📍 ACL Live — Jan. 17, 2026
Written by Perrin Boyd
My first concert of 2026 kicked off with another sold-out crowd at ACL Live, where the air felt thick with anticipation for an enigma who rides the line between myth and man. Colter Wall stepped onto the stage like a cattle rancher who'd just come in from the prairies, tall hat shadowing his face, guitar slung low. No grand entrance, no pyrotechnics - just a quiet giant ready to spin yarns that echo the ghosts of Cash, Nelson, and Jennings. Seeing Wall live felt like capturing a piece of history unfolding in real time, a rare glimpse of authentic western soul in an era chasing flash.
Wall's presence and deep tone commands without demanding. He barely spoke between songs, letting the music do the talking, much like the outlaw legends he channels. His baritone rumbled deep and gravelly, carrying the weight of dusty trails and hard-earned wisdom. You could close your eyes and swear Johnny Cash had returned to tell one more tale of sin and redemption, or Willie had wandered in from Austin's back porches with a lonesome lament. Waylon's outlaw spirit hovered too, in the unapologetic grit of every note. Yet Wall remains humble, shunning the spotlight that fame could bring - he's no seeker of celebrity, just a man who corrals stories like stray cattle.
The set opened strong with "1800 Miles," painting vast distances and weary travelers, then rolled into "Motorcycle," where the rhythm evoked open highways and restless cowboys chasing horizons. "Rocky Mountain Rangers" followed, conjuring images of mounted lawmen riding through snow-dusted peaks, Wall's voice steady as a branding iron. He honored the old guard with covers: Hoyt Axton's "Evangelina," a haunting ode to lost love, and Ian Tyson's "The Coyote & The Cowboy," a nod to the rugged ranch life that defines him.
Midway, "Corralling the Blues" and "Good Time Charlie's Got the Blues" captured the ache of hard-living drifters, while "Caroline" and "Cypress Hills and the Big Country" transported us to Saskatchewan's wide-open spaces. Wall's originals feel timeless, like campfire tales passed down through generations of cattlemen. "The Devil Wears a Suit and Tie" drew roars - its sly warning about smooth-talking snakes in fine clothes hit harder live, every syllable dripping with Cash-like menace.
The nods to tradition continued with one my favorite classic country songs: Billy Joe Shaver's "I Been to Georgia on a Fast Train," delivered with outlaw swagger, and the classic "Cowpoke," where Wall embodied the solitary rider under endless stars. He closed with "Sleeping on the Blacktop," and this moment shot me right back to the first time I heard Colter Wall. My brother and I were driving across the country somewhere through Montana or Wyoming in 2020 and he had on his outlaw country playlist with all the greats. Full circle moment getting the rare opportunity to see that artist now.
In a world of spectacle, Colter Wall's show at ACL Live was a reminder that true country endures through storytelling, not showmanship. The sold-out house hung on his every line, honored to witness this kept-to-himself artist who prefers the ranch to the red carpet. As the final notes faded, it felt less like a concert and more like sitting around a fire with a modern-day troubadour, hearing echoes of Cash, Willie, and Waylon in a voice that's wholly his own. A hell of a way to start the year.