Review: JD Garrahy
Photography: Luke Petty

Riverstage, always a gorgeous venue, and tonight is host to some of the most talented musicians to visit our shores. I am of course speaking of City & Colour, Dallas Green’s bluesy band that has graced our shores once more to speak to our hearts, minds and souls.

Looking over the grounds of this fantastic venue tonight, it is a sea of the young, the old and parents that are bringing their children to their very first C&C concert. The added advantage this evening is that we’re not only treated to Dallas and his band of merry men, but also the blues powerhouse that is Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats. A pairing of pure brilliance.

Leading the pack tonight is Melbourne’s own Alex Lahey. What a way to start the night. Fresh of their stellar sets at Good Things festival in December, their rocky, blues and roots inspired tunes are the perfect starter to what promises to be an emotion filled evening.

With only a half hour allocation for their set, not a moment is wasted as Alex states, “enough chit chat, lets play some music”. Eight hefty tracks from I Love You Like A Brother through to Misery Guts, and closing with I Haven’t Been Taking Care Of Myself, this colossal 4 piece doesn’t break once the entire set, and their energy infects the crowd for the golden gift of musical brilliance we are about to have laid before us.

Nathaniel Rateliff is a shining beacon that the origins of the blues genre are nowhere near ready to be put out to pasture. Now, this is my third time seeing these guys and let me tell you, their music is so infectious that even if you’re not a fan of the genre, you cannot help but tap your toes along to the beat, and you’ll ALWAYS want to see them again. They’re simply that good.

A setlist encompassing five different albums is always a massive feat, but even the ever-mounting humidity and compressed crowd doesn’t stop Rateliff and his band giving one of the best performances I’ve ever seen them offer. The vocals that this guy can produce is other-worldly, from dulcet harmonies through to that signature bluesy grit, the range that Rateliff displays is truly something to witness in a live setting, especially in the open-air environment of Riverstage.

When you lead your set with a song such as Look It Here, it’s hard to know how its going to get any better, but hold on, this is only the beginning of a hefty setlist. I’m On Your Side and Survivor are perfectly placed back-to-back and the transition from one song to the next is awe-inspiring. I will say it forevermore, this guy just has this unique ability to speak to the blues loving kid inside all of us and it’s brilliant to have a voice for this generation to breathe fresh life into such an amazingly inspiring musical genre.

As we progress through the setlist, toes are tapping, arms are flailing, and there isn’t a stationary person in the whole venue. So, when they launch into S.O.B at the end of the set, the crowd throws every bit of energy into their celebration of such an amazing band. Thank-you for gracing our shores once more guys, please don’t leave it too long between visits.

Dallas Green, what a talented singer, songwriter and overall musician. His ability to speak to the soul and calm the mind is uncanny. There is a reason there are so many families here tonight, and I’m not the only one in attendance that sang these songs to our children to help settle them when they were just tiny babies. His music transcends a easily describable emotional state and after kicking off his set with After Disaster and Harder Than Stone, it sets the tone for the rest of the evening. If you thought Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats had a massive setlist at 15 songs over 5 albums, then City & Colour’s setlist of 15 songs spanning 7 albums, is going to leave you more than satisfied with your ticket purchase.

It’s hard not to get emotional during a C&C performance, their music means so much to so many, so when Dallas says “it’s time to get emotional”, you know there’s about to be some deep cuts from their back catalogue. With tracks off Little Hell and Bring Me Your Love, I’m not sure whether there was a dry eye in the crowd as there were people visibly shaken by tonight’s performance. As previously mentioned, this music means so much to so many.

We all know the emotional toll the music can take on us, but it would be remiss of me to not mention the phenomenal work of the lighting tech tonight.

Perfectly timed magentas for the slower parts, further accentuated by the bright whites and blues when the crescendos hit added a level to tonight’s show like no other show I’ve witnessed, bravo to all involved, it made my son stare in amazement at what this genre of music has to offer when he has been so use to the visual spectacular of the heavy metal and punk that his dear old dad loves so much.

Rounding out the setlist with an encore of Lover Come Back, Sleeping Sickness and Sometimes (I Wish) is the way I hoped this night would end. Dallas and Co. summarised a massive career of incredible music and unrivalled passion in only a way that they can. This was the perfect starter to help me to kick off my 2025 gig calendar with a core memory that is going to be hard to beat.

Remaining dates on sale now:

THURSDAY 16 JANUARY
Hordern Pavilion | Sydney NSW (Lic. All Ages)
ticketek.com.au

SATURDAY 18 JANUARY
Sidney Myer Music Bowl | Melbourne VIC (Lic. All Ages)
ticketek.com.au

MONDAY 20 JANUARY
Adelaide Entertainment Centre Theatre | Adelaide SA (Lic. All Ages)
ticketek.com.au

THURSDAY 23 JANUARY
Red Hill Auditorium | Perth WA (Lic. 13+)
axs.com.au