Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit perform at the Orion Amphitheater in Huntsville, Alabama, on May 13, 2022. (Erika Goldring Photo)Erika Goldring

Alabama – and perhaps the entire Southeast - has a new live-music center of the universe. Orion Amphitheater announced its presence with authority, this past weekend with an opening triptych of concerts, dubbed The First Waltz. The lineup? A wish-list of Bama-muso zeitgeist, legacy and tomorrow. The 8,000-capacity Orion oozes classic charm and has a first-year lineup boasting big gets for Huntsville, a brainy market zooming with development and now the state’s most populous city. The First Waltz, a nod to The Band’s all-time concert-doc “The Last Waltz,” went down May 13 – 15 at Orion. Below are the 10 best moments from a historic Alabama music weekend.

Brittany Howard performs at The First Waltz, Saturday, May 14, 2022 at Orion Amphitheater in Huntsville, Ala. (Courtesy Josh Weichman)

Brittany Howard took us on a journey to the center of the funk. The Athens native absolutely destroyed during her Saturday headlining set. Wearing a flowing kimono and bathed in red light, Howard and her band opened with “Hit It and Quit It,” a sticky-icky Funkadelic cover that set the tone for the night. Howard’s renown pipes were emotive and powerful throughout the set. She also peeled off several excellent fuzz-guitar solos. And her eight-piece backing band was in sync with her like titanium tentacles are to Dr. Octopus. Set highlights included greasier, thicker versions of solo cuts “Stay High,” “Baby,” “Goat Head” and “He Loves Me.” A couple of classic R&B covers – as well-executed as they were - felt like set-padding. But the Funkadelic tunes (they also did “You and Your Folks, Me and My Folks”) were stunning. As was acoustic-love-letter solo tune “Short and Sweet.” Howard’s First Waltz performance was her first in Huntsville, about 25 minutes from Athens, since 2012, when she and her former band Alabama Shakes rocked a sold-out show at now-shuttered Crossroads Music Hall. Shakes bassist Zac Cockrell is in Howard’s solo band. His playing gave her Orion show a deep resonant root. Howard was clearly pumped about the homecoming. She fed off the energy of a big adoring crowd and friends and family in the audience. Funk’s new queen made Orion Amphitheater her throne.

Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit perform at the Orion Amphitheater in Huntsville, Alabama, on May 13, 2022. (Erika Goldring Photo)Erika Goldring

Jason Isbell put an exclamation point on First Waltz’s Friday. Isbell and his ride-or-die backing band The 400 Unit unleashed widescreen Americana-rock upon a near-sellout crowd. It was definitely the weekend’s largest audience. Hardcore Isbell fans pine for his Drive-By Truckers classics. And the show-closing kerrang of “Decoration Day” gave that to them. But the Greenhill/Muscle Shoals native’s solo stuff is the reason he’s a big enough star now to transcend music and into Scorsese movies. At Orion, folkier gems like “If We Were Vampires” and “Last of My Kind” gave granular glimpses at Isbell’s artistry. Haymakers “Super 8″ and “Hope the High Road” spot-lit his rock bona-fides. 400 Unit’s homegrown rhythm section – Tuscumbia drummer Chad Gamble and Sheffield bassist Jimbo Hart – swung heavy all night. Sadler Vaden gives Isbell an Allman-Betts type guitar foil. Derry deBorja, keyboard subtext. Late in the set, Friday First Waltz opener John Paul White sat-in on vocals for a cover of early R.E.M. essential “Driver 8.” With a well-publicized hard-living past, Isbell clearly recalls what it feels like to be on the other side of the glass from success. His between-song banter included bits about leaner, smaller Huntsville gigs. Those keep getting smaller in his rearview mirror by the minute.

Paul Janeway of St. Paul & The Broken Bones performs at The First Waltz, Saturday, May 14, 2022 at Orion Amphitheater in Huntsville, Ala. (Courtesy Josh Weichman)

St. Paul & The Broken Bones bust loose

Paul Janeway didn’t just move the crowd. He moved into the crowd. About midway through St. Paul & The Broken Bones’ Saturday set, Janeway, the Birmingham band’s singer, left the stage and performed an entire song amid the audience. And not just a couple rows deep. Wireless mic in hand, Janeway ventured through floor aisles, up to the amphitheater’s lower seated level. Eventually Janeway climbed atop Orion’s front-of-house mixing booth. His Al Green-esque falsetto never faltered the whole time. And neither did St. Paul’s seven instrumentalists, who remained locked-in the whole time Janeway was out in the wild. Sharp, soulful showmanship. Tough to beat. And a signature First Waltz moment. The crowd ate it up like free barbecue. The bespectacled Janeway may look harmless, but he’s an animal behind a mic. St. Paul closed out with their throwback jam “Call Me,” with Shoals native Browan Lollar’s guitar grooves and the band’s hot horns rocking Orion like it was a sweaty club in 1967.

Mavis Staples and David Hood perform at The First Waltz, Saturday, May 14, 2022 at Orion Amphitheater in Huntsville, Ala. (Courtesy Josh Weichman)

The biggest legend in Saturday’s lineup was the opening act. Mavis Staples is the sanctified vox behind Staple Singers soul-classics like “Respect Yourself” and “I’ll Take You There.” For her First Waltz gig, she lined up a guest spot from David Hood. His peppery perfect basslines adorned those aforementioned Staple Singers hits. But Mavis didn’t want Hood to play on one or two songs, as she told the Orion crowd. She wanted him to do the whole show. Which is exactly what Hood did Saturday, alongside Staples’ guitarist and drummer. On a metallic pink bass, Hood recreated his vintage lines and on “I’ll Take You There” did call-and-respond vocals-bass interplay with Staples. Still digging deep as a singer at age 82, Staples took the Orion audience to church. And then somewhere a little lower, on a sultry rendition of Curtis Mayfield-written Staples smash “Let’s Do It Again.” Between songs she recalled listening to local Huntsville radio station WEUP back in the day. She said she was considering moving to Huntsville. Bring it, Mavis.

Deqn Sue and Microwave Dave perform at Orion Amphitheater's First Waltz on Sunday, May 15, 2022. (Erika Goulding Photo)

Local talent shows it belongs

The entire Sunday lineup at First Waltz consisted of local musicians. After two days of headliners and legends, how would Huntsville talent go over? The transition was more seamless than you might expect. The highlight was a star-making set from singer Deqn Sue. Backed by a pop-art R&B revue, Sue strutted the stage in a bodysuit that looked like a good acid-trip. She sang her heart out too. Big here, supple there. With a horn section, backing singers and dancers, Sue’s show filled the stage. Local-producer-done-good Kelvin Wooten presided over the whole thing. Clad in hat, shades and poncho like some ‘70s shaman, Wooten coaxed future-vintage sounds from an array of keyboards, atop a riser at the back of the stage. They simplified things and tugged heartstrings on the vocal/piano duet “Hello Neighbor.” The band included Atlanta Rhythm Section/Brother Cane guitar slinger Dave Anderson, who played chunky rhythms, and even busted out an electric sitar for one song. During Sue’s simmering ballad “Flame,” she welcomed local blues legend “Microwave Dave” Gallaher onstage. Beneath an applejack cap, he played a guitar solo that left goose bumps. Including Gallaher, Huntsville’s signature musician, on the city’s biggest music weekend in a decade was a masterclass in class.

Rap trio The N.E.I.G.H.B.O.R.S., who performed at Orion Amphitheater's First Waltz on Sunday, May 15, 2022. (Erika Goulding Photo)

Meet your new N.E.I.G.H.B.O.R.S.

Cities like Atlanta, Houston, Memphis and New Orleans are widely known as Southern rap hotspots. Huntsville, Alabama isn’t quite in that zip-code. But the city has produced some rap acts that resonated beyond here, including 2010s duo G-Side. Sunday at Orion, rising trio The N.E.I.G.H.B.O.R.S. proved they’re legit too. The group’s zigzag interplay evoked beloved combos like Goodie Mob, OutKast and Tribe Called Quest. Highlights from The N.E.I.G.H.B.O.R.S.’s First Waltz included their song “Badu,” which featured weed-jazz backing by a full-band. The group’s prepping a debut album. Their Sunday set made that album essential listening for fans of slinky smart hip-hop.

Drive-By Truckers perform at The First Waltz, Saturday, May 14, 2022 at Orion Amphitheater in Huntsville, Ala. (Courtesy Josh Weichman)

Truckers get loud and get down

Drive-By Truckers were by far the loudest band at First Waltz. On Saturday, the long-running resistance-rockers brought a welcome edge to Orion. DBT singer/guitarist/ringleader Patterson Hood was in rare form. With his unruly hair and devil’s glint, Hood looks like he’d bust a bottle over your head at the bar just for playing an uncool song on the jukebox. But he’s actually a sweetheart. And a rock true-believer. Drive-By Trucker shows are always cathartic. But onstage at Orion’s opening weekend, Hood was energized with pride, having watched his dad David Hood kill it on bass with Mavis Staples earlier. Hood and Truckers singer/guitarist Mike Cooley also probably wanted to take their best swing, after fellow Shoals product and former bandmate Jason Isbell’s big Friday set. DBT’s live sound is Crazy Horse guitar-tangle, red clay noir and - courtesy of drummer Brad Morgan and bassist Matt Patton - steel-belted propulsion. The band’s secret sauce onstage though is multi-instrumentalist Jay Gonzalez. Throughout the Orion gig, Gonzalez added texture that pushed the performances over the top. Piano and organ filigree. Guitar noise sorcery. On Saturday, the Truckers had sax and trumpet players on a few songs, a nifty nod to Shoals roots. Parts of the set were ragged bar-band ruckus. Others ascended to glory. In other words, it was a Drive-By Truckers show. Hood led a badass version of “Let There Be Rock,” a “Southern Rock Opera” era black diamond with lyrical references to ’80s concerts at Huntsville’s Von Braun Center. Earlier, between songs, Hood recalled cruising Madison Square Mall, the demolished shopping center upon which Orion Amphitheater was constructed. Pointing from the stage, Hood said, “Pizitz (department store) was right over there!”

John Paul White performs at the Orion Amphitheater in Huntsville, Alabama, on May 13, 2022. (Erika Goldring Photo)Erika Goldring

A return to ‘Barton Hollow’

I get it. Some artists want to blaze new trails after time in successful bands, forsaking that back catalog during their solo career live performances. But there’s also something to be said for tipping hat to what made people care about you in the first place. John Paul White’s set was no Civil Wars reenactment. The Southern crooner opened The First Waltz with a Friday set comprised almost entirely of bespoke-folk and Telecaster-pop from his solo career. It went over like aces. Thanks to White’s foxy-angel vocals, and the sweet, empathetic bastards backing him: bassist Spencer Duncan, drummer Reed Watson, keyboardist Ben Tanner and guitarist Adam Morrow. Solo songs like “What’s So” and “I Wish I Could Write You A Song” sounded awesome. But Orion came alive – for real – for the first time this weekend when JPW and co. dusted off The Civil Wars’ kudzu-blues “Barton Hollow.” Well played, John.

Waxahatchee performs at the Orion Amphitheater in Huntsville, Alabama, on May 13, 2022. (Erika Goldring Photo)

The older Friday crowd arrived at First Waltz more familiar with Crutchfield stereo catalogs big in the ‘80s than Katie Crutchfield music that’s been a thing since the 2010s. They left Orion knowing Katie’s songs though, I betcha. The Birmingham native’s band Waxahatchee did a strong set of Instagram jangle at Orion. Tracks like “Lilacs” will be soundtracking Whole Foods runs in SUVs all week in Huntsville.

Emmylou Harris performs at The First Waltz, Saturday, May 14, 2022 at Orion Amphitheater in Huntsville, Ala. (Courtesy Josh Weichman)

For me, the two most memorable sets at First Waltz were both by women. Brittany Howard’s planet-funk Saturday and Emmylou Harris’ roots-revival Friday. For anyone with a more than cursory knowledge of American music, Harris is a bucket-list concert. Her country-folk cred is indisputable. But Harris didn’t do her Orion set as a bow-and-kiss-the-ring check-cash. The Birmingham native and her adroit pickers cooked up a hot set that skidded from sacred to profane. Highlights included songs like “Red Dirt” and “Ooh Las Vegas.” As Friday headliner Jason Isbell quipped later, “Emmylou’s always good, but she’s having fun tonight.” Us too, Jase.

Brittany Howard’s high-school marching-band roots

The story behind Jason Isbell’s custom Fender guitar

Ann Wilson talks Heart, new Muscle Shoals album, Led Zeppelin

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