Laurel Cove Music Festival, one of the biggest festivals for independent and Appalachian country music took place in Pineville, Kentucky over the weekend. Friday night (June 7) saw Wyatt Flores headlining the opening night of the festival. After playing a setlist packed with his songs and a handful of covers, he and his band delivered an unplugged rendition of Tyler Childers’ “Shake the Frost.”
Videos by American Songwriter
“Shake the Frost” is one of the most popular songs in Childers’ discography. However, much like other early favorite like “Nose on the Grindstone” and “Follow You to Virgie” Chiders never put it on a studio album. Instead, it only appears on Live on Red Barn Radio I & II (2018).
Flores and his band played a 15-song set that contained many numbers from his most recent release, Half Life. He also dipped into his back catalog and performed fan favorites like “Holes,” “Losing Sleep,” and “Please Don’t Go.” The set also included two cover songs. First, they covered “Russell County Line” by 49 Winchester. Later in the set, Flores invited Nicholas Jamerson to the stage to play Jamerson’s “Linda James” before closing with “West of Tulsa.”
After walking off the stage, Flores and his band came back for a one-song encore.
Wyatt Flores Leads a Singalong at Laurel Cove
Tyler Childers likely inspired more than half the lineup of the Laurel Cove Festival. At the same time, most of the crowd are fans of Childers’ music. So, it came as no surprise that nearly everyone in attendance sang along with Wyatt Flores as he belted out “Shake the Frost.”
Laurel Cove is a big event. However, Flores and company used their encore to turn it into an intimate singalong session. He stood near the edge of the stage with his acoustic guitar unplugged and sang without a mic. As the song went on, members of his band came to sit on the edge of the stage, playing unplugged along with him.
Finally, about halfway through the song, Flores took a seat between the members of his band. While the crowd was already singing the lyrics back to him, this was the moment that seemed to shift the energy. It went from being an unplugged encore to feeling like a front porch picking session with some incredibly talented friends.
Featured Image by Danielle Del Valle/Getty Images
