The Wal-Mart AMP closed out their 2024 season on a nice cool Autumn night with the relaxing sounds of Gregory Alan Isakov followed by a soulful closing from Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats. Each year the Wal-Mart AMP brings a great variety of musical and comedic acts to Northwest Arkansas to which has truly put the area on the map as a desirable stop for talent. Next year’s line up already has some great names that shouldn’t be missed, along with the countless other acts yet to be announced.

However, before the new year begins, the closing show for the night started off with Gregory Alan Isakov. The Wal-Mart AMP hasn’t had an acoustic / folk artist play in awhile and for this autumn night the sounds of Gregory Alan Isakov outside was a perfect way to set the mood to the evening. For just about a hour Gregory Alan Isakov and his band not only played a harmonious set, but also a projected fitting of displays behind them to fit the mood and songs. His latest album Appaloosa Bones was the highlight to his set for most songs played came from that album, but he didn’t forget to include songs like “Big Black Car” and “The Stable Song” which concluded his set with the whole band singing around the microphone. Even though his set was short, one couldn’t help but feel wrapped up in his music with such a peaceful autumn night.

This tour would conclude Nathaniel Rateliff’s busy year, after releasing his latest album, South Of Here, with the Night Sweats, Nathaniel and company have been touring non-stop. South Of Here, which is on my top ten of 2024, is a great road trip album and takes all the great parts of Nathaniel’s musicianship. From soulful numbers to acoustic driven songs, South Of Here might be one of his best albums yet.

Nathaniel Rateliff shows are shows that usually go for over a hour and a half and every show has them firing on all cylinders every minute. Nathaniel is one of the best front man out there today, for he can captivate the crowd with no problem, with or without guitar, and I am surprised he hasn’t performed on something like the Super Bowl halftime show. South Of Here was clearly present in their setlist, but that wasn’t until the mid part of their setlist, instead Nathaniel and the band broke into some of their most danceable numbers first then slowed it down. The show went through a roller coaster because once they finished going up with by the time they got to “Get Used To The Night” they started slowing it down again.

“And It’s Still Alright” showcased Nathaniel solo followed by a treat of Gregory Alan Isakov joining him on stage to perform a new song called “Flowers”. The song could easily wind up on Nathaniel’s solo album, but then again Gregory could also use it on his album. However the song is released, this may be the start to a hopefully duet full length album. Afterwards the set starts the roller coaster slowly going up till they explode with a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing In The Dark” followed by “Trying So Hard Not To Know”. As they end their set they perform a two song encore with “S.O.B.” and “Love Don’t” which leaves the crowd on a high note. With the year ending and already a new tour announced for the new year, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats prove they are work horses and they don’t plan to ever slow down.