Photos | Review: Myles Kennedy Eases the “Worried Minds” of Baltimore

Myles Kennedy & Co. at Baltimore Soundstage — Myles Kennedy and Co. at Baltimore Soundstage

Daughtry at The Fillmore Silver Spring — Myles Kennedy and Co. at Baltimore Soundstage

Tyler Bryant & the Shakedown at Baltimore Soundstage — Tyler Bryant and the Shakedown at Baltimore Soundstage

Who: The Ides of March Tour: Myles Kennedy & Co., Tyler Bryant & the Shakedown

Where: Baltimore Soundstage, Baltimore, Maryland

When: October 2, 2021

“Beware the Ides of March,” history has taught us. But what happens when that ominous day actually falls on the second of October? In this case, it was just the final American date of The Ides of March Tour 2021! With Myles Kennedy & Co. at the helm, that foreboding date became a welcome refrain, signaling a new era of soul-soothing live music.

This day couldn’t come any sooner for the hundreds of masked-up fans inside Baltimore Soundstage! The pandemic left Charm City’s venues without a performance from any of Kennedy’s bands (his solo band, Alter Bridge, and Slash feat. Myles Kennedy & the Conspirators) for a full 24 months. Normally, he visits the DC/Baltimore metro area once or twice a year, so this gap — plus the grave circumstances surrounding it — left both the artist and the audience craving an uplifting live show!

Tyler Bryant & the Shakedown

To open the show, Tyler Bryant and his fellow Shakedown member Graham Whitford layed down some gritty acoustic riffs… although, to be fair, the set was very much plugged-in! Lead singer Bryant proclaimed they were told “acoustic guitars are only for cowboys, so we’re here to prove them wrong!”

The stripped-down Shakedown played all their tunes on resonators and a drum that Bryant stomped to the beat, with gusto! The soloing skills of both Bryant and Whitford were well on-display during the six-song set, where the duo traded off lead guitar duties evenly. Songs like “Pressure,” “Lipstick Wonder Woman,” and the cover of Arthur Crudup/Elvis Presley’s “That’s All Right” (played as a tribute to the late Tom Petty, a major Elvis fan) served up plenty of soulful wails and spicy slide-guitar strums.

The night’s standout from the Nashville duo was easily “Born Rockin’,” a track written during what Bryant called “the weird time” last year. Inspired by their drummer’s efforts from “learning how to make a human child,” it touched on the band members’ origins. (The lyrics “Soon to be riding with John the Revelator/Learned to make love in an elevator” were a special ode to Whitford’s father!) Bryant got the crowd to instantly chant along, making the moment feel more like a bluesy campfire sung by a few (hundred) friends!

Myles Kennedy & Co.

After the Shakedown shook the audience out of their blues, Myles Kennedy & Co. took the stage! Bassist Tim Tournier and drummer Zia Uddin made their Baltimore debut as the “& Co.” to Kennedy’s duties as lead singer/guitarist. Opening the 105 minute set with the lively “Wake Me When It’s Over,” the trio immediately lived up to the hype that had built up across the tour’s previous 15 dates.

Tournier and Uddin stayed rock-solid as Kennedy rolled through his Rolodex of guitars, playing at least 8 different models! From PRS electrics to Gibson acoustics, the singer kept his vocal stylings as versatile as his choices in 6-strings. His favorite National NRP 14 resonator (as featured in Concert Crap’s LEGO Tiny Tributes series) also made a few appearances!

Steely tunes such as “Blind Faith” slid comfortably between the softer strums of Alter Bridge’s “All Ends Well” and energetic numbers like “Get Along.” Kennedy even got to honor a fan’s exclusive request for a track from The Mayfield Four (the band both he & Uddin played in during the Y2K era), resulting in the impromptu appearance of “Eden (Turn the Page).”

Above all else, Kennedy’s eagerness to play and chat was thoroughly evident. Between songs, the frontman cracked jokes and told stories of his teen years playing bars with high school bandmate Uddin! However, the drummer got the last laugh. When Kennedy brought up how he and Zia would cover Whitesnake, Mr. Uddin flashed a knowing grin. Myles’ guitar tech quickly brought up a guitar in the correct tuning for “Still of the Night,” further convincing the singer to comply. What followed next was a… spirited(?) attempt at the hair metal hit that the duo last played circa 1987! While the band fizzled out after a single verse and chorus, the crowd kept up the jovial energy from that moment for the rest of the show.

Fittingly, the encore song, “Worried Mind,” allowed Kennedy to fully bring the audience out of their blues with the bluesiest track of the bunch! He belted lyrics like “Let your fears drift and die/If for a moment, if for the night” as though everyone’s lives depended on it. Overall, the set was not only a home run finale for the first leg of The Ides of March Tour, but also a sign of brighter days ahead for the COVID-era live music industry.

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Post by Elizabeth Owens

Did you get to see this leg of The Ides of March Tour? Comment below!