John Anderson Headlines Ryman For The First Time

It almost seems like a crime that the legendary John Anderson has never headlined the Ryman auditorium. He’s played there many times with many stars, but never headlined. Well all of that was made right Sunday night (5/21) in an intimate acoustic show with his “right hand” (and longtime band mate) Glen Rieuf. The Mother Church was packed with fans, friends and family of Anderson, many who he called out by name.

You forget just how many hits this man has had and the crowd sang every word of every hit right along with him. He started off with “I’m Just an Old Chunk of Coal,” but with 22 records and over 40 charted singles to his name he could not sing them all, but he sang all of the big ones.

One of the friends in the audience he called out was Vanderbilt doctor David Haynes. Anderson had a serious health scare back in 2017 and said had it not been for Haynes he might not be on that stage. But the 68-year-old singer has never sounded better. “Seminole Wind,” “Straight Tequila Night,” “Money in the Bank,” “Swingin’,” “Black Sheep,” “Chicken Truck,” “Wild and Blue,” and many more made the night go really quick. The singer did manage to squeeze in a couple newer songs from his Dan Auerbach produced album, “Years,” a retrospective 10-song record he cut with Auerbach at Nashville’s Easy Eye Sound Studio.

At the end of the night one thing is for sure, John Anderson loves his fans, he loves this country and he loves country music. Nashville.com loves John Anderson!