Somewhere in the midst of the most memorable year of 2020, a song kept appearing on Planet Rock which grabbed my attention. A catchy, hooky number called ‘Oh, Miss Carolina’ to be exact. There was something in the melody, the musicianship and the fact it was constantly played, reminding your ears of its country blues hooks that it became mine and certainly many others gateway into the world of Robert Jon & The Wreck. Subsequent singles, and albums followed in quick succession accumulating in ‘Heartlands and Last Goodbyes’ released in August 2025.
More surprising however perhaps, was discovering the fact that they had released no less than 5 albums to get to that most excellent of releases ‘Last Light on The Highway’ that the aforementioned Miss Carolina features so strongly upon. What also then became a puzzling non understanding as to why, like the proverbial ships in the night, our paths had yet to cross in a live setting. Fate stepped in however and channeled me to head to the bright lights of Manchester’s famous Academy 2 venue to finally get to see the Orange County legends.
Being the Easter break, it was devoid of any students who no doubt are busy waving flags or being offended over nothing, and most likely currently residing within mother’s back bedrooms, it was a refreshing change to be able to head to an empty bar then into a strangely quiet arena to catch the support act Sam Morrow. This was their first visit to the good ‘ol United Kingdom and it proved to be a smart move to leave the shores of Nashville for a little respite. First impressions however, it looked like a cross between The Trailor Boys, Deliverance and some DMAX red neck gold mining show that took to the stage.
Sporting the kind of mullet that would have had Chris Waddle throwing a jealous hissy fit back in Italia ‘90, Sam Morrow chugged away at the bands opener ‘On My Way’ to an enthusiastic response from the growing crowd. Songs like ‘South Texas Women’, ‘Cigarettes’ and ‘Lucretia’ proved they have good songs in their armoury although they weren’t breaking any new ground with their “ZZ Top before they discovered their magic pop formula” sound mixed with modern tinges of The Brothers Osbourne, but they got the feet tapping so job done really. A really interesting, cleverly worked version of Pink Floyd’s ‘Have a Cigar’ sandwiched between ‘Paid By The Mile’ then weaving back in to go out proved to be a master stroke, ensuring they had more than a few visitors to the merch stand afterwards.
We knew this was going to be a special show, and Robert Jon and his mighty Wreck didn’t disappoint in any way whatsoever. Opening with the double pairing of The Devil is Your Only Friend and Blame it On The Whiskey from the Glory Bound album, the surprisingly sparse sounding 12 song set was jam packed from the off with the kind of sublime songwriting genius we know and love from Mr Jon, It was clear that the by now nearly full and enthusiastic venue had turned out in force for the Orange County legends and it was a case of sit back and strap yourselves in for a ride that really did bring get the old pulse racing.
We had to wait till the 4th song in though before we got the first in a run of four from that new album and true to the strength of it what a set of bangers they are. Tunes like the frantic paced Sittin Pretty, the mellow dual guitars of the infectious Highway, or the boogie woogie of Better of Me and then album closer Keep Myself Clean before another slide work out of the catchy Bring Me Back Home Again.
There was lots of wonderful jamming going on and it was easy to think that a 12 song set would be a little threadbare, but not so. What with the wondrous Henry James on the guitar weaving plenty of Derek Trucks style slide brilliance throughout the set, the quite amazing musicianship on show this evening simply just takes your breath away.
On this tour its been a different set list every night so strong is their back catalogue. Birthday boy Jake Abernathie gets a chance more than once to shine tickling the keys before we do indeed get ‘that song’ before the quite brilliant atmospheric wonderful Allman Brothers twin lead playing of Cold Night brings the evening to a close, the mixolydian mayhem weaving in and out with the kind of musical delight that kept you on the edge of your seat wondering exactly what might come next, and indeed it did. There’s something amazing about watching a guitar / keyboard duel combined with the mixolydian mayhem weaving in and out, back and forth creating such light and shade.
They don’t leave the stage for long and return for the sublime aggression of the rifftastic Rager before raising a beer to the appreciative crowd and heading off stage after another great day at the office. If you ever thought there was a band to discover to rival the mighty Blackberry Smoke, long may this be the one. Guaranteed not to disappoint.
Words by Phil Beswick
Photos by Gregg Howarth
