Fresh off his latest record, ‘I’m Not The Devil,’ reaching number four on Billboard’s Country Album Chart, Cody Jinks has amassed himself a reputation as a gifted songwriter, hell raiser, and prodigal son to country music purists and rockers across the globe, so when Cody announced that he was bringing his show, topped with buddies Paul Cauthen and Sunny Sweeney, to The Sinclair in Cambridge, Massachusetts, diehard fans and curious onlookers alike sold out the venue, and eagerly awaited show time.
Fans lined up hours before the doors opened, some as early as five hours prior, were rewarded as the line quickly stretched down the block and out of sight, and as the doors opened the energy in the air was directed Sunny Sweeney’s way when it became her time to entertain the crowd. Sweeney shined, songs ‘Better Bad Idea,’ and the cheeky, ‘Whiskey Richard’ received massive applause, and following ‘Trophy,’ a song that was written in regards to her being deemed a trophy wife by her husbands ex, and later becoming the title to her latest album, shocking everybody in the room was Cody Jinks himself, joining Sweeney for a duet, a tribute to the late outlaw legend, Waylon Jennings, and his wife Jessie Coulter, ‘Storms Never Last.’ The energy never quit, culminating in a standing ovation as Sweeney ended her performance with ‘Bottle By My Bed,’ and ‘Bad Girl Phase.’
Paul Cauthen, another native Texan, has earned his chops on the road himself, playing for large crowds with the Americana group he co-founded, Sons of Fathers, and coming from a blood line of musicians, his grandfather a songwriter who had worked with Buddy Holly, and others. Cauthen was deeply influenced by Willie Nelson, Elvis, and most visibly, Waylon Jennings as a child, and that all shows on stage, dazzling the sold out hall with ‘Still Drivin,’ and ‘Hanging Out on the Line,’ from his debut album, ‘My Gospel,‘ a cover of Johnny Cash’s ‘Folsom Prison Blues,’ even being joined by Cody onstage during a crowd favorite, ‘Saddle.’
The night wore on, the buzz amongst concert goers snowballing along, until the lights went dim, and without any frills came the man of the hour, “I’m Cody Jinks, and I’m from Fort Worth, Texas.” The audience was promised a special night, as Cody’s parents had come to town to see him perform, signaling to them back by the soundboard. ‘Mamma Song,’ ‘She’s All Mine,’ and the goosebump raising, ‘David,’ began the night, followed by two songs dedicated to his wife who was also in the crowd, ‘Wake Up Becki,’ and ‘No Words.’ Songs from albums old and new were delivered to the crowd, pausing every now and then for a story along the way. “The very first time I met Billy Joe Shaver was in Luckenbach, Texas, and before the show he was still as amped up as ever. You’re talking the outlaws outlaw, the king of outlaw country music songwriting. After that show, I wrote this one,” beginning into ‘Birds.’
Tipping his low brimmed, black Stetson to outlaws of another generation, a rowdy cover of Hank Williams, Jr’s ‘Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound,’ had the floor rocking, as the show grew into the latter half. After Jinks professed his love for the area, “My wife and I came up here on an anniversary trip a few years back, I just love this city,” crowd favorites started creeping in, ‘Chase That Song,’ ‘The Way I Am,’ Fast Hand,’ with covers of Merle Haggard’s, ‘The Way I Am,’ Clint Black’s ‘Nothings News,’ and Pink Floyd’s ‘Wish You Were Here,’ sprinkled in, culminating together in a powerful finale of ‘Cast No Stones,’ to which the audience sang every word back, seemingly louder than the band could compete with, followed by ‘Loud and Heavy.’ Jinks and his band, the Tone Deaf Hippies left the stage, but only for a brief moment, as Cody appeared first to begin ‘Rock and Roll,’ his band appearing shortly after to help him finish, and to the loudest cheers of the night, a song about his favorite types of people, “Thankfully we have Willie Nelson to bridge the gap between us,” ‘Hippies and Cowboys.’ The hippies, the cowboys, the metal heads, and the outlaws in the room showed their appreciation and support with one final applause to the Texan, as he disappeared behind the stage for the final time.
