Weekend Recap: Chelsea Nolan and Manchester Music Fest

Chelsea Nolan at the Big Ole Deck

Although it technically wasn’t a weekend show, Chelsea Nolan blew me away during an opening set at a house concert put together by my father last Wednesday at his private venue in Waco, the Big Ole Deck.

Setting the mood for Asheville’s Anya Hinkle and Billy Cardine, Nolan’s songwriting, charisma and humor shined on songs like “Camel Wide Blues,” “Pray For You” and “Hardest Bean I’ve Tried To String” — all three of which fans can expect to hear on the forthcoming album the Irvine native has been recording down in Nashville. Also making an appearance was a set opening cover of “Mercedes Benz,” a Janis Joplin hit later reimagined by Eastern Kentucky heroes Goose Creek Symphony, who Nolan was sure to shout out when answering my Kentucky Questionnaire pre-set.

Manchester Music Festival

Despite his premature ending on America’s Got Talent, Bill Taylor & The Appalachian Heatherns were still riding high during a Saturday afternoon set under the Manchester sun. Playing just over an hour north of his home in Middlesboro, the trucker by day tore through a bevy of original songs new and old like “Heart Of Appalachia” and “Old Man” while also making sure to sneak in a Cuttin’ Grass style cover of Sturgill Simpson’s “I Don’t Mind” that harkened back to his AGT audition performing “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” and how he was able to take that highly popular tune and make it his own.

Another singer who only seems to get better with each time I see them is Emily Jamerson. The Prestonsburg native tackled a collection of songs as empowering as they are personal like “Wild Woman,” “Dried Paint”,” “Love Song Love” and
Run Run Baby” — the latter of which has seen increased attention lately after being mashed into an Instagram reel by Eastern Kentucky meme-maker Little Bubby Child. A cover of John Prine’s “Angel From Montgomery” was also included for good measure.

Next up was Abe Partridge, who had the crowd laughing along to lighthearted spoken word ballads like “Alabama Astronaut” and “Talking, Never Stare into the Eyes of a Chicken Blues.”

But the biggest highlight from my time at Manchester Music Fest was the prolific Rob Ickes & Trey Hensley. The 15-time IBMA Dobro Player Of The Year and 2023 Guitar Player Of The Year showed off why their homes are filled with so much hardware during an energetic and cover happy set that saw the duo take on everything from Bo Diddley’s “You Can’t Judge A Book By The Cover” to “Doc Watson’s “Tennessee Stud,” Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “Pride And Joy” and Merle Haggard’s “Mama Tried.”