Amanda Shires returned to the stage with her solo band on Tuesday at Asheville, NC’s The Grey Eagle. The concert marked the beginning of the singer-songwriter’s tour in support of her recently released album, Take It Like A Man.
Beyond starting the tour and celebrating the new album, Tuesday’s show had even more cause for joy as Shires’ mom and family were in attendance. Shires, who is married to fellow singer-songwriter Jason Isbell and often performs with his band The 400 Unit, admitted that her mom even bought her a margarita before the show to settle her nerves after being away for so long.
Emotions ran high for a multitude of reasons in Asheville, as Shires stacked the setlist with cuts from her new album including an opening run of “Here He Comes”, “Bad Behavior”, “Stupid Love”, and “Lonely At Night”, with “Hawk For The Dove” and the title track appearing later in the show. In a recent interview with CBS Mornings, Shires revealed that much of the inspiration for Take It Like A Man came while Isbell recorded his 2020 album, Reunions. Though artistically fruitful, the time was a low point in the couple’s marriage with Shires even moving out for ten days.
“It was just a war in the studio. It was like a war he was having with himself and with me,” she recalled to CBS’ Anthony Mason. “Suddenly in our house, he lived in his own invisible house and there was no windows and no doors and you couldn’t get to him. Like he was there, but he was just impenetrable.”
The two have since reconciled, with both Reunions and Take It Like A Man standing as testaments to their fortitude as partners both musically and maritally.
Check out a gallery of images of Amanda Shires at The Grey Eagle courtesy of photographer Steve Wittenberg/MeanPony Productions. Her tour continues tomorrow, September 9th, at 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C. For tickets and a list of dates head to her website.
Setlist: Amanda Shires | The Grey Eagle | Asheville, NC | 9/6/22
Set: Here He Comes, Bad Behavior, Stupid Love, Lonely At Night, Break Out the Champagne, White Feather, Hawk For The Dove, Swimmer, Parking Lot Pirouette, Empty Cups, Don’t Be Alarmed, Fault Lines, Look Like a Bird, Take It Like A Man, Galaxy
Encore: Don’t Call Me (The Highwomen)
