After a full tour schedule that criss crossed the country in 2021, Carbon Leaf kicked off 2022 with what they called the “Not Really on Tour, Tour” Feb 18 in Rocky Mount, VA. I was fortunate enough to see them on the 19th at the Tally Ho in Leesburg, VA and what a treat it was.
I first encountered Carbon Leaf as a bright eyed college student at VCU 20 years ago, and like a fine wine they have only gotten better with age. With 14 studio albums under their belt they have a deep catalog to pull from and they always put together a highly energetic show filled with tunes that will keep your toes tapping and hands clapping.
I was too busy enjoying myself to keep a running setlist of the nearly 2 hour show, but if you are familiar with Carbon Leaf you will know that they played a lot of their standards including: “What About Everything?,” “One Prairie Outpost,” “Life Less Ordinary,” and “Let Your Troubles Roll By.”
They also included less frequently played favorites like “Shine,” “Blue Ridge Laughing,” “Desperation Song,” and “Home” (which included the Beach Boys’ Sloop John B intro). The only song I didn’t recognize was “Everything’s Alright Mama,” which is from their latest album The Hunting Ground.
The night ended with their “hit” song, “The Boxer.” To quote the first line of “The Boxer,” “I couldn’t have asked for a better night.”
Check out http://www.CarbonLeaf.com to see if they are coming to a town near you. If not, they are doing two fully produced livestreams this year (well three, but by the time of this writing the first one has already happened). You will not regret checking them out.