“It’s only taken me 20 years to get the bottom of my career,” Brent Cobb told the audience in his recent appearance at The Hamilton Live with his band The Fixin’s, after joking, “Someday, we might be able to afford guitar techs,” and asking for the audience to be patient while they tuned their instruments. Jokes aside, Cobb has emerged over the last decade as a critically acclaimed singer-songwriter, earning Grammy nominations.
Cobb considers himself a “songwriter-singer,” saying he sings just well enough to get his songs out there and heard. While he’s humble in his estimation of himself, he was approached by Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys to participate in a John Anderson tribute album, singing John Scott Sherrill’s “Wild and Blue.” What Dan didn’t know, he said, was that he’d been “practicing this one for 20 years.”
Based in rural Georgia, Cobb belongs to a family of musicians. Many of his relatives play, and his cousin Dave is a noted producer who’s worked with artists like Shooter Jennings and Jason Isbell.
Though he’s typically characterized as a country musician, there’s a strong element of southern rock that runs through his work. This is especially evident on his latest album, Haven’t Rocked in a While, released earlier this year. Introducing the title cut on Oct. 7, Brent explained that the genesis of the album came about when he bought his 4-year-old son a drum kit, and his son pushed him to rock harder and harder on his electric guitar. Speaking of kids, he also said, “After they’re born, you might be lucky enough to get a night with your significant other.”
After opening with “Southern Star,” Brent said, “we got the sentimental song out of the way right off the top.” His set continued with “Soapbox,” followed by “King of Alabama.” “Keep ‘Em On They Toes” paired nicely “Shut Up and Sing.” Cobb isn’t a flamethrower, which in some ways makes the political messages he works into his songs more effective.
Watch the official lyric video for “Shut Up and Sing” by Brent Cobb on YouTube:
![Brent Cobb - Shut Up and Sing [Official Lyric Video]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/XK5qaRdBvhQ/hqdefault.jpg)
Like many artists, he signed a bad record deal when he was “young and stupid,” barely reading the contract and “signing after 30 minutes.” (I spent more time on the lease I signed to rent my sister’s condo, and we only drew one up because I needed to give something to my building management for administrative purposes.) Unexpectedly, the song “Black Creek” blew up, and he tried to buy the rights back. Instead, he ended up re-recording and more than making back the money he’d spent on that first album. Later, he created his own label, as have many other musicians. (Another effect of this unfortunate deal is that his early music isn’t available on streaming services.)
“Digging Holes,” he explained, is “about being a broke and depressed songwriter, because people love that.” “Butterfly” is one he typically played solo but is doing with the band this tour. “Let the Rain Came Down” was influenced by his relationship with the late Jason “Rowdy” Cope who played with Jamey Johnson and in The Steel Woods, The set also included “If It Ain’t Broke,” “Providence Canyon,” “A Road Too Long,” and “Livin’ The Dream.” Unfortunately, I had to duck out before the end of the set — sometimes being a responsible adult just isn’t a lot of fun, but I have to be up at 6 to get to work and I’m struggling with my sinuses.
I wasn’t familiar with Goldflower, the Los Angeles-based band who opened the show. They were a bit more straight-ahead rock than Brent, and they had good some songs, including “Wild Boys” and “How to Shoot the Moon,” which they dedicated to the Dolangers.
Cobb emphasizes his songwriting, and, sure enough, the songs Tuesday night were excellent. I think he underestimates himself as a singer, and he has a lot of range: the show included both softer ballads as well as roaring, raging rockers. It was every bit as much a rock as a country show.
