It can’t be easy to truly multi-task on a stage. In the most thinkable examples, an artist can, say, just barely monitor the weather at an outdoor show, or perhaps keep an eye on a dog that’s been brought on tour and stays close to the band.
But in a marvelous display of balance, Dale Hollow recently cranked up a packed DC9 in the nation’s capital and simultaneously participated in an untimely but requisite online fantasy basketball league draft, building a pretend squad he’d named “The Hollow-Headed Hoopers.”
Hollow comes from Nashville and is now based in New York City. Just last month he released his first full-length album, Hack of the Year, but he led up to it with a bunch of explosive EPs and singles to introduce a powerful, appealing voice that can croon, growl, howl and even yodel.
He takes his name from a reservoir in Kentucky, and he’s building quite a reputation for himself with the chest-thumping, albeit tongue-in-cheek idiom “The Country Music Superstar,” a slogan he’s said or maybe just joked to have attempted to legally protect.
Listen to the debut LP from Dale Hollow, Hack of the Year, via Spotify:
At DC9 on Oct. 21, his followers in DC got to see him juggle the responsibilities of presenting some of his most lovable tracks and keeping an eye on his smart phone, which he set on a barstool and gawked at throughout the show.
“Y’all are getting a one of ONE,” he grinned big, explaining what the hell was going on and bringing the draft right into the engagement by announcing his picks … live: “Welcome to the Hollow-Headed Hoopers … Pascal Siakam and Jalen Williams.”
The gig wasn’t planned this way, but it seemed to perfectly suit this up-and-coming entertainer with a miles-wide sense of humor and his own invigorating take on “country” music.
Setlist
I’m Not a Smart Man
Hack of the Year
Superstar
Big Rig in the Sky
Dreamboat Babe
Endorsement Song #2 (Modelo)
Dog
Everything Is Embarrassing (Sky Ferreira)
Sooner Than Later
Fools Rush In
Cowboys on TV
Dancing on my Own (Robyn)
I’m a Lover (But I’ll Still Fight)
Below are home-rolled/processed/scanned 35mm film photos of Dale Hollow and his crew performing at DC9 in Washington DC the night of Oct. 23, 2024. All shots copyright and courtesy of Casey Ryan Vock.
