Morgan Wade at the Capitol Theatre -- April 30.
Tuesday, April 30, 8 p.m.
Capitol Theatre, 330 West Third Street, Davenport IA
Touring in support of her most recent album Psychopath, a top-10 Billboard hit that No Depression said "highlights her broadening range and skillful integrations of country, rock, and pop elements," rising country star Morgan Wade headlines an April 30 concert at Davenport's Capitol Theatre, the singer/songwriter also lauded by Red Guitar Music as "an artist who deserves to make some serious waves."
A native of Floyd, Virginia, Wade began writing songs as a freshman in college, and in 2018, she recruited musicians through Craigslist to record her debut Puppets with My Heart, which was credited to The Stepbrothers. Later that year, Wade performed at Virginia's FloydFest along with artists including Jason Isbell, whose sound engineer gave her album to Sadler Vaden, the guitarist in Isbell's band The 400 Unit. Vaden and producer Paul Ebersold consequently helped Wade assemble another album, 2021's Reckless, over the next two years. Released via the Thirty Tigers label, Reckless sold 3,000 copies in its first week and peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers charts. Wade told Billboard's magazine version that the album was inspired by her struggles with her mental health, past relationships, and sobriety after an admitted alcohol addiction, and Rolling Stone Country went on to praise the album by saying that Wade has "the ragged edge of a singer/songwriter who’s been putting her nose to the grindstone for some time. In a voice like worn leather, Wade describes desperate, spontaneous relationships that feel the strongest when they’re at their breaking point."
In conjunction with the album's release, "Wilder Days" was released to radio as the album's first single, a song that led Billy Dukes of Taste of Country to described Wade's vocal presence as a "hardened Sheryl Crow," with the tune itself labeled "complex, with chords and a melancholy shuffle that shouts heartbreak, even if her story is at worst hesitant and thoughtful." Wade subsequently re-released Reckless in 2022 with six bonus tracks, one of them a cover of Elvis Presley's 1969 hit "Suspicious Minds" that Off the Record called "stunning and surprising ... . It’s quite a feat to turn such an intimately known song into something utterly fresh and novel." Since its release last August, Psychopath has been amassing similar raves, with BrooklynVegan including the work among its 13 Great Country Albums from 2023 list, with critic Andrew Sacher stating that "Morgan has a way of blurring the lines between country traditions, punk grit, and pop appeal, but more important than any of her stylistic choices is just how strong her songwriting is ... the way she turns a phrase and delivers a melody will catch you off guard on first listen."
Morgan Wade brings her "Crossing State Lines Unplugged Tour" to on April 30 with an additional set by Alex Dezen of the Damwells, admission to the 8 p.m. concert is $29-135, and more information and tickets are available by visiting Facebook.com/CapitolTheatreQC.
