Image via YouTube

2024 has been one hell of a year for Dawes. After two years of anticipation for a new studio album and the departure of bassist Wylie Gelber and keyboardist Lee Pardini, Taylor and Griffin Goldsmith returned with Oh Brother, their first album as a duo, on Oct. 15. To celebrate their return, the 15-year indie figureheads have toasted with some of the famous friends they’ve made along the way, most recently collaborating with Conan O’Brien–who the brothers backed for his star-studded Newport Folk Festival headline set–on a music video for “Mr. Los Angeles.” On Sunday, Nov. 10, the band upped the ante again as they countrified their performance at Nashville, Tenn.’s Ryman Auditorium with a sit-in from Brad Paisley.

Dawes set off their staging at Country’s Mother Church with the fresh “Mr. Los Angeles,” then segued into established classics “My Girl to Me” and “Time Spent in Los Angeles.” After another sample of the new album with “Front Row Seat,” the band roamed throughout their vast catalog before bridging the Misadventures of Doomscroller cut “Comes in Waves” into “When My Time Comes,” drawn from the 2009 debut record North Hills. At the midpoint in the set, Griffin and the touring band stepped aside, leaving frontman Taylor to deliver a solo acoustic debut of Kris Kristofferson’s “The Pilgrim, Chapter 33” as a tribute to the late legend, who passed away on Sept. 28.

In the wake of this profound moment, Dawes further emphasized their country credentials by inviting iconic singer-songwriter and guitarist Paisley to the stage. Paisley lent his croon and instrumental chops to a roaring treatment of “House Parties,” the first song written for Oh Brother which has been a live favorite for Dawes since 2021. Paisley previously participated in the song’s official live music video, released in August as an early sample of the ninth studio album.

To accompany that teaser, Griffin described “House Parties” as “a nostalgic song. A song about how true cultural experiences aren’t in the tourist traps but within human connections among specific communities. It’s a goofy lyric but the sentiment is not. We can all relate to feeling truly alive at a dive bar or a stranger’s home, getting access into a universe we didn’t even know existed…Whether across the planet or just one town over.”

After Paisley departed from the stage to leave the band, Dawes returned to the classics for “Thing Happen.” An even mix of beloved staples and new standouts followed before the group closed out its set with an anthemic performance of “All Your Favorite Bands,” arguably the song that best reflects the witty, sentimental lyricism and soul-stirring, rootsy rock sound that have long made the group treasured innovators for an ever-evolving indie world. Once the final chords rang out, they rode again for an encore of “Hilarity Ensues.”

Dawes will return to the stage tonight, Nov. 16 for a performance at Chicago’s The Salt Shed. The band will continue to tour across the country through Dec. 14, then pick up again in April. For tickets and more information, visit dawestheband.com/tour/.

Watch Paisley join Dawes for “House Parties” below. Read Dawes’ feature in the October-November issue of Relix here.

Dawes

Ryman Auditorium – Nashville, Tenn.

11/10/24

Set: Mister Los Angeles > My Girl to Me, Time Spent in Los Angeles, Front Row Seat, My Way Back Home, Roll With the Punches, Comes in Waves > When My Time Comes, The Pilgrim*, House Parties+, Things Happen, Enough Already, From a Window Seat, Still Strangers Sometimes, Someone Else’s Café/Doomscroller Tries to Relax, All Your Favorite Bands

Encore: Hilarity Ensues

Notes:

* Debut, Taylor solo acoustic.

+ w/ Brad Paisley