Outlaw Country Review: Cody Purvis & Friends
08.06.2022 - The Saturday afternoon brought not only rainstorms, it also created a game of dodgeball for Bert Driver’s Burlap Room staff with the many pop-up storms around Smithville…just as the Outlaw Country Review was completely set up on the outdoor Redbud Stage the first storms hit, and prompted a decision to move to the inside Solstice Stage. For those of you unfamiliar, the high-priced instruments and electronic gear do NOT like rain, and moving an entire set-up, having to re-assemble the set-up and then do a final sound check is hard and stressful work. Kudos to the inimitable Ranson Johnson and Crew for taking the moves in stride and still putting on their usual high-grade lights and sound for our entertainers and Burlappers.
Speaking of our entertainers….Matt Dillon, local Smithville singer/songwriter, who won the Daddy Rack Bourbon Songwriting Competition most recently, was the opening act on the Outlaw Country Review and certainly set the groove in the perfect spot. Right out of the bag, it was obvious “This ain’t your grandma’s outlaw country”. Matt certainly has the look, and the songwriting and singing down, and I was surprised by his distinctive fuzz-tone lead and rhythm guitar playing. It certainly provided “an edge” to his style that other country singer-songwriters just don’t have. Matt Dillon and his compadres did an outstanding job of getting the audience primed, and then…
“WHAMMO”! Cody Purvis and his “Friends”, Colton Rhody (lead guitar), Aaron Silvey (rhythm guitar and vocals), Thomas Wingate (bass), Riley Wingate (drums), hit the stage wide-open, with a perfectly-mixed, full band sound that “blew the lid off” immediately…not so much loud, but full and well-textured. Dare I say, one of the most energetic opening song sequences I’ve seen from ANY of our entertainers thus far.
It was obvious that even though Cody and Friends had opened up at a high intensity level, they were intent on pushing the energy level even higher, and succeeded in doing so, having fun with covers like “Queen of my Double-Wide Trailer” and playing several originals off Cody’s previous recording projects. Of course, I must admit here that Colton Rhody is one of my favorite guitar players, and he didn’t miss a lick in executing signature solos faithfully, and adding his own tasteful passages and interpretations to Cody’s performance. Matter of fact, all of the “Friends” were outstanding musicians/performers in their own right.
Cody Purvis mentioned during his performance that “Early on, if I stayed someplace three days that’s where I was from...I’ve been here in Smithville for almost a year”! Well, Mr. Cody Purvis, let me be the first to say that we are damned proud to claim you as being from Smithville, Tennessee, and you’ve ALWAYS got a home at Bert Driver’s Burlap Room! (That goes for your low-down “Friends” too!).
Many thanks to our sponsors and vendors: Center Hill Realty and Chalets, Snapdragon Hemp, Anderson Marine, Hurricane Marina (Suntex), Cedar City RV (Provides the Green Room Camper for our Performers), Crooked Creek Designs (original hand-crafted jewelry by Jane Forkum), Amy Potter (Card Reading/ Enlightenment/Illumination), Tess, Henna Tatoo Artist, and of course the food: Ya-Ya’s Food Truck: Food for the Soul and Tio’s Tacos.
The summer continues this coming Friday, August 12, at the Harvester with a GreenWay Music Fest Pre-Party, featuring Pocket Knife String Band and Steady Rotation where we’ll be giving away two tickets to the GreenWay Music Fest happening Labor Day weekend on the grounds of Short Mountain Distillery! Up next at the Burlap Room is Middle of Somewhere Hemp Fest IV with Magnolia Boulevard happens on Saturday, August 20 (where all the movers and shakers in the hemp/CBD industry in our expanded region will be exhibiting their wares and sharing their expertise about the changes taking place in this exciting industry), then Comedy Night at the Harvester with Headliner Caleb Elliott, Opener Marie Cecile Anderson, and Host Amber Autry, on Thursday, August 25, and closing out August is Michelle Poe, Ken Taylor, and Russ Freeman at the Harvester on Saturday, August 27! Stay up-to-date with all the events in the Bert Driver Network (Nursery, Burlap Room, and the newly-opened Harvester Event Center) by signing up for our Burlapper Newsletter. All tickets for all Burlap Room and Harvester Event Center can be purchased at burlaproom.eventbrite.com. See y’all soon!
