It was almost as if the songs were a physical force pounding those in attendance. Hit, after hit, after hit thundered towards an audience that couldn’t get enough.

Mark Chesnutt, one of the stalwarts of country music’s traditional roots took the stage last night at Cheyenne Frontier Days, a 10-day extravaganza that loudly proclaims itself to be the “daddy of ‘em all” (for almost two decades it has been the largest outdoor rodeo in existence). If you can’t see this Texas honky-tonker at, well, a western honky-tonk, then there’s no better place than a rodeo grounds on the Wyoming plains.

The concert was opened by Doug Supernaw, a fellow Texan best known for such slow to mid-tempo ballads as “Reno," “I Don’t Call Him Daddy,” and “Not Enought Hours in the Night.” Supernaw made a promising entrance on stage and had the audience in the palm of his hand after a rousing rendition of “Long, Tall Texan” (a song he recorded with the Beach Boys) and his interpretation of David Allan Coe’s “You Never Even Called Me by My Name.” During the latter song, Supernaw jumped from the stage into the audience and enjoined various individuals to sing the song with him. Everyone was having a rousing good time.

Mark Chesnutt took the stage at about 10:10 P.M. and was immediately transformed from the shy laconic mumbler heard in many an interview into a self-assured, veteran performer who knows how to work a crowd and take his cues from the audience before him. He’ll sing his ballads but will surround them with enough high-energy, foot-stompin honky-tonk pieces that even those in the audience who have already spent a long day at the fairgounds will be swinging, whooping and hollering for more.

Chesnutt’s voice is a little like cough syrup laced with honey, it goes down easy but has a rawness to it, sometimes Texas twangy, sometimes nasal, full of quavering notes, always distinctive. The way he can drive a single syllable up and down the scale is entrancing.

Chesnutt played hits from all of his CDs including his very first hit, “Too Cold at Home.” I like it when performers keep a number like that in their repretoire, regardless of how long ago the song was cut. It is a classic beauty of a country song and deserves to be continuously reintroduced to audiences. The opener was the simply great, “Bubba Shot the Jukebox,” followed in quick succession by “Old Flames Have New Names,”“Goin’ Through the Big D,” “I Just Wanted You to Know” (a major hit that Chesnutt insisted he record against his record company’s wishes), and “Brother Jukebox.”

He next introduced a medley of older hits, “”Your Love is a Miracle,” “Blame it on Texas,”“Old Country,”“She Dreams,” and “Almost Goodby.” At this point, I was wondering if Mark Chesnutt was going to pause to say a few words or maybe even come up for air...but no sooner was the medley over than he launched into “Woman, Sensuous Woman,”“Thank God for Believers,” and “Hello, Honky-Tonk," from the latest CD, "Let it Rain,” his newest single release, “I Might Even Quit Lovin’ You” and the ever stirring, “I’ll Think of Something.”

Chesnutt and his band also do a little Cajun music interlude with songs such as “It’s a Little Too Late,” and “Big Mamou” that includes the use of a squeeze box and an amplified accordian. The latter makes you just itch to jump out of your seat and start dancing around. The first hour rounded out with “It Sure is Monday,”“Gonna Get a Life,” and “Talking’ to Hank.” Whew, let me look back and count. Twenty-two songs at this point and the mete was still running!

The encore (and there was no way he’d ever get out without one) kept up the torrid pace. Chesnutt opened with a Hank Jr. song “Whiskey Bent and Hell-Bound" and then introduced a medley of George Jones tunes, “Bartender’s Blues,”“The Race is On,” and “White Lightnin.”

We did finally DID get a few words from our headliner when he introduced his next song as a song a friend had cut. It had made him mad that he didn’t think of cutting it first. Chesnutt then rendered his take on Eric Clapton’s “Wonderful Tonight.” It surprised me more than a little to hear him perform a rock song. His rendition wasn’t Eric Clapton but I’d be hard pressed to complain about anything Mark Chesnutt choses to turn his vocals loose on. The encore closed with the light-hearted, Todd Snider-penned tune, “Trouble.” Let’s see, where are we in the count, now? Twenty-eight songs in one hour and 15 minutes!

Mark Chesnutt is a joy to watch. What makes him special is that he not only feeds off the external excitement of the crowd but also the internal beauty and power of the music. You can see it in his eyes when they begin to sparkle, and in the smiles that come easily and often. You can see it, most of all, in his movement, as he puts a dance in his step that is not so much rehearsed as just FELT.

Chesnutt certainly has nothing to prove to anyone, but for a country performer who, since winning the Horizon Award in 1992, has never been nominated for any award, nor even asked to perform a song on an awards show, the line drive of hits we heard tonight spoke volumes. Mark Chesnutt IS country cool, he lets his music say it all. What a pleasure it was to share this hot July night with him.

Mark Chesnutt Photo Album - Greeley Independence Stampede
Mark Chesnutt Photo Album - Crown Royal Tour
Mark Chesnutt Photo Album - Fan Fair
Mark Chesnutt Photo Album - Grizzly Rose, Denver, CO
Mark Chesnutt Photo Album - Cheyenne Frontier Days

Mountain West Music 2002