Behind the tattoos, long hair, earrings and trademark sunglasses stood country star Shooter Jennings Wednesday ready to “Put The O Back In Country” for the Starkville fans at Rick’s Caf‹¨.
Jennings, son of country music legend Waylon Jennings, connected with the crowd with his rocking stage performance and casual persona, taking his father’s influences and adding his own rock ‘n’ roll flare to make it even stronger.
Glancing at Jennings’ tattooed arms can sum up what this country boy is all about.
One of his arms is tattooed with his mother’s name, and the other with the initials C.B.C.S., which stands for “Country Boy Can Survive.”
“Shooter’s music is truly cutting edge in today’s music scene; it’s part country, part groove and part rock,” Rick’s Caf‹¨ owner Rick Welch said.
“Listening to Shooter’s music can easily bring different types of emotions to a listener, learning about the past and listening to the future of where music is headed, all on one stage,” Welch said.
Many of the present fans agreed with Welch and explained how Jennings has remained true to the way country music was meant to be played.
“He takes country music back to where it needs to go back to,” senior Josh Lack said.
Welch also complimented Jennings for being quite different from other acts that have taken the Rick’s Caf‹¨ stage.
“I’ve had bands that have been made famous by a certain song. I’ve seen these artists play their hit song early in their set, just to get it over with so they can move on to new songs,” said Welch.
Jennings, on the other hand, kept the crowd singing along with familiar songs the entire night.
Although Jennings and his band may look a little rough on the outside, he surely doesn’t lack that good old Southern hospitality.
“The band’s personality is very casual, but very optimistic,” Welch said. You can tell they love what they do, and you can tell they are excited about where their future is headed,” he added.
With his raspy voice and rocker attitude, Jennings performed hits from his summer album Let’s Put The O Back In Country, which was a hit of his father’s, and his largest hit of the summer, “4th of July,” which features a collaboration with veteran country artist George Jones.
Although some would think that Jennings would want to come up with a completely different sound from his famous father, Welch said that Jennings’ take is just the opposite.
“One thing I like about Shooter is that he is proud of his dad, and he embraces what his dad stood for,” Welch said. “That, among other things, is follow your heart,” said Welch.
“I’m glad to see that Shooter is proud of his mom and dad and doesn’t try to distance himself from his famous heritage,” Welch said. “He embraces it and celebrates it.”
It has been said that when someone goes to one of his shows, they go to see Waylon’s son and leave a Shooter Jennings fan. That can probably be said by the fans that attended Wednesday night’s concert.
“I loved his dad, and I love him,” senior Stanton Lauderdale said. “He gave an awesome performance.”
Jennings rocked the crowd and made his name and what he stands for very clear by the end of his high-energy country show with a whole lot of rock ‘n’ roll.
Jennings has made an impression on his Starkville fans that was justified by his performance.
“Shooter plays country music like country music was meant to be played,” junior Ryne Craig said.