriate. Then heading up to the northeast and finally the Midwest. I found dates running through mid-July, and I'm hoping he'll add some more and come back through New York before he wraps up this tour. I really can't wait to see this guy again. And as I said, there are seven albums for you to check out if you're not already a fan. A final interesting point. The last show I saw at Forest Hill Stadium was Sturgill Simpson in 2024, and it turns out that Sturgill is also from Kentucky and served as an early mentor to Tyler Childers even producing his first full length album, which has turned out to be my favorite of his. And that's 2017's Purgatory. So the only two shows I've seen at this venue since the 1980s. Have been friends and similar artists as long as you understand that they're mostly similar, just for being totally unique country-based musicians who do their own thing completely outside the country Music establishment. Both are among my favorite acts making music today, and both put on great live shows, and I am not a huge country music fan, so please check them out when you can. Even if you aren't a country music fan, I think you'll enjoy it. And that's it for this week's episode. Thank you for joining me. If you like what you heard today, I'd appreciate it if you would like and either subscribe or follow this channel to make sure you get notified about each new episode. And please tell your friends. Also a reminder that I release a playlist for every episode. So look for the Rock-N-Roll Show Podcast playlist on Spotify and Apple Music every week. This week featuring all 21 songs from the show in Queens Plus one more favorite of mine that they played the night before, but didn't include when I saw them. That's an incredible song called Universal Sound. So check that out. Additionally, I want to know what you think. Please leave me a comment and I'll try to respond to every one of them. The Rock-N-Roll Show Podcast is a World Highway Media production. I'm your host, Alex Gadd, and until next time, remember that life is short, so get those concert tickets.