When walking down 23rd street towards Lexington Avenue in New York City, one is surrounded by a typical urban environment of tall buildings with a plethora of fast food joints, drug stores and coffee shops; in the midst of it all, the Gramercy Theatre marquee lights up the night. But on January 29, entering the music venue was much like entering a portal from urban space right into a Texas honky-tonk as the Josh Abbott Band brought the house down with an amazing performance of country and bluegrass.
Promoting their new album Front Row Seat – a deeply personal album segmented into five Acts about Abbott’s fairy-tale beginning to tragic ending of his relationship with his ex-wife – Josh Abbott Band kicked off the show with the upbeat “Live It While You Got It (Act 1)” to the roar of the crowd. The other two tracks of Act 1, the more lighthearted Act on the album, were also performed: “While I’m Young (Act 1)” – which featured some amazing banjo picking – and “I’ve Been Known (Act 1).”
The emotion of “If It Makes You Feel Good (Act 2),” and “Crazy Things (Act 3)” were felt through Abbott’s vocals, as if he was reliving those moments as he sang. But the most heart wrenching by far was “Amnesia (Act 5),” the album’s lead-off single. Abbott’s singing during the chorus hit the gut with such a punch that could not be ignored: “What I don’t know wouldn’t hurt me / If I could lose my memory / I think maybe I’d be fine / If I just lost my mind / I wouldn’t have to replace you / I could just erase you / And I wouldn’t have to know how I much I need ya.”
Carly Pearce, who opened the show along with Tucker Beathard, joined Abbott on stage for their duet “Wasn’t That Drunk (Act 2).” As much as their vocals complement each other on the 
recording of the current single, it doesn’t even come close to hearing the two sing together live – the desire and emotion of the lyrics were brought to life, and the power behind Pearce’s vocals was on full display.
Unlike most other tours that support a newly released album, the songs played from Front Row Seat were sprinkled throughout and only comprised about half of the 20+ song set list. The crowd was treated with tunes spanning the band’s entire catalog including the bluegrass “Bushy Creek,” “Touch,” “I Just Wanna Love You,” the rowdy “Where’s the Party,” and “All of a Sudden” to name a few. “Road Trippin” was dedicated to those fans who road tripped to the city for the show, and before they played “Hangin’ Around,” their 2014 single, Abbott showed his gratitude as he thanked the local NYC country station NASHFM for giving it some airplay.
Performing the older songs allowed the crowd to show the band just how true and longtime supporters they were, singing aloud to every song thrown at them. But perhaps the loudest were “I’ll Sing About Mine” and “She’s Like Texas,” where the NYC fans practically drowned out Abbott and he signaled them to carry parts of the chorus.
Abbott brought out Pearce for another duet, who received cheers from the enthusiastic crowd, this time singing Kacey Musgraves’ part on the 2011 single “Oh, Tonight.” Once again, Abbott and Pearce’s vocals powerfully filled the room and blended as if they had been signing together for years.
While the set consisted of mostly original songs, the band did throw in Garth Brooks’ “Callin’ Baton Rouge” and some killer fiddle playing on Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir” as in intro into “My Texas.”
“You made our night tonight,” said Abbott as he and the band walked off the stage. The house lights came up, the crowd groaned and protested for an encore. Shortly after, the band returned 
and performed one more song – “Taste” – before saying a final goodnight to their fans.
Suffice it to say, Texas Country was brought full and heavy to NYC. Josh Abbott Band performed masterfully, and it shouldn’t be long before heavy demand ventures them back to the Big Apple.
Check out photos from the night here, and check out live coverage on our Twitter. Front Row Seat can be purchased at all major music distributors, and make sure to check out joshabbottband.com for shows and events in your area.