Leather Rose returns to the Cathead Stage, and it has been a minute or two since I last checked in with Silas Sloan, Carson Loden, Blake Summerford and the rest of the band. There was plenty to catch up on. They’ve released the acoustic Cabin Sessions, recorded a live EP at their hometown Lucky Tap and brought Lee Bates in on drums. Wade, Erin and the crew from Amory made the drive up, too, after closing out their own night. Before the first song, this already felt like a visit with people I knew.
The Blue Canoe is a good place for one. The Cathead Stage sits in a room where the names on the walls give you something to look at between sets, and the staff can seem as invested in the music as the people who came to hear it. I’ve spent enough time with this band and around its home crowd to notice when somebody new is standing among them. Tonight, a few more people had followed Leather Rose to Tupelo.
Changes and recognition
The guys have been busy this year. They’ve been working on their identity as a band, their sound and the direction they want to go. The change you could see immediately was behind the kit. Tonight was Lee Bates’s official debut as a full-time member. He had filled in a few times when Mason wasn’t available, so this wasn’t a first introduction to the songs. It was the first time I was watching him play them as part of Leather Rose’s next chapter.
There has been recognition for the older lineup’s work, too. Leather Rose Live at The Lucky Tap, the EP Carson and Silas recorded one afternoon with only a few patrons in their hometown room, earned a Josie Music Awards nomination for Americana/Folk EP of the Year. I like that the recording came out of an ordinary afternoon at a place the guys consider their home stage. People can now hear what happened in that room, including the acoustic “Strikeout” and three songs that were new at the time.
“Ground Zero” goes back to their first Clarksdale show, opening for Memphis’s Ghost Town Blues Band at Ground Zero Blues Club. They’ve since been invited back to open for them again. “Burnt’ Out” doesn’t hide its subject. The final track is titled “Here Am I,” a song Silas wrote about his gratitude and willingness to be of use to God.
Silas always reserves a spot in the set to talk about his testimony. He took those few minutes at the Blue Canoe, and the crowd applauded him for it. I’ve seen him do this before. It still takes courage to stop a rock show and speak that plainly about faith.
Please consider Donating to Sponsor an article even $1 helps!
New songs, a bluesier turn
Leather Rose put together a set that balanced originals with covers they’ve worked into their own versions. The two Muddy Waters songs were where I heard the change most clearly. Silas said the band wants to pursue a more bluesy sound going forward, and hearing them lean into those covers made that direction easier to picture. Clarksdale is just across the state, and they’ve already started finding a crowd there. They have songs that sit comfortably in Americana; the bluesier rockers give the set another way to move.
I heard several new Leather Rose songs that I hadn’t caught before. I asked for a setlist afterward so I could name a few of them here, but I don’t have the titles. I’d rather leave a song unnamed than put the wrong name on it. What I can say is that they didn’t feel dropped into the show just to announce that the band had been writing. The new material, the covers and the originals from earlier releases were mixed through the set, with the breaks and quieter moments where they needed to be.
You can see the band working together on the Cathead Stage. Silas can step out to address the crowd, then turn back toward Carson, Blake and Lee, and the night becomes a band show again. With a new drummer and a possible shift in sound, I was watching for how those pieces sat together. By the time the set was rolling, I was listening to the songs.
The Blue Canoe has been a Tupelo staple since 2011, and I still tell people to get the wings. The Cathead Stage has hosted Gary Clark Jr., Alabama Shakes, the Red Clay Strays and Sturgill Simpson, among plenty of others whose names you can find on those walls. On Sept. 12, it belonged to four guys from Amory who are still deciding exactly what Leather Rose can sound like.
Afterglow
It had been a few weeks since I’d been out locally, so it felt good to see everyone, catch up with the band and catch up with the people who travel with them. Some came from Amory. Others are starting to show up because they heard the songs and wanted to hear them again. Twenty-five or thirty miles may not sound like much, but they made the trip.
Leather Rose came to Tupelo with a new drummer, new songs and a bluesier sound in mind. The crowd came with them. And yes, the guys kicked some ass.
Please consider Donating to Sponsor an article even $1 helps!
