PRYOR BAIRD

'Nashville Hits The Roof' Concert Series

Thursday February 1, 2024

@ Tin Roof in Nashville, TN

(Review Written By: Jeffrey Kurtis)

The original Tin Roof on Demonbreun Hill was recommended to me when I first arrived in Nashville in 2009, and it has since become the go to place for finding the perfect combination of less tourists, more locals, and incredible live music that’s most often presented by an artist just before their career fully accelerates.

Playing off their substantial role in introducing country music’s next big thing, the Tin Roof’s original touring series ‘Nashville Hits the Roof’ has become synonymous with country music’s generation next, boasting a recent track record that includes Tigirlily Gold, Drake Milligan, Chase Wright, and this past Thursday, Black River Entertainment recording artist Pryor Baird.

On a week when his newest single “Mighta Met A Girl” ignited the stage during his Grand Ole Opry debut, earned him recognition as the pick off the week on WSM, and had The Bobby Bones Show showering accolades, Baird brought his fiery guitar virtuosity and soulfully dripped country flavoring to the Nashville hotspot, kicking off the first of his “Nashville Hits the Roof” dates before travelling east to Tin Roof locations in North and South Carolina.

Striking into his hour-long set with the barn burning, honky-tonk infused “Good Time Don’t Care,” he immediately had boot heels clicking in perfectly timed rhythm as a southern rock kissed flare slid through the guitar licks and pulsating backbeat as he paced the edge of the melody with the undeniable smoothness of his voice.

“I appreciate y’all being here tonight,” Pryor gratefully exclaimed while fine tuning his guitar, pounding into the gripping drive of “Anything But Moving On,” crying his way through a melody laced in a bluesy traditional country vibe while bringing us straight to a barstool on the back of a groove that established a soft sway throughout the crowd, keeping them well invested and hankering for more.

After offering comparison between how the kids in the movie Peter Pan would chase shadows on the wall with a similar feeling that we experience when we lose somebody, Baird slowed his set into his recent single “Chasin' Shadows,” bringing an enthusiastic excitement out of the crowd as they aptly provided harmony vocals atop the pure emotion that he slid into each word. 

Through the brooding drive of the melody of “Go Down Fighting,” Baird masterfully walked his voice along the mysterious espionage aura of the verses, spelling out the dangerously intriguing relationship on his horizon before striking the chorus with the proper influx of grit to add fuel to his lamenting that he’d do anything for her and the love that they find themselves in falling into.

“Do we have any lovers in the house?” he asked, knowing that there were in fact some couples there from the conversations he had with them prior to the show. “Love is a beautiful thing!” he smiled as he then gifted the crowd with an absolutely stunning vocal performance of his breakthrough solo single “You Are To Me.”

“I got to play this song last week on the Grand Ole Opry,” he humbly shared as he soaked in the cheers of appreciation for the most famous stage in country music welcoming him. “When we wrote this song, we wrote it for the rest of the world. Anytime that you write with Doug Johnson, he always says when he’s leaving the room after the write, write to change the world because we need it.”

“What I didn’t realize at the time was that I was also writing this for me,” he hushed as he choked up talking about the unexpected loss of his dad before encouragingly relaying that everyone is broken in some way, but “just because you’re broken doesn’t mean you’re not beautiful. It doesn’t mean that when the pieces come back together, you won’t be better and stronger than before!”

The incredibly powerful “Beauty in the Broken” then brought the otherwise rowdy crowd to a complete standstill, providing the spotlight moment of the night as Baird continued to encourage through each phrase, every word, unashamedly wearing his faith on his sleeve while reminding us to live life unafraid of its inevitable storms and to uniquely be who we’re meant to be with all the bumps, the bruises, and scars, earning a huge ovation from the crowd in a utmost showing of how important a song can be to impacting the heart of the listener.

With no possible segue following such a powerful moment, Baird just smiled through a shrugged shoulder chuckle as he as toasted the honky-tonk women in the crowd and rolled back into the edgier two steppin’ vibe with “Honky Tonk,” effectively lighting up the good time crowd as they raised a glass and a holler while bouncing along in the pocket of the groove as each passing layer of the song continually picked up steam, turning the Tin Roof into an atmosphere akin a Texas dancehall.

“Do y’all remember Brooks & Dunn?” he asked as the country-loving crowd raised a ruckus.  “Well, this isn’t one of their songs yet, but it could be,” he teased with a wink to the possibility as he stayed confidently in the dancehall atmosphere, transporting us back to the 90’s with the soft, two step flare of “When I Don’t Love You.”

As his ultra-catchy current single “Mighta Met A Girl” radiated the venue, Baird utilized the crispness of his voice to perfectly encompass the unexplainable feeling that you get in your soul after meeting that someone who you now can’t stop thinking about, lifting his voice through an impressive octave range in what was an unbridled showcase of his incredible vocal prowess, earning a huge ovation when the song’s final notes were strummed.

As if anyone needed any more encouragement to sing along, it only took the first few chords of “Friends In Low Places” for it to reach deafening levels inside the venue as the entire crowd toasted a drink, raised the chorus, and momentarily turned the Tin Roof into a rowdy, lower Broadway styled bar as Baird introduced label mate/military veteran Scotty Hasting who accompanied him on the famous third verse.

Continuing with a tip of the hat to the icons who paved the way, Don Williams “Tulsa Time” held to the Broadway bar atmosphere, before Pryor hit a rock induced guitar shred into set closer “Favorite Heartbreaker,” uncovering another layer of his vast arsenal as he left a lasting impression on the crowd that had them reeling for more as the night came to its close.

There’s no doubt that Pryor Baird brings an amazing uniqueness to the country music scene through his undeniable fusion of country, soul, and Southern rock, but its his abilities to smash that uniqueness into an overall sound that feels familiar within today’s modern era in such a way that it addictively grabs your attention and holds it tightly as the smoothness of his vocal evens out the rough edges while still retaining a raw honesty.

They say that when you’ve got it, you’ve got it…And Pryor Baird absolutely has it! Though the “it factor” is often unexplainable, he was able to add definition to its meaning through only an hour long set on a night that we’ll all be looking back on and bragging about as we say that we knew him when!

FULL SET LIST
1) Good Times Don't Care
2) Anything But Moving On
3) Chasin' Shadows
4) Go Down Fighting
5) You Are To Me
6) Beauty in the Broken
7) Honky Tonk
8) When I Don't Love You
9) Mighta Met A Girl
10) Friends In Low Places (Garth Brooks cover)
11) Tulsa Time (Don Williams)
12) Favorite Heartbreaker

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