Covering my first country show was definitely not something I had on my bucket list for 2024 — but when a kid from the DMV has the No. 1 record in the country for virtually the entire summer, it’s got to be a show worth checking out right? Shaboozey returned home recently to perform at the first of two sold-out nights at 9:30 Club on his first ever headlining tour.
The Where I’ve Been Isn’t Where I’m Going Tour ’24 is in support of his album of the same name, released back in May. The Woodbridge, Virginia native’s fusion of country and hip hop has taken the country by storm as his breakout hit “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” has remained at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for over 10 weeks. I went into the show blind as I never hear any of his music outside of “A Bar Song” but definitely left the show entertained and thoroughly impressed.
At 9:30 Club on Sept. 21, the stage was dressed like a scene in an Old West movie, with cactuses, an old tattered billboard and barrels used as table for the bottles of Jack Daniels. Shaboozey and his band slowly hit the stage one by one for the late night show, opening things up with his feature on Beyoncé’s “Spaghetti” from her country album Cowboy Carter before giving DC a shout-out and talking about how he hadn’t done a show in the DMV since probably 2016. He got into the new album right away with “Last of My Kind” before jumping backwards with the beer lovers anthem “Tall Boy” from his 2022 project Cowboys Live Forever, Outlaws Never Die. He then slowed things all the way down with “Anabelle” followed by “Why Can’t Love Be The Reason” and kept this back and forth pace from from upbeat records to ballads and slower jams all throughout the show.
Songs like “Highway,” “Vegas,” and “East of the Massanutten” gave Shaboozey a chance to display his distinct singing voice and show off how he’s one of the few artists now-a-days that truly sounds just like his records. His more hip-hop centric songs like “Horses & Hellcats,” “Beverly Hills” and “Drink Don’t Need No Mix” kept the party going and the people moving all through the night as the people dressed the part in the crowd waived their cowboy hats and stomped their boots.
Shaboozey paid homage to his DMV roots by performing his own a cappella cover of the Wale classic “No Hands,” on what just so happened to be Wale’s 40th birthday. Afterward, he showed off the range of his influences by pulling his guitar back out and doing a cover of the Bob Seger song “Turn the Page”.
Shaboozey wrapped things up by performing “Steal Her From Me” and “Finally Over,” the last two songs on his latest project, before talking to the crowd, saying that being home made him want to do a bunch of old music — and the next time he’s in the DMV, he wants to put on a show where he only performs old records. He thanked everyone for coming out and disappeared backstage along with the band. Even though the stage was empty no one moved and the house lights never came up, soon after the chants of “ONE MORE SONG” started to go around the room. A voice from backstage got on the mic and told everyone to give it up for the number one song in the country for the last nine weeks, as the stage lights came back on and Shaboozey and the boys came back out on stage to perform “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” not once but twice. Boozey even got the chance to bring his mom and family out on stage with him for the second performance.
Watch the official music video for Shaboozey’s breakthrough hit “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” on YouTube:
Check out Shaboozey’s latest project “Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going on Spotify:
I walked into Shaboozey’s show slightly skeptical and not know what to expect and left as a fan of a fusion of music that I’d never expected to hear let alone like. I even listening to “Where I’ve Been Isn’t Where I’m Going” in the car on the way home and was upset with myself for not getting the vinyl from the merch booth by the time I pulled in the driveway.
This may be Shaboozey’s first ever headlining tour but from the level of talent I saw I can promise you it won’t be his last.
The first leg of Shaboozey’s Where I’ve Been Isn’t Where I’m Going tour wraps up in Los Angeles on Oct. 14, but he’ll be on the road for the rest of 2024, touring all over the country.
Below are some more photos from Shaboozey’s sold out performance at 9:30 Club on Sept. 21, 2024. All photos copyright and courtesy of AJ Waugh (wauffleznotwaffles.com).
