ROB MAYES

Wednesday May 10, 2023

@ Joelton Hardware, Feed & Farmacy in Joelton, TN

(Review by: Jeffrey Kurtis)

As the city of Nashville continues bringing in tourists by the hundreds of thousands, locals are finding it harder and harder to find someplace to call their own. The type of place that’s somewhere a little more off the beaten path and far enough away from the hustle and bustle where they can tuck into a quieter atmosphere to enjoy great music, great food, and great conversation; the type of place where a stranger is just simply someone you haven’t met yet.

What if I told you that just 20 miles northwest of the flashing neon lights and the party buses of downtown Nashville is just that place?

Joelton Hardware, Feed & Farmacy in nearby Joelton, TN might only be a half hour away on the map, but it’s miles apart.

A true-blue, local hardware store at its core, which is appropriately closed on Sunday’s, not only provides the community with tools, hardware, and all their garden and farming needs, but it’s also the place to go to hear great music six nights a week while enjoying the best burgers and fries you’ll ever have.

Varying in sonic styles, their stage welcomes a punch of everything, from jazz and blues to rock-n-roll and  country singer-songwriters such as Rob Mayes.

Mayes, who many recognize from his solid acting resume and guest starring roles on popular shows such as Cold Case, Bones, Medium, and NCIS, has also been establishing himself as singer-songwriter since 2019 when he released his debut EP, Closer.

Since then, he’s earned quite a strong following by consistently releasing new music that’s showcased his tremendous abilities as a songwriter and his incredible drive to continue honing his craft. Just this year alone, we’ve already got 3 new songs from him; “HUMAN BEING,” “no other,” and “Let It Pour.”   

Surrounded by his uber supportive friends and diehard followers, who are more like family if based on all the smiles, hugs, and good to see ya's being shared with each other, the hardware store quickly became what felt like a family reunion with Rob Mayes as the ultra-talented kinfolk at the spotlight center of it all.

Flanked by J. Michael Harter and Ryan Fine in a unique to Nashville songwriter round, with each of them absolutely holding their own, Mayes gratefully praised the crowd as he slid into the Western kissed “Done Didn’t Do’s,” opening his part of the night with a new song that saw him pounding his voice into the cowboy country grit as toes across the audience tapped along in the rhythm with the dusty trail melody.

Dipping into his back catalog for 2021’s “Greatest Thing I Ever Did,” saw him weaving through a list of reminiscing accomplishments in each of the verses only to masterfully flip the script in the chorus when he arrived at the incredible hook that saw him grasp an uplifting, forward thinking perspective, "I hope the greatest thing I ever did, I still ain't done."

Excitedly switching out his acoustic guitar for a new to his collection electric, the audience was taken on a dirt road drive to small town USA with “Ain’t Nothin’ To See Here” as Rob painted perfect pictures of a Saturday night, country throwdown complete with mentions of 4x4 trucks, John Deere’s, and Merle Haggard on the radio.

With a soft, soulful injection into the heart tugging “Let It Pour,” Mayes enticed the audience, hushing their rowdy with a song clearly built for impact at today’s country radio as he intriguingly hit his voice into a raspy edged emotional territory to take the crowd through a whiskey soaked, barstool spiral.

Through the thought-provoking lyrics of “Alright Today,” Rob pumped his voice into the one step at a time message of celebrating a moment of feeling alright when you’ve otherwise been in a mostly down place, encouragingly invoking the idea of living in this positive headspace and not worrying anxiously about what next mood you may encounter.

“I’ve got a new movie that came out called Just Jake,” Mayes plugged as he softened the pace on “Without You,” a song which the studio version of is a duet with Lauren Mascitti that sees him looking back on all the things he thought would matter most to his life, only to understand that they didn’t matter as much without the girl that he left behind when he went chasing after them.

Showing off the purely gifted power of his voice on fan favorite “I’ll Bet” earned a tremendous ovation as he drove into heartfelt territory, impressively hitting his registers – highest and lowest – through this stunningly crafted encouragement filled lyric.

The ultra-modern vibe wrapped into the softer “Since Losing You” allowed Mayes to encapsulate all the proper emotional tilts through his strong vocal prowess to grip the tough struggles that come with trying to mend a broken heart while slowly losing parts of who you are with each try at stepping ahead from it.

Passionately pouring his heart into what is a beautifully crafted love letter, “The Prayer I Never Prayed,” Rob sung of the heaven sent angel who was an answer that he never even asked for, before moving into the muddy, boot stomping drive of “Didn’t Do This On My Own,” popping the punches of the innocently guilty lyric to close the entire night to hoots and hollers.

FULL SET LIST (Rob Mayes)
1) Done Didn’t Do’s
2) Greatest Thing I've Ever Did
3) Ain't Nothin' To See Here
4) Let It Pour
5) Alright Today
6) Without You
7) I'll Bet
8) Since Losing you
9) The Prayer I Never Prayed
10) Didn't Do This On My Own

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