LUCKY MONEY ENTERTAINMENT PRESENTS:

CARSON BEYER

Saturday January 7, 2023

@ Thistle & Rye in Nashville, TN

(Review by: Jeffrey Kurtis)

Tucked into the third floor of the swanky Conrad Nashville sits the chic Thistle & Rye, offering great views of the west side skyline in its cocktail lounge atmosphere amid soft lighting, high-end drinks, and globally inspired food dishes.

Thistle & Rye also became the hosting venue for the brand-new writers round from the highly acclaimed Lucky Money Entertainment this past weekend as they welcomed featured artist Carson Beyer in an impressive three-hour set that gave the crowd a smattering of his original songs, several glimpses of things still to come in 2023, and a wide array of covers that not only satisfied the itch of the crowd, but also presented an all-around look into his own biggest influences.

While we hear about a lot of different artists week in and week out, there has been tremendous amount of buzz bubbling up to the surface on Beyer over the past few months, putting him on the fast track to all the right doors opening for breakout success in 2023 as he leaps into the distinction as country music’s next big thing.

Beyer, flanked by Scott Harter on bass and Dan Harrison on guitar, both who slid into rich harmonies throughout the night to sweeten specific moments, sound checked with a cover of Eric Church’s “Springsteen” and immediately perked the ears of the rapidly growing crowd as they quickly looked up from their table conversations and leaned in for a closer listen as Beyer’s warm vocal radiated throughout the venue.

With the country loving crowd clearly on hand, Beyer read the room right by offering modern country cover selections throughout his set, playing popular radio favorites such as Dierks Bentley’s “Say You Do”, Morgan Wallen’s version of Jason Isbell’s “Cover Me Up,” one of the first songs he said to have learned to play with Randy Houser’s “Like A Cowboy,” a stunning version of Rascal Flatts “What Hurts the Most,” and “Drink In My Hand,” the Eric Church banger that came via request by Lucky Money Entertainment’s own Sarah Morey – a gifted songwriter in her own right and emcee of the round.

With any 3-hour set in Nashville, while there are always your core music lovers in the crowd who stay from start to finish, there’s also a constant shift as to who is sitting in front of you. Continuing to perfectly read the room during these shifting moments, Beyer also offered a selection of 90’s country in his covers with choices from John Michael Montgomery and Vince Gill, a healthy dose of classic rock via Bad Company and The Allman Brothers Band, and plenty of his favorite songs from the likes of John Mayer, Don Henley, Tyler Childers, Jamey Johnson, and Fleetwood Mac.

The crisp, clean, three-part harmony on the Eagles “Seven Bridges Road” earned a tremendous ovation, while the grime and grit that was offered through the moodiness of Cash’s “God’s Gonna Cut You Down” (sandwiched into the end of original song “The Truth) showcased a chain-gang type of feel that acted as a bold accent against the darker toned feel that Beyer wrapped into “The Truth.”

Using his covers to also showcase the extreme versatility of his vocal, Beyer unraveled another layer of his makeup as he slid into the soulful R&B flavor of Bill Withers “Ain’t No Sunshine,” and rose to the occasion of Dan Harrison’s request to deliver a knockout version of Journey’s “Faithfully,” which kept many in the crowd singing along as they put their arm around their better half.

There’s no question that Carson Beyer leaned into the perfect cover song selections to equal what the crowd wanted to hear, but the measure of an emerging artist always shines through the most in their original songs.

Where the Lower Broadway area of town on a typical Saturday night will generally see 4-hour sets that are full of the covers the party goers want to hear, Beyer, being in the atmospheric setting that he was, was able to instead splice 40% of originals into his set, which is where he took his already engaging performance to an entirely new level that set him high upon the pedestal of emerging artist to watch.

Nearly the entire first third of his performance, and the latter half during the middle, were both dominated largely by the originals that would be the bold introduction to who he is as a songwriter and artist.

“Mood Ring” hit instantly out of the gate with its catchy, radio ready style that was expertly filled with enough grit to uphold the boot heel stomping melody as Beyer tilted his vocal into the swampy tone of the lyrics while describing his crush as the type who is sweet and cool and can crank up the sass and four-letter words; a similar style was found 9 songs later when he slid fluidly back into this style on “Recipe.”

Carson aptly softened the pace at all the right moments with “Lie to Me A Little” and “One Of Us,” the latter which came to him via request and saw him pushing his voice into cry-like territory as he sang through a lyric of trying to hold on tightly to love as its slipping away.

But by wisely mixing up the styles within his originals, Beyer was able to offer a very wide ranged look at his entire arsenal, showing off all the different layers that he brings to the table while keeping his signature vocals and very solid songwriting at the forefront of each sonic, melodic trip.

With a decisively 70s influenced classic rock sound, he pumped us through the heartland styled guitar lick of “Deuces Wild,” slid into more of a bluesy based rhythm on “Baby, I Got You,” and injected the set with plenty of radio-friendly, mid-tempo vibes as he kept heads bopping in time with “Wild & Crazy” and “’Til There’s Nothin’ Left,” a song which he candidly shared he wrote after he drank a whole bottle of wine at Olive Garden, which saw him completely captivating the crowd by pouring his heart into lyrics that cleverly compared his loving of her to being until storm clouds run out of rain, until no one sings “Amazing Grace,” etc.

By playing his most recent single “Outdated,” Beyer firmly locked us into the here and now, but then slapped his next chapter impression through “Next To You” and “In The Dust.”

Teasing that he would be releasing it later this year, “Next To You” pulsated with incredible harmonies as Beyer wrapped his voice into lyrics that praised the unbelievable love he’s found, that while he admits he doesn’t deserve, sees him fully cherishing it and holding on to it tightly as he’s falling more and more.

“In The Dust,” however, provided the show-stopping moment. Another which he teased that he’d be releasing later this year started out as a broken-hearted song of lost love, which he incredibly (and unexpectedly) turned into a twist that saw him offering strong, solid advice to hold on to the one who loves you because anything else you deem as more important will simply turn to dust while love will always survive the storms.

3-hour marathon sets are nothing new to Nashville musicians, but many tend to waiver and are unable to sustain a crowd from start to finish. Carson Beyer not only never wavered in his set, but he continually rose to the occasion and picked up steam as the night wore on, snuggly fitting into the pocket of his wheelhouse as he fed off the energy of the crowd as they gradually filled in the venue.

Precisely chosen cover songs melded into an all-out jam session to end the set, showcasing a tremendous balancing act full of his vast versatility as he moved styles between pop, rock, modern country, Americana, and more

But it’s his originals flare that would stand to set Carson Beyer up another level. Each original offering showcased his incredible songwriting prowess and ability to create something that’s expertly suited to fit his vocal range, making it crystal clear why so much buzz is currently surrounding him.

At the core of the great music and songwriting, though, is the strongest reason that he’s quite possibly country music’s next big thing; his ultra-humble personality that sees him putting one foot in front of the other, making sure that each move is done with proper precision to always be bringing him forward while never mis-stepping.

You need to absolutely be keeping your eye out for Carson Beyer…that “artist to watch” tag is definitely well within his reach in 2023!

FULL SET LIST

1) Springsteen (Eric Church cover)

2) Mood Ring

3) Next To You

4) Whitehouse Road (Tyler Childers cover)

5) Say You Do (Dierks Bentley cover)

6) Lie To Me A Little

7) In The Dust

8) ‘Til There’s Nothing Left

9) One of Us

10) Deuces Wild

11) Recipe

12) Seven Bridges Road (Eagles cover)

13) Ain’t No Sunshine (Bill Withers cover)

14) I Don’t Trust Myself (John Mayer cover)

15) Boys of Summer (Don Henley cover)

16) Like A Cowboy (Randy Houser cover)

17) The Truth

18) God’s Gonna Cut You Down (Johnny Cash cove)

19) Faithfully (Journey)

20) Rich in Love

21) Wild and Crazy

22) Midnight Rider (Allman Brothers Band cover)

23) Feel Like Making Love (Bad Company cover)

24) Homeboy (Eric Church cover)

25) Outdated

26) Mood Ring

27) Next To You

28) All Mine

29) Baby, I Got You

30) Slow Dancing in a Burning Room (John Mayer cover)

31) Troubadour (George Strait cover)

32) In Color (Jamey Johnson cover)

33) Drink in My Hand (Eric Church cover)

34) Sold (The Grundy County Auction Incident) (John Michael Montgomery cover)

35) Landslide (Fleetwood Mac cover)

36) Cover Me Up (Morgan Wallen (version) cover)

37) Heartache on the Dancefloor (Jon Pardi cover)

38) What Hurts the Most (Rascal Flatts cover)

39) Don’t Let Our Love Start Slippin’ Away (Vince Gill cover)

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