Landon Parker plays The Smoking Section showcase with Jimmie Allen, Abby Anderson, Robyn Ottolini, Frank Ray, Neon Union, Alana Springsteen, and Aaron Goodvin at the Ole Smoky Distillery & Yee-Haw Brewery on May 10, 2022.

The Smoking Section Podcast, hosted by Marcus King and now running in its fifth season, teamed up with clothing brand NashTN, the creators of the popular “Nashville Looks Good On You” slogan, to gift the city of Nashville with an incredible night of live music featuring some of the top talents emerging on the country music scene today.

With a beautiful 80-degree night as its backdrop, a vibrant crowd began to pack into the outdoor area of 6th and Peabody at the Ol’ Smoky Moonshine/Yee-Haw Brewing complex as the sun began its descent.

As the lawn chair styled seating and beanbag chairs along the grass near the front of the stage began to fill, spirited games of cornhole were being played as DJ JD set the mood by spinning and scratching through the country songs everybody knew and loved, and he quickly had the crowd singing along and dancing as they sipped their favorite moonshine and craft beer libations.

With two amazing songwriter rounds scheduled in the middle, the night was bookended with individual performances from headliner Jimmie Allen, and opening act Landon Parker.

The last time I saw Landon Parker was at an acoustic show, whereas this go-round he was backed by a full band which offered a completely new dynamic that brought a different energy level to the stage as he opened with “Love You Like” and immediately stopped the crowd’s conversations within their individual groups of friends and turned their attention fully toward the stage.

“Who’s drunk already?” Parker asked with a chuckle, that would grow into a laugh when screams from the crowd radiated throughout the outdoor venue. “Y’all sing this one with me,” he encouraged as he taught them their part of the song as he then played the ultra-catchy “Night Owl,” a tune penned by Old Dominion’s Matt Ramsay, which the crowd aptly sang along with as instructed; a clear-cut signal that Landon Parker had already won them over just two songs into his set.

With drinks raised high in the air, Parker shared a toast (and a big ol’ Yee-Haw in honor of being on the complex of Yee-Haw Brewing) with the crowd before explaining about his next song, “I was sitting on the beach one day and I had this guitar part, and I thought “hmmm that was pretty cool, I wonder what it could go with?” and then I saw this title saved on my phone,” he finished as he played “Caught Me at a Good Time,” a catchy, vibey song released earlier this year that got the crowd swaying along with its irresistible, float on the breeze groove.

“A few months back I released this next song as my first single,” Parker stated as the crowd cheered in response before he taught them what parts they needed to sing with him, which they once again did as he played “Good Beer Drinkin,” a Friday night infused toe-tapper which also resulted in an audience participation moment into the final chorus as Parker led them in a rousing clap-along.

“I want to stop and give a shout-out to God for creating everything,” Parker said very humbly. “Six years ago, I met my wife, and God sent me her and now we have a baby girl,” he paused as he got misty-eyed. “I didn’t rehearse saying any of this,” he confessed. “Our little girl is four months old, and I just want to thank God for sending her to us,” he gratefully concluded as he played a thought-provoking, show-stopping new song, “God Sent.”

“I’m just gonna blame that misty-eyed thing on it being humid out here tonight, Parker said as he wiped his eyes as the final notes of the song played. “What do you say we have another sing-along,” Parker enthusiastically asked as he once again taught the crowd their parts of the song as he played “Love Taught Me the Rest,” during which the Nashville sky was serenaded by the crowd lifting their voices up to sing out, “Hey hey, hey hey!”

“How many of you have ever been drunk before?” Parker asked. “How many of you have been hungover?” he then asked, receiving minimal applause causing him to quickly observe, “there’s some liars in here tonight.”

“So, when you’re hungover you talk to God and say things like I swear I’ll never drink again, this is the last time, and I’ll be a good person from now on….but then you find yourself right back at the bar,” he finished as he closed his set with “Back at the Bar.”

Just as he did the last time that I caught his show, in just thirty-five minutes Landon Parker had completely won over the crowd as their cheers when the final notes played were deafening as they echoed through the nighttime air as he exited the stage.

Read the full show review here: https://todayscountrymagazine.com/index.php/reviews/show-reviews/1455-show-review-jimmie-allen-frank-ray-abby-anderson-alana-springsteen-and-more