The Thekla , 11th October 2022
Russell Dickerson, a country pop singer-songwriter of Tennessee, US, arrives in Bristol, UK, to play on a boat. I am just as confused as you are.
The end result though was spectacular. And was probably the most fun I’ve ever had at a gig for various reasons. A sold-out Thekla makes for a perfectly intimate venue for the country-singing American. Adored by his cowboy hat-wearing fans, Russell has clearly built a strong following across the pond.
Starting with a few classics such as “She Likes It”, “Every Little Thing” and “I Remember”, it took no time at all to warm the crowd up. From here, the show just got more and more swinging and wild as the night went on.
Russell and his band were fantastic at getting the crowd involved, this point clearly made when an adoring fan held up a message for him to sign, reading “This boat may make us feel sea sick… but we still love you Rusty Dick”, which he duly had a laugh at and signed to the glee of one very happy woman. Russell then proceeded to borrow a fan’s sunglasses, and jump into the awaiting crowd as he belted out the end of “Yours”.
The night was made for me at the end, when the boat we were on began to leak, and the drummer held a cup under the flowing water and proceeded to throw it over the stage. This was then followed by the whole boat belting out Blue Tacoma; another instant country-pop classic.
To anyone that has never seen Russell play, and takes any kind of fancy to country music at all, I would highly recommend catching this guy on tour.
@thetravellingterrier
