Old Crow Medicine Show at Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington, MA on April 25
Americana roots band Old Crow Medicine Show brought their high energy blend of traditional country, old-time string music, bluegrass, and folk to the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington, Massachusetts on Friday April 25, 2025. The historic Mahaiwe Theater and Old Crow’s organic traditional style music seemed to be made for each-other, and the band did not disappoint, playing a two-and-a-half hour, 33-song set.
Opener Trey Hensley wowed the crowd with his picking prowess and extraordinary guitar playing, during his 11-song set, which included his original material and some choice covers by artists like The Grateful Dead, The Allman Brothers, and The Band, and country legends Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash. Throughout his performance, he garnered impromptu applause due to his dynamic dexterity and precision on the guitar. His incredibly fast and furious playing style reminded me of Roy Clark, who I used to watch in awe as a kid on the TV variety show Hee-Haw. Hensley’s rich, soulful, and powerful baritone vocals has echoes of classic country artists like Merle Haggard and George Jones. Hensley received a well-deserved standing ovation at the end of his set. He later joined Old Crow Medicine Show for the duration of their performance, singing and playing acoustic guitar and guitjo (a combination guitar-banjo). https://www.treyhensley.com/
As “Jonesy” by George Jones played over the PA, Old Crow Medicine Show took the stage by storm, immediately electrifying the room, and did not let up. Five songs in, Ketch Secor, the master of ceremonies of sorts, addressed the sold out venue, “Thank you so much for your warm welcome,” then quipped about not knowing the proper
Mahigan pronunciation of the theater and the high price of a gourmet oat milk latte in town. Secor pandered to the audience by name-checking various Berkshire County locales (“Housatonic River”) and celebrities (“We’re in Arlo country”), playfully teased them at times (about the long standing dividing rift between Yankee and Red Sox fans), and would often cheekily refer to the “coyote howls” and “rolling tumble weeds” on the “wild western prairies” of the Berkshires throughout the show. Secor also played fiddle, guitar, and harmonica, sometimes two at a time, one in each hand or tossing one harp down on the stage and grabbing another.
The rest of the band were just as impressive with their varied musicianship. During their jam-packed set, instruments (as well as hats) were exchanged, with most of the players not only being multi-instrumentalists, but also skilled singers, as well as entertainers, as various members sauntered and sashayed about, twirled their hats on their fiddle bows, and broke into a dance, a two-step, the “floss,” or a jig, and even comedically pantomimed riding horses (while singing “Cool Water”) to the amusement and approval of the attendees. The band also moved back and forth to the edge of the stage in a line for some portions of the performance, and then back to their respective spots. At one point, they all gathered around a single standing vintage style microphone and sang three-part harmonies on a string of songs. Their stage hand and guitar tech Tyler Nichols was kept busy all night, bringing various guitars, violins, banjos, mandolins onto the stage (as well as five pages of extended song lyrics to Bob Dylan’s “Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blue Again”) and carrying other instruments off with well-choreographed rigor. He also played accordion on a number of songs, and even displayed an acute baton twirling agility while the band performed “Tear It Down.”
It was evident that the patrons were thoroughly enjoying themselves, robustly singing the chorus when the band segued “I Hear Them All” into Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land,” spontaneously clapping along to another Woody song “Union Maid,” and getting out of their seats to dance in the aisles and down in front of the stage (where many remained) when Secor coaxed then to do so half-way through their set. When the band left after bringing down the house their hit song “Wagon Wheel,” they received an uproariously loud and long-lasting round of applause, along with hoots, howls, chants, and cheers, until they came back for their three encores. By the end of the night, Secor was sweating through his chamois shirt and guzzling bottled water. He and the rest of the band certainly gave their all, feeding off the fervor of the attentive and appreciative crowd until their final exit (to the theme of The Golden Girls “Thank You For Being A Friend”). It was an enjoyable and entertaining night filled with continuous goodtime music, performed with great zest and zeal by this talented group of musicians. Don’t miss a chance to check out one of their shows, as this band’s reputation as a stellar live act precedes them.
For more information: https://www.crowmedicine.com/
Enjoy our previous coverage here: Show Review: Old Crow Medicine Show at Humphrey’s By the Bay
OLD CROW MEDICINE SHOW:
Ketch Secor on main vocals, fiddle, harmonica, guitar, banjo (1998–present)
Morgan Jahnig on upright bass and electric bass, and bass drum on “Carry Me Back to Virginia” (2000–present)
Cory Younts on mandolin, keyboards, banjo, harmonica, and vocals (2013–present)
Mike Harris on slide guitar, guitar, mandolin, banjo, dobro, guitjo, and vocals (2021–present)
Chance McCoy on guitar, fiddle, banjo, mandolin, dobro and vocals (2012–2019; 2025)
PJ George on banjo, accordion, mandolin, fiddle, guitar, guitjo, drums, and vocals (2023–present)
OLD CROW MEDICINE SHOW SETLIST:
Tell It To Me
Alabama High-Test
Tennessee Bound
Proud Mary (Creedence Clearwater Revival cover)
Carry Me Back to Virginia
Cumberland River
If the Good Lord’s Willing and the Creeks Don’t Rise (Jerry Reed cover)
Great Balls of Fire (Jerry Lee Lewis/Otis Blackwell cover)
Rosie
New Virginia Creeper
Hard to Love
The Boatman
Elzick’s Farewell
Stay All Night
Boll Weevil
I Hear Them All / This Land is Your Land (Woody Guthrie)
Dixie Avenue
Cotton Fields
Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blue Again (Bob Dylan cover)
Cocaine Habit
CC Rider (Ma Rainey cover)
Union Maid (Woody Guthrie cover)
Cool Water (Marty Robbins cover)
Orange Blossom Special (Merle Haggard cover)
Methamphetamine
Fall On My Knees
Redneck Girl (The Bellamy Brothers cover)
Tear it Down
Wagon Wheel
ENCORES:
Down Home Girl (Alvin Robinson cover)
The Weight (The Band cover)
I Saw the Light (Hank Williams With His Drifting Cowboys cover) / Band Introductions
TREY HENSLEY SETLIST:
Can’t Outrun the Blues
Brown Eyed Women (Grateful Dead cover)
Between Going and Gone
Big River (Johnny Cash cover)
Back Streets Off Broadway
Moonshine Run
Blue Sky (The Allman Brothers Band cover)
Country Boy Rock and Roll
Up On Cripple Creek (The Band cover)
Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground (Willie Nelson cover)
You Can’t Judge a Book By The Cover (Willie Dixon cover)
