On October 25th, we attended Willie Jones’ performance as part of his UK tour supporting Michael Ray. Performing a blend of Country, soul and hip-hop, there’s definitely plenty to talk about this singer from Shreveport, Louisiana.

Jones first came to light in 2012, when he appeared briefly on the US X-Factor show. At just 17 years old, he impressed and surprised Simon Cowell when he blasted out a classic country number - Josh Turner’s ‘Your Man’. Although the TV stint was short-lived, this certainly gave him a good foundation upon which he developed his career on his own. Now it seems he is firmly establishing himself in the country scene as he was recently featured on the Spotify’s Hot Country playlist, racking up millions of streams.

Willie started his set with a high-energy performance accompanied by an acoustic guitarist and a DJ hype-man, Kermit Young, who had regular input throughout the performance, and also delivered a reggae horn sound between songs. The set progressed into Jones’ popular songs, including “Runs In Our Blood”, “Windows Down”, “Right Now” before slowing things down with “Lead Me Back Home” - in this song Willies vocal talent and song-writing skills were clearly showcased. He then carried on with a more chilled out vibe with “Slow It Down”. Picking things back up, he followed with his latest single “Whole Lotta Love”, where he also got some good lyrical input from the audience. Bachelorettes on Broadway came next - Jones’ second biggest song with around 1 million streams on Spotify. Willie drew inspiration for the song from the high tourist numbers and bachelor parties on the main broadway area of Nashville. The set ended with his biggest track “Down For It”, which has already accumulated 3 million streams on Spotify alone. It was met by the audience well, being a natural sing-along song. He played 8 songs in total, a decent amount considering he was supposed to be a support act.

For me, my favorites were the slower songs “Slow It Down” and “Lead Me Back Home”. Jones’ Baritone vocals were delivered seamlessly throughout the set. I feel the DJ/hype-man role provided a slightly different listening experience than his studio recorded songs, which could be more or less favourable depending on your taste. - They definitely know how to work an audience though. The mix between the slower stripped back and up-beat tracks, with rich basslines created a good contrast.

Lyrically, Willie follows suit with most country artists, writing honest stories about personal topics, including his family, love and drinking - he doesn’t boast or muse over pretentious themes. 

In a time when artists like Lil Nas X are dropping huge mainstream songs blending Hip-Hop with Country, this feels like a positive shift for the two genres as they begin to get combined more. This also makes a perfect opportunity for up-coming talent like Willie Jones to develop their name further - he’s definitely one to keep an eye on.

 Country     Hip-hop