ShoalsFest made a welcome return to Florence, AL, with performances from Garrison Starr, Jason Isbell, Patterson Hood, Jackson Browne, and more!
It’s been three years since ShoalsFest last graced the banks of the Tennessee river and the sound of some songwriting genius blew through the Alabama Pines in McFarland Park. So it was with much anticipation that Loud Hailer embarked on the long old road trip from Chicago to Florence for ShoalsFest 2025. Judging by the buzz online and amongst the attendees we spoke to waiting to get in for day one, there was a huge amount of excitement at the return of Jason Isbell’s festival (particularly once the stellar 2025 line-up was announced). So as we walked beneath the now iconic ShoalsFest banner and those even more iconic pine trees. It was time to catch up with old friends, enjoy some fantastic live music, and drink in the atmosphere in beautiful Florence.
First up on the main stage was Garrison Starr. Garrison had opened for Jason last year on his Ryman run and it’s clear to see why Jason likes the Grammy-nominated singer songwriter. She and her band walked on stage and launched into “Big Sky,” immediately catching the attention of the already good-sized audience in the park and causing others who were entering to up their speed from a meander to a trot!
She followed up with “Ain’t No Grave,” and that really got things cooking… Her band sounded fantastic, and the gritty vocals and a great solo really got people in the audience moving around – no mean feat when you’re the first act of the day and its 90 degrees! Indeed, Garrison herself was feeling the heat after this one and noted that she was keeping her sunglasses handy to use as a hairband in case her hair got too sweaty (provided they stayed between her t*ts – her words not ours). As the set rolled on, she talked about her experience of being outed by some friends and being told she needed to repent for her sins. As a result, she decided to make the move to LA with one of her best friends. When she got there, she was driving past the Troubadour and saw a giant burly guy riding a bike, wearing pink flip flops and shorts, and knew she’d found the place she would fit in. Shortly after arriving in LA, she wrote the fantastic “Downtown Hollywood,” and this song was a highlight of the set.
Garrison talked about her love of gospel music prior to “Hallelujah, Come Together,” and played one of her “moderate hits” (again her words not ours), “Superhero,” before launching into “Bones.” Towards the end, she spent some time introducing and heaping some deserved praise on her excellent band and highlighted the fact that it was really important to her to have an all-female band visible on the stage. She closed out with a sing-a-long on the inspirational “Better Day Coming.” It was a great way to close out a great set.
Next up on the ShoalsFest stage was some true Muscle Shoals royalty in the form of Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham. It was inspiring to see that, though they are progressing in years, the talent and creative genius of these two has not dimmed at all – nor has the enjoyment they appear to get from playing music together. Indeed, Oldham has recently been out on tour with Neil Young (see Loud Hailer’s recent review of Neil’s show at the Huntington Bank Pavilion in Chicago).Penn and Oldham became hit songwriting machines after meeting in Muscle Shoals in the sixties, and it was truly a joy to hear some of the stories that led to the writing of some of those hits. Early in the set, Penn told of a time he and Spooner were sitting in a diner one evening near the studio when Oldham had said to him, “I could cry like a baby.” That had been just the hook Penn was looking for and they rushed to the studio and cut “Cry Like a Baby” that night. The set progressed this way, with anecdotes about the pair’s friendship keeping the audience entranced before they played hit after hit….. “Come on Over,” “It Tears Me Up,” which was released by Percy Sledge, and “Dark End of the Street” being some of the highlights.
Seeing Oldham and Penn perform was a genuine treat and also testament to the power of true friendship and true talent. Watching the octogenarians chat and joke together whilst thoroughly entertaining a festival audience for an hour, you couldn’t help but think the old saying may be true – “If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.”
As the sun began to dip into the Tennessee river, potentially the most pointless introduction of the night occurred when the next three performers walked onto the stage and one of them stepped up to the mic to say “Hi, I’m Jason Isbell.” Jason then continued to introduce Patterson Hood and Chris Tompkins – neither of which needed any introduction to this crowd either! The songwriters round format with Jason, John Paul White, Gary Nicholls, and Chris Tompkins was incredibly well received at 2022’s ShoalsFest so it was great to see it back for another round (pun intended) in 2025.Patterson took the honors and kicked things off strong with “Uncle Disney” with Jason and Chris providing subtle backing on guitar before telling a great story about playing with Jason for the first time back in the day. He noted they played a song Patterson had written with a crazy modulation towards the end, and that despite Jason playing it for the first time, he picked up on it without Patterson having to say a word. He said he thought at the time, “ I have to play with this guy forever.” Jason was next to take the mic for “Traveling Alone” before Chris chipped in with his song “Bama Breeze,” a song he noted that was inspired by a bar in Decatur.
The set progressed in much the same way and it was fantastic to see three songwriters of this level effectively taking the mic after one another to say “good song – now hold my beer (or bottle of water in this case).” Not that we’re suggesting there is any rivalry here – the bonds clearly run incredibly deep between these three friends and it was great to see and hear the results from the different approaches to songwriting each of them take. Patterson’s writing is raw, comes straight from the source and hits hard, Jason… well, is Jason Isbell… poetic yet direct with a knack for making every song, regardless of the subject, relatable. Chris is the Nashville hitmaker and co-writer extraordinaire with a knack for taking cues from the world around him to craft something that will take an artist to the top of the charts. No one of these ways is right or wrong, and that is the true beauty of any art!
Before the end of the set, the audience was treated to some monster songs including “Righteous Path” and “Bulldozers and Dirt” from Patterson, “Outfit” and “If We Were Vampires” from Jason, and “White Picket Fence” and “Before He Cheats” from Chris. Jason was even kind enough to throw in a brand new one, much to everyone’s delight!
Judging by the response of the audience, we’d suspect the songwriters round portion of the festival will become a staple of future ShoalsFests.
After the lineup the audience had been treated to, it was going to take something pretty special to get everyone’s excitement peaking again and Jackson Browne was, of course, up to the task. He mentioned early in his set that, unbelievably given his storied career and extensive touring, this was his first time playing in Muscle Shoals. It was clear that, as a result, this was a special night for him as he marveled at the studios, songs, and musicians that the region has nurtured (including Spooner who he mentioned had played on one of his songs fifty years ago).There’s not much to say about Jackson Browne that hasn’t been said before, he’s an artist and songwriter of the absolute highest caliber. On the evening, he and his phenomenal band put on a show that had the ShoalsFest crowd along with, we’d imagine, all the other artists that had played that day enraptured. The songs are so iconic and his delivery so powerful and energetic that you could only stand and watch in awe. There were too many highlights of his set to call out here but “The Long Way Around,” “Redneck Friend,” and a cover of Little Steven’s “I am a Patriot” were stand-outs before the real big-hitters in the form of “Somebody’s Baby” and “Doctor My Eyes” rang out as the set rolled towards its conclusion. There was even a chance for Jason to join Jackson on stage for one song before he closed out the night with “Running on Empty.”
As the stage lights came down, the crowd began filtering out of the venue and it was noticeable that every one was wearing a smile on their sun-toasted and (in some cases) slightly over-served faces! Time to get some sleep and get ready for round two on Sunday.
WORDS BY: Phil Walton
PHOTOS BY: Kirstine Walton
