Entertainment
JAKE WORTHINGTON TURNED NASHVILLE’S CANNERY HALL INTO A HONKY TONK
NASHVILLE, TENN. – Captivating a sold-out Music City crowd last Thursday night, the pride and joy of La Porte, Texas and reigning Texas Country Music Association Male Artist of the Year Jake Worthington brought TONK to Tennessee at his first-ever Nashville headliner.
The twanging hour-long set highlighted Worthington’s signature “pure Texas drawl” (Billboard), including cuts from his noteworthy self-titled debut album of “gorgeous beer-joint purism” (Texas Monthly) like “Next New Thing,” “Single At The Same Time,” “Honky Tonk Crowd,” and waltzing “State You Left Me In,” alongside a crop of unreleased gems that had the crowd hanging on his every note.
Worthington’s third song of the night was a solo take on unreleased Miranda Lambert collaboration, “Hello Shitty Day,” slated to drop Sept. 27. A loping jaunt about a truly rotten day, the curse-laden true country cut made an impression, with audience members yelling back the song’s title as Worthington sang near the end of its over four-minute runtime.
Another powerful testament to Worthington’s artist-to-artist cred, the set featured Jake’s rendition of his HIXTAPE: Vol. 3: DIFFTAPE track featuring Reba McEntire, “Is It Cold In Here.”
Rousing covers of his heroes’ tunes rounded out the evening – George Jones’ “White Lightning” and “If Drinking Don’t Kill Me (Her Memory Will),” and Merle Haggard’s “Heaven Was A Drink Of Wine.” Notably, Jones’ former steel guitarist Tom Killen accompanied Worthington throughout the show.
Closing the night with an encore, Worthington “defined the meaning of traditional country music at his sold-out show” (MusicRow), “leaving the crowd in awe.”
Worthington continues down the road this week, headlining in Texas and Okla. before supporting Cody Jinks and Kameron Marlowe respectively on select dates through the end of 2024.
ABOUT JAKE WORTHINGTON
For La Porte, Texas native Jake Worthington, traditional country music has been ingrained in his DNA since childhood. Raised on his grandfather’s porch performances of Ray Price, Merle Haggard, and George Jones, he soon picked up his own Gibson acoustic and realized the breadth of his soon-to-be-classic, wide, and wild voice. Now, Worthington breathes fresh life to dance halls, beer joints, and ballrooms from Texas to Tennessee with his 13-song, self-penned debut album, Jake Worthington. Captivating the masses with his honky-tonk stylings, the singer-songwriter has brought two-step anthems to venues across the country, opening for Miranda Lambert, Cody Johnson, Lainey Wilson, Riley Green, Pat Green, Hank Williams Jr., ERNEST, and more. Recently, Worthington hit the road with Ian Munsick for his Boots, Buckles & Bolos Tour and continues cross country with his own headline dates and festivals including Stagecoach, Two Step Inn Festival, CMA Fest, Country Jam, Windy City Smokeout, and more. Worthington is also a newly sought-after feature artist across the Nashville landscape, including guest spots on HIXTAPE: Vol. 3: DIFFTAPE with Reba McEntire on “Is It Cold In Here,” HIXTAPE: Vol. 2 with Ronnie Dunn and Jake Owen on “Jonesin’,” Ronnie Dunn’s 2022 album 100 Proof Neon on “Honky Tonk Town” and ERNEST’s 2023 extension FLOWER SHOPS (THE ALBUM): Two Dozen Roses on “Heartache In My 100 Proof.” “I believe in country music as much as I believe in my next breath,” Worthington declares, and “blame it on my raising, but I think there ought to be room for country in country music.”
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