Last Friday, I saw Charles Wesley Godwin, Wyatt Flores, and Cole Chaney at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. Every show I’ve seen at the Ryman has been nothing short of amazing and this show was no exception. In this week’s blog, I’d like to share my experience with you.
On the day of the show, my mom, my boyfriend, and I drove to Nashville from Memphis. After checking into our hotel, we killed time until the show by eating at Black Tap, getting sweets from Savannah’s Candy Kitchen, shopping at Fifth and Broadway, and grabbing drinks at Boqueria. If you’re ever in the Nashville area I highly suggest checking out all of these places, especially Black Tap; this restaurant has a cool atmosphere as well as great burgers.
We joined the line to enter the Ryman around 6:20 p.m. and we weren’t too far from the doors. Even though we had assigned seats, we were lining up early to try to get one of the coveted hatch show print posters for this show. Though, unfortunately, we weren’t there quite early enough.
When the doors opened, we headed straight upstairs where the merch table is always located and the merch line had already gotten quite long. Once we made it to the merch table, the last poster had just sold, just a couple of people before us. (If anyone has an extra poster from the Friday night show for sale for a reasonable price, please let me know).
While not being able to snag a poster was a bit of a letdown, I still got a bunch of great merchandise. I got a Cole Chaney poster and shirt as well as a Charles Wesley Godwin 45 record, can koozie, and shirt. When I was at the merch table, I did not see any of Wyatt Flores’ merch, or else I would’ve stocked up on his merchandise as well. But I guess that just means I need to order some online then.
After our merch haul, we headed to find our seats which, conveniently, were also located upstairs. While this was my third time seeing a show at the Ryman, it was my first time sitting in the balcony section. While I’m typically a railbird at concerts, I was extremely pleased with our seats. We were in Section 9 which, when facing the stage, is to the furthest right. My only complaint about our seats is that we were unable to see Charles Wesley Godwin’s drummer; we could see the drum set but not the drummer himself. Though, other than that, we had a great view.
Cole Chaney opened up the night with an amazing set. This was my fourth time seeing Cole perform live. He was with a different band this time and they sounded great together. Additionally, the sound mix was perfect for all of the artists that night, as it usually is at the Ryman.
As I looked around the auditorium during Cole’s set, I noticed great crowd participation, especially for an opening act. I saw that many people were singing along, bobbing their heads to the beat, or at least just paying close attention to Cole’s performance. I’ve noticed that the crowds at the Ryman are typically very respectful of all acts, not just the main act, and this show was no exception.
Near the end of his set, Cole played his song, ‘Back To Kentucky’. Around the end of the first chorus, Charles Wesley Godwin stepped out on stage to join Cole for this song. The crowd erupted in applause and cheers and, by the end of the song, a majority of the audience was on their feet.
Next to take the stage was Wyatt Flores. This was my second time seeing Wyatt perform live. The first time I saw Wyatt perform was in Copan, Oklahoma at the American Heartbreak album release party hosted by Zach Bryan’s dad, Dewayne Bryan. Wyatt’s performance at this event was not even planned; through Dewayne’s insistence and a borrowed guitar, Wyatt’s Copan performance occurred.
At the Ryman, Wyatt played a beautiful, emotional set. This was my first time seeing Wyatt play with his band and they all sounded amazing together.
Once again during Wyatt’s set, the level of crowd participation was high. Throughout his set people were singing along, standing, clapping, and cheering. Not only were there a lot of Charles Wesley Godwin fans in the Ryman that night, but there were also a lot of Wyatt Flores fans and Cole Chaney fans in the house as well.
One of my favorite moments of Wyatt’s set was when he covered ‘How To Save a Life’ by The Fray and performed his song ‘Please Don’t Go’. He played these songs sort of like a mashup but, in the middle of this, stopped for a moment to speak about mental health and why it is so important to him. This truly was an emotional moment that got to me as well as many other people in the Ryman that night.
Shortly following Wyatt’s performance, Charles Wesley Godwin and The Allegheny High took the stage. This was my sixth time seeing Charles live but my first time seeing him as the main act. Charles and The Allegheny High played an amazing, captivating set that lasted for close to two hours. It was almost midnight by the end of the show!
Throughout their set, it was super entertaining to watch Charles and The Allegheny High perform and interact. All of them are so full of energy and you can tell that they enjoy putting on a show for their fans. They are constantly jumping and dancing around the entire stage, and sometimes even the auditorium.
Also during his set, Charles shared stories about his life and the meanings behind some of his songs. I did not realize until that night that his song, ‘The Flood’, is actually based on a true story. While I already loved that song, knowing the story behind it makes it even more impactful to me.
While Charles was in the middle of sharing a story about his wife and his appreciation for her, he cut himself off and directed everyone’s attention to a couple in the audience. In the middle of this story, a proposal was taking place and, from the looks of it, she said yes. Funnily enough, this is the second proposal that I have witnessed at the Ryman. Back last year when I saw Zach Bryan at the Ryman, he brought a couple on stage for a proposal.
Near the end of Charles’ set, I noticed that the security guard who had been standing at the bottom of our section was moving around a lot. I didn’t think too much of it and assumed that maybe an audience member needed assistance. Though, I was thoroughly surprised when I figured out the true reason why he had been so active.
Right after the security guard stepped away from the door he was standing beside for the second or third time within five minutes, Read ‘Two Show’ Connolly was standing less than 5 feet in front of me, at the bottom of my section. I remember being in shock for a moment and thinking to myself: “Wait, wasn’t he just on stage?”. I assume that the door the security guard was next to led to a staircase backstage, or something similar.
Either way, Read was right there. He played from that spot for a minute or so before disappearing back through the same door and reappearing on stage soon after. This was such a cool moment — I hadn’t expected something like this to happen, especially since I was in the balcony level.
At the end of Charles' set, he played ‘Take Me Home, Country Roads’ as he has every other time I have seen him. However, one thing was different this time around. For this performance, Charles invited the friends and families of him, his band, and the supporting artists to join them on stage. The stage quickly filled with people illustrating to everyone there that, while there may only be a few people in the spotlight, there are a lot of people behind the scenes making the show happen and being there for these musicians. It truly was a special moment and a great way to close out the show.
While seeing Charles at the Ryman was our main reason for going to Nashville, we ended up finding a lot of cool stuff to do and unique spots within the city. Our favorite restaurants that we tried were Black Tap, The Pancake Pantry, Puckett’s, and The Diner. Our favorite stores and activities were McKay’s Used Books, Breakout Games in Franklin, and Game Terminal which houses over 250 pinball machines and vintage arcade games. I would highly recommend checking out any of these restaurants or spots if you’re ever in the Nashville area.
If you’re interested in discovering more about the artists discussed in this article you can check them out on Instagram: Cole Chaney / Wyatt Flores / Charles Wesley Godwin.
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