Coming all the way from his hometown of Ellaville, Georgia, Brent Cobb graced the World Café Live music hall for this week’s Free At Noon. Cobb brought along a full band, complete with rushing keys, deep southern bass, Skynyrd-esqie guitars, and dynamic drums, all backing Cobb’s rhythmic acoustic strumming and sweet sweet vocal twang.
They opened with the title track off of Southern Star, Cobb’s fifth studio album, slated for release on September 22. Soft electric picking swelled throughout the room, covering the crowd like a clear night sky. Each note echoed and shined as Cobb put his faith in the southern star, singing that no matter what troubles come his way, he can also look up and find hope. “Patina” was then a spectacular follow up: written by his wife, the track’s romantic waltz swung back and forth echoing the sentiment that “We’ve been together so long we put patina on love.” A nuanced guitar solo gently rounded out the ballad, providing the perfect emotional catharsis to leave fans thinking about their own patina’d lives.
Other highlights from the set included “Livin The Dream,” an upbeat and cruising country blues jam that was the brainchild of both Cobb and contemporary songwriter Josh Morningstar, as well as “Down In The Gulley,” a devilish 12-bar-blues off of 2016’s Grammy nominated LP Shine On Rainy Day.
Cobb took a moment mid-set to explain the importance of a good shady tree, a necessity in every home below the Mason Dixon Line. He explained that there was always one perfect tree that everyone would set up around and that his grandmother’s pecan tree happened to be just that. Whenever the troubles of touring and daily life bring him down, he thinks of memories under the shade tree to bring him back to earth.
With flickering lights behind him, Cobb finished off his set with “Ain’t A Road Too Long.” The triumphant track tells the tale of personal perseverance, gritting one’s teeth and grinning through the pain. So far from home, it felt only right that the concert ended in this way. Of course Cobb misses his family back in Georgia, and of course there are days when homesickness and life get the better of him, but he sticks it out and travels on because nothing will stop him, there ain’t a load too heavy to keep him gone, there ain’t a road too long.
Brent Cobb is currently on tour with Luke Combs and is playing Lincoln Financial Field tonight at 6 p.m. His forthcoming album Southern Star comes out on September 22, and Cobb returns to Philly this Fall, playing Ardmore Music Hall on November 8. Details on these concerts can be found at WXPN’s Concerts and Events page.