As he looks back on The SteelDrivers’ 2009 set in The Other Tent, he acknowledges: “Bonnaroo is one of those things that everybody wants to check off as a box. His perception of Bonnaroo does not comport with that of an insular country artist. Instead, he’s willing to seek out inspiration from wherever he finds it, whether that’s through the sounds of Ray Charles and Otis Redding or exchanges with Tom Petty and Justin Timberlake. However, he is not a dogged traditionalist. The decision to name two albums after Nashville’s historic RCA Studio A-where Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton all recorded-affirms his regard for tradition. 1 on the Billboard Country Albums charts this past May, as a follow-up to the similarly chart-topping Traveller-chose to cut a new version of “Midnight Train,” featuring a snarling electric guitar rather than a sprightly banjo lead, is a testament to the depth of his catalog, the nature of his friendships and his expansive view of the musical constellations.
The fact that Stapleton- whose From A Room: Volume 1, which hit No. That’s because Stapleton did not deliver a soulful reading of “Midnight Train” with his touring group on the main stage in 2016, but with his bluegrass band The SteelDrivers at The Other Tent in 2009. In fact, very few individuals outside the Nashville songwriting circles who held him in the highest esteem were all that familiar with Stapleton as he played with his group that Saturday afternoon at Bonnaroo. The singer/guitarist, who is currently hailed as one of country’s biggest crossover sensations, received a spirited reaction from the crowd, many of whom had never seen him perform before.
Ĭhris Stapleton sill retains fond memories of performing “Midnight Train to Memphis,” the rousing, rowdy seventh track on his new album From A Room: Volume 2, during his initial trip to Bonnaroo. This article originally appeared as the cover story in the December 2017 issue of Relix.