Junior Brown
March, 25 2011
Newberry, SC
Newberry Opera House
Concert Review by Joseph Hett

Junior Brown Picks His Way Back to Newberry

Junior Brown brought his unique style to the Newberry Opera House on Friday night. He was a little bit country, honky-tonk, blues, rock-n-roll and oldies all rolled into one.

When he hit the stage, he was armed with his world famous double neck six string and steel slide guitar known as “Big Red.” He could play the guitar and then in a split second switch over to the slide. And that made for a fantastic night of music at the intimate opera house.

He played his massive hits “Highway Patrol” and “My Wife Thinks You’re Dead,” to the capacity crowd’s delight. He also performed fan favorites “Long Walk Back to San Antone” and “Broke Down South of Dallas.”

With “Cagey Bea,” which is about a double agent working for the U.S.S.R., he emulated the traditional Russian musical sound on the slide guitar. Brown also threw in a surf instrumental which had the crowd dancing in their seats. He was a pure master at guitar and could make any sound come out of it.

When he returned to the stage for the encore, after a standing ovation, he was on fire with “Big Red.” He provided a great and crowd pleasing show, and hopefully he will come back to the Newberry Opera House very soon.