Sierra Ferrell has been one of my favorite female artists to emerge over the last year.
She combines traditional sound, with a grunge yet rhinestone cowgirl exterior, and she has an insane vocal range. So when I saw her on the Bonnaroo lineup, I knew I had to make time to tune in Sunday afternoon.
Sierra’s stage presence is small but mighty. Herself and her three piece band might not take up much space, but they deliver powerful sound. Her voice has familiarities from the greats before her like Dolly Parton and Tammy Wynette, but with a slight West Virginia twang.
Her set hit all the highs from her 2021 debut album, Long Time Coming. Before closing out with “Jeremiah”, she gave a killer rendition of “Give It Time.”
Her lyrics in “Give It Time,” perfectly sum up moving on from heartbreak, in a beautiful and poetic way. This is one of my favorites off the album, and it did not disappoint live.
Sierra redefines the sound for women in country, and you are going to want to know her if you don’t already.
I want to personally thank Hulu for partnering with Bonnaroo for this year’s live stream of the festival because without it, I would not have been able to enjoy this unreal set Billy Strings threw down Saturday night in real-time.
Billy Strings took to What Stage at the farm for an hour and a half jam session. This man went non-stop through the entirety of his set. The crowd was with him, waiting to see what riff he would throw out next.
“Now, when I get this guitar back in tune, I’m gonna rip you a new one,” he says right after introducing his band and taking a quick break to gear up for his last leg of the set.
The way that Strings goes into a trance while his plays is mesmerizing to watch. He is so enthralled with the music, and his band does NOT miss a beat keeping up with him.
Strings was set to perform in previous lineups when the festival had been canceled. You could feel it in the way he spoke to the audience that they were absolutely stoked to finally be taking the Bonnaroo stage.
“Sh*t all got canceled. We were supposed to play this thing like three f***ing times, we are FINALLY here.”
He slowed things down with “Love and Regret” before closing the set with electric performances of “Red Daisy,” “Away From the Mire,” and “Hide and Seek.”
The whole time watching this set, I felt like I was watching a master at work. His sound and compositions impress his fans every time.
If this is what Billy Strings gives us this early on during the festival season, I am excited to see what he delivers through the rest of his summer tour dates.