May 05, 2023 – Columbus, OH
I’ve never been a big fan of country music. Ameripolitan isn’t particularly another music genre that I’ve dug deeply into either. Hell, until a few years ago I couldn’t tell you how big of a Ameripolitan scene currently existed. Then, like it almost always happens, I had a friend who said ” I know this guy, he’s a hell of a guitar player, you should really check him out.”
The guy turned out to be Kyle Eldridge. An old school, straight out of the 1950’s, country and western picker with a vibe that could make Johnny and Waylon both proud and scared all at the same time. He’s also a rising star in today’s Ameripolitan music scene. Born in Ohio but now based out of Kentucky, Kyle has the power to make people who know nothing about his style of music stand up and take notice. Which was the case with myself a few years ago. Like I said, I’ve never been a big fan of country music, but even I like Kyle. As do many other people which was evident by the size of the crowd at his opening gig for Hellroys at Rambling House on May 5th.
He performed to a packed house. He had people dancing in their chairs and in place where they were standing. He made the audience feel good for a little over an hour with his new flare on an old scene. If you closed your eyes and didn’t know what year or state you where in, you’d almost think you were at the Ryman listening to this incredible rising star of the 50’s rockabilly scene. That’s how transcendent his performance was. It was also one that after the show had many of those people on their feet applauding for more. I’ve seen Kyle a good 4 or 5 times now and honestly, in my opinion, this was probably one of his best shows I’ve seen. Was he fueled by that full moon Friday night magic that at one time no doubt was the inspiration behind his song “Spooky Moon” or is it the brand new double neck guitar he debuted not too long ago that has raised his confidence since the last time I saw him in December? Not that he wasn’t confident then, but this show was definitely different.
Why would having a new guitar raise his confidence so much you might ask, well, let me fill you in on the story. Back in September he was playing a rockabilly festival called the New England Shake-Up. Saying he was having some issues with his old “vintage” guitar might be an understatement. The tuning and playability of it became quite noticeable to those in the audience that day, which included his pal and fellow musician Deke Dickerson. According to Kyle, after the show Deke told him that they needed to get him a legit 50’s double neck and Kyle said that as much as he would love something like that, he didn’t know how he could ever afford it because it was out of his budget. Enter Deke’s ingenious plan to help out his buddy get the equipment he desperately needed to continue his success. A few days later Deke called Kyle and said “I think we’re going to do a gofundme and you know, even if we don’t reach the goal at least we’ll get you kinda started in the right direction.” Oh, but they did reach their goal. Four and a half hours after the gofundme went live, it had raised enough money and then some. It’s still mind blowing to Kyle how this all happened.
He received the new guitar just a few weeks ago and debuted it at guest spot show with Dale Watson down in Nashville. He has only played a handful of shows since then but can absolutely tell the difference already. “The things that are in my brain get out of the amplifier much smoother and easier now so the audience gets a better show, I get a better show, and it’s a happier experience for everybody, so I love it.”
Ok so it helps him do his craft better and makes the experience an all around happier one so that explains why this show had an overall different feel, right, but I wanted to know something else. I wanted to know how HE felt about getting the guitar and knowing that there are people out there who care and support him, his music and career that much, and honestly, I was blown away by his explanation due to the raw emotion behind it.
“Well, it feels good. It feels really good and very humbling too because there was a lot of kind people who took their time and money to donate and make that dream a reality. I’ve been thinking lately about it, and how I could repay people and at the debut show in Nashville there were some folks there who were donators on that gofundme. I thanked them profusely, told them you know, I don’t know how I could ever repay somebody and these kind folks stopped me and said well, the way you can repay us is, we donated because we wanted to see that guitar in your hands so if you play it the best you can, that’s all we want and I said well, I can do that. It’s very mind blowing and like I said it’s endlessly humbling because I come from a humble place and everything that I do and every little milestone I’ve hit I’m very appreciative of and it’s good that folks see and recognize that and I’m excited every little step of my career so that fact that people support me like that and put their focus beams on me for a second of their life, it really means a lot. “
Stories like this show you why it’s so, so, so important to support the local musicians you love. Kyle needed that guitar and people who love his music and want to see him go far rallied around and did everything they could to support him and his dream. They let him know that what he does on that stage matters and it’s important to them that he keeps doing it and he’ll repay them by continuing to do what he loves, playing his heart out at every single gig. Such an incredibly cool thing to see. I can’t begin to imagine the boost it has given him personally and professionally but it absolutely shows on stage.
All of that, plus his way of putting a smile on your face and a two in your step with his high energy country and western swing music, is why I think if you ever get an opportunity to catch Kyle Eldridge and the Kentucky Cowhands, you shouldn’t pass it up.
As for what’s next, he’s heading across the pond to do a Rockabilly festival in London, England in June, but will have more dates in the summer back in the states.
Kyle Eldridge & The Kentucky Cowhands
Oh and Hellroys! They will even tell you to go catch Kyle. Right before they started their set, the lead singer, looked at crowd and said “how bout that Kyle Eldridge? Man, I feel like an asshole playing guitar after him now.” At least he knew.
Seriously, they are good fun. They’ll have you laughing and shaking your head wondering if you really just heard what you thought you heard throughout the entire set. As long as you aren’t easily offend by an old fashioned comedy outlaw band who sings about tweeting certain body parts that rhymes with pity, they are your guys, and you’ll love them.
Hellroys
Yeah, I know, now you really want to go find that song, so I’ll post their links here: