KYLIE FREY

Wednesday April 19, 2023

Music Row Freakshow @ The Local in Nashville, TN

(Review by: Jeffrey Kurtis)

Saddled up on the West side of town, in the shadow of Centennial Park, The Local is the perfect combination of somewhere designed for the Nashville natives, but where every out of towner becomes one as the establishment upholds their uber welcoming slogan, "Come A Stranger, Leave A Local!"

With a down-home flavor surrounding it, Terri Jo Box (co-writer on Lainey Wilson's "Hillbilly Hippie" and "Those Boots") and the Music Row Freakshow has been inviting you to become part of their crazy family every Wednesday and Friday night since 2014 when they bring a rich talent pool to the stage for a unique to Nashville songwriter round.

Amongst a lineup of incredibly gifted songwriters that included Rob Mayes, Andrew Bloom, Barrett Baber (writer on Cody Johnson's "Nothin' On You"), and Russell Sutton (writer on Elvie Shane’s #1 "My Boy" and Nate Smith's "Whiskey On You"), Kylie Frey captured the spotlight while captivating the crowd with her precise blend of traditionally rooted country and Texas edged flare.

Frey, who recently released "Red Dirt Cinderella" and has spent the past year impacting Texas radio with "I Do Thing," "Horses in Heaven," and an incredible cover of "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" alongside Bri Bagwell, opened her part of the night with aforementioned new single "Red Dirt Cinderella," instantly hushing the crowd as she pulled her voice across the western styled melody, impressively tilting into her higher register to emphasize  end words on specific lines while then dropping into a lower range to punch the feel of the chorus.

"I wrote this one with Trent Willmon and when we got together that day he asked me what I wanted to write about, and I said, “Well, I just met this really cool dude named Jesus," Kylie humbly shared before sliding into the toe tapping "Hell of a Life," intriguingly moving a grittier vibe into her vocals as she bounced through the rhythm, earning hoots and hollers from the crowd when she landed at the amazing life-loving hook, "I wanna say when I get to heaven that I've lived one hell of a life.”

"This one is a reminder to me to always find the positive because it's so really easy to see negative," Frey solemnly told as she softened the pace with "Flowers," craftily allowing the proper amount of room for her vocal to carry the encouraging lyric and strike a lasting impression as she spoke of the simple reminders that are always surrounding us to tell us everything will be okay, which we all too often overlook.

Closing with "One Night In Tulsa" gave a perfect bookend to her set by shifting away from the here and now and what she’s been working on, to bring us back to an early hit that helped set her career in motion as she dripped her voice into the emotional pour of the heart tugging lyrics, holding strong notes to great ovations while expertly showcasing the power of her voice as she put a bold exclamation point on her set!

FULL SET LIST
1) Red Dirt Cinderella
2) Hell of a Life
3) Flowers
4) One Night in Tulsa

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