Concert Review: 49 Winchester Gets Cozy At Webster Hall

When I got the invite to review Winchester49 at Webster Hall what leapt at me was the word……. Appalachian. Fun Fact! I fell into a worm hole of Appalachian music and myths that have made me sincerely see the beauty of a song about Heaven and wonder if skinwalkers enjoy Starbucks. That energy of the small gorgeousness of humanity and the big myths about its path and purpose are the heart of 49Winchester. 

There is nothing more existential than Appalachian inspired music… trust me I saw it on TikTok.  With red, Turkish rugs on the floor and a wall of what appeared to be photos, stickers, and overall memorabilia: the coziness of their set matched the coziness of their sound. Their entire set felt like that scene in Jerry McGuire, where Tom Cruise, as the lead character, is driving down a desert road pouncing on his car sealing, singing at the top his lungs, and so excited for a future he does not even fully believe in, but just knows he has to make it better than his past. It is a beautiful thought: to look back is just to bad memories, but to look forward is to promise yourself good ones. 

¨Long Hard Life,¨ ¨Hillbilly Daydream, ¨and Yearnin For You,¨ pretty much capture the essence of my review and Winchester49. Isaac Gibson that feels like gravel and velvet. How he manages to sound as jagged a billion, shattered rocks but as smooth as fine fabric is a miracle…. Or shall I say Appalachian! Alright, I am putting that word away. He makes Winchester49, along with the exceptional musicality of his bandmates, feel more like classic country for modern time, and that is IMPORTANT. One of the reasons retro-inspired stars, like Amy Winehouse, had ¨modern¨ success is because you have to sound like you are bringing the past to now; as if the future is nothing but a photographer to you history’s scrapbook until you decide to take new pictures. A BEAUTIFUL THOUGHT INSPIRED by a real beautiful band.

The concert flowed like water. It did not matter the change up in tempos because Wincehster49 is just naturally, Jerry McGuire chill… HA! They get you excited in the most relaxed I can still go to work tomorrow kind of way, and I love that. We need music that hypes us up for the office lives so many of us live. For More Information on Winchester49 Click Here,