On Thursday night, Leon Bridges and Charley Crockett kicked off their co-headlining The Crooner & The Cowboy tour with a double shot of soul, country, and Lone Star swagger under (and in front of) the stars at the Hollywood Bowl. It was opening night, but it felt like a coronation of Texas titans whose careers have long been intertwined.
These two go way back, with ten years of friendship, shared stages, and grind-it-out gigs in Deep Ellum before either had played a room bigger than their uncle’s garage. Crockett and Bridges both came up the hard way, and on Thursday night, they brought that scrappy, genre-blurring energy to one of the most iconic stages in the country.
Charley Crockett and his Blue Drifters opened the evening looking every bit the part: boots, bolero, and that well-worn baritone voice that sounds like it’s been aged in a whiskey barrel since birth. His set leaned heavy on his new album, Lonesome Drifter, with the kind of dusty, twangy tunes that could just as easily soundtrack a spaghetti Western or a honky-tonk heartbreak.
He ripped through “Game I Can’t Win” and “Tennessee Quick Cash” with swagger, let the groove simmer on “Night Rider”, and got reflective on “Solitary Road”. “Hard Luck & Circumstances” and “Welcome to Hard Times” played like open letters to anyone who’s ever chased a dream with empty pockets and a full heart.
Mid-set, Crockett tipped his hat to Willie Nelson (his previous appearance at the Bowl was for the Red-Headed Stranger’s 90th birthday bash) and even made the case for Waylon Jennings’ overdue induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Preach, cowboy.
His cover of Link Wray’s “Juke Box Mama” turned the energy up a notch with yet another nod to the history of country music. By the time he dropped into the roadhouse boogie of “Trinity River” and the rolling Americana of “Lonesome Drifter”, the crowd had eased into a full-body sway. Before stepping off, he gave props to his “brother” Leon and reminded everyone that this was, in fact, a Texas family reunion.
Leon Bridges picked up right where Charley left off, gliding on stage like a soul-slick preacher in a powder blue denim suit and sunglasses. A decade since he stormed onto the scene with “Coming Home”, the man’s voice still sounds like butter on cornbread, smooth as ever but somehow even more grounded.
With an eight-piece band behind him and the soft glow of the Bowl at his back, Bridges dove deep into his latest album, Leon, and didn’t waste a second setting the mood. He opened with the aching ballad “When a Man Cries”, followed by “Panther City”, a nod to his Fort Worth roots. “Better Man” had the women in the crowd fanning themselves, and “Flowers” bloomed into a lush groove that carried across the canyon walls.
“Laredo” and “Coming Home” reminded longtime fans that Leon’s vintage soul still burns bright, while “Mariella” (his collab with fellow Texan act Khruangbin) led into a full-on jam of “Steam” that pushed his sound into cosmic territory.
“Texas Sun” shimmered like a mirage, “You Don’t Know” brought that Sam Cooke-style strut, and “Bad Bad News” rolled straight into “If It Feels Good (Then It Must Be)” without breaking stride. He brought the room to church with the gospel-touched “God Loves Everyone” and closed his main set with “River”, complete with a quiet that made 17,000 people feel like they were huddled around a campfire.
But he wasn’t done. Leon returned for a knockout encore of “Lisa Sawyer” and “Beyond”, sending couples into a thousand slow dances as the California night cooled and the lights dimmed.
If Charley was the cowboy, tough and twangy, Leon was the crooner, smooth and stirring. Together, they turned the Bowl into a Texas roadhouse with soul.
Their tour doesn’t pick up again until late August [get tickets], but this opening night was a statement: two artists at the peak of their powers, leading with love, authenticity, and a whole lot of Southwestern grit.
You want real music? Look no further.
You want soul? They got it.
You want cowboy hats, country-chic garb, and Texas charm from two dudes who’ve earned it the hard way?
Well, partner… you’re in the right place.
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Charley Crockett – “Game I Can’t Win” – 6/5/25
[Video: John Ziegwied-Front & Center Concert Videos]