I’ve Seen the Future of Country Music, and its Name is Charles Wesley Godwin

Maybe it was the ice cold IC Light that I cheerfully imbibed going a little haywire on me and allowing me to see a few years down the line. Or it could’ve been the 90s-inspired country rocker (and yet to be released) “Two Weeks Gone” that allowed me to know where the future of the genre was headed. Perhaps it was my buddy who, just a week a earlier without ever having listened to one of his songs and assuming he would be a Childers-knock off when I invited him to the show, left at the end of the night speechless at the talent we had just witnessed on stage. Whatever it was that was in the air at Stage AE on the North Shore of Pittsburgh on February 4, 2023, one thing was certain. Charles Wesley Godwin is going to take over country music and all of its segmented scenes

When Charles Wesley Godwin released Seneca in 2019, it was met with rave reviews from some of the bloggers and writers I admire most. Zack Kephart at The Musical Divide had it number one on his albums of the year list. Trigger at Saving Country Music gave it an 8.5 out of ten rating. I, unfortunately, was right in the middle of an intense bout of frustration with the fast-paced nature of the underground country music world’s insistence that each new album was *the* record of the year before moving onto the next. So, despite those whose opinion I actually trust raving about the album, I was more turned off by the podcasters and social media accounts who wanted to shove the record in everyone’s face until the next new artist rolled around. I gave Seneca a cursory listen and despite being pleased with the vocals and songwriting, I paid it almost no mind. I didn’t let the record sit, and I didn’t revisit it either. I just dug into the stuff I wanted to listen to.

So, two and a half years later, when Godwin released How the Mighty Fall, I don’t think it even registered with me. I remember it once again receiving high praise, and I made a mental note to give it a listen. Yet, I never did.

Which brings me to about two weeks ago. Charles Wesley Godwin was swinging through Pittsburgh in a sort of homecoming show for him (his origins can be traced to Morgantown, WV, about 75 miles south. 13–9, by the way, and Hail to Pitt) while his band-The Allegheny High-is composed of a majority of Beaver County natives. I finally took a good listen to a few of his songs, roped my fiancé into going with me, and invited my buddy and his fiancé.

I’ll be honest. Going into the weekend, I was primarily interested in seeing Cole Chaney open for Charles Wesley Godwin. Chaney’s 2021 album Mercy, had indeed been one of the few recent records to actually knock me on my butt with its modern take on Kentucky bluegrass and poignant songwriting. I just hadn’t had a chance to sit with Godwin’s music like I had Cole’s. I got a chance to meet Cole before the show at the merch table, shake his hand, and let him know how much his album stood out to me. He couldn’t have been more gracious, and he put on a hell of a show as the opener. Cole Chaney has a bright future.

And, yet, from the first strums of his guitar when he opened the show with “Hardwood Floors,” the night belonged to Charles Wesley Godwin. I immediately was struck by The Allegheny High and how tight they were. I mean, musical style aside, I’m talking about a level of proficiency and awareness I’ve probably only seen matched by Kip Moore’s Slowhearts, Jimmy Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band, and Willie Nelson’s Family. The Allegheny High was right on cue with…everything. I was roped in immediately. My buddy and I looked each other in the middle of “Hardwood Floors,” and knew we were in for one hell of a ride. This was not just a Childers-knockoff or the newest flavor of the month. No, this was the future of country music.

I can’t, as much as I want to, just focus on the live show. But there is one more thing I have to mention. And that, my friends, is Read Connolly. Steel guitar virtuoso. Dude having the time of his life on stage. Accentuating Charles Wesley Godwin and The Allegheny High with the best licks I’ve ever seen played live. Stone-cold country. Ralph Mooney-esque outlaw. Appalachian bluegrass. You name the style of music, and Read “Two Show” Connolly will deliver. Read’s adaptability to different kinds of country music leads us firmly to our main point.

The reality is that today’s country music world is comprised of a countless number of scenes. While some artists may appeal to the majority them, it’s extremely rare to find an artist to appeal to them all. Zach Bryan counts the fans of pop country who are looking for a bit more, those who are bit newer to the Americana world and unfamiliar with its past, and the folks who weren’t willing to take Tyler Childers’ new journey. Childers has the traditionalists, aficionados, and stringent true believers. Luke Combs and Miranda Lambert have the mainstream track firmly controlled by those who like their radio with a little more substance. Morgan Wallen and his phony brand of country may have listeners convinced, but we all know who he’s truly appealing to. Turnpike Troubadours perhaps is the band that rightly comes closest to capturing fans from each corner, but until we hear some new music, we’re left hopefully wondering.

Many fans of those artists I just mentioned will find overlap. Yet, there is still antithesis between many of them. The true believers of Childers may find Zach Bryan unimaginative and repetitive. Fans of Luke Combs may find themselves above Morgan Wallen’s watered down pop country, and vice versa. Some Turnpike fans (and this is where I stand) may see Zach Bryan and just see a dude who is cashing in while he can.

But at Stage AE last Saturday, I saw someone who could appeal to each of the country music worlds. Charles Wesley Godwin may not quite be Evan Felker with his songwriting, but he can give us “Gas Well,” an epic Western-inspired song that could be a movie. He may not be as accessible as Luke Combs and the neo-traditional revival, but he’ll give you “Two Weeks Gone,” a Sawyer Brown-inspired 90s country romp if I’ve ever heard one. Godwin may not be as millennial and gen-z obsessed as Zach Bryan, but he’ll give you his own twist on a song to sing to your lover with “Hardwood Floors.” And Charles Wesley Godwin may not be as pure and alt-country in his attitude like Tyler Childers, but “Lyin’ Low” sits right there with “Whitehouse Road” as a Saturday night anthem in the hills of Appalachia.

And, I suppose, the live show is what made me want to write this piece. I wouldn’t have formed these conclusions and opinions without seeing Charles Wesley Godwin play live to a sold out Stage AE on a frigid February Saturday night in Pittsburgh. Often times I seek out shows and anxiously await for it to be time. That’s what I do with my favorites. Kip Moore. The Wild Feathers. Jimmy Buffett. Whiskey Myers. When I get tickets to my favorite artists and their swings through Western Pennsylvania, I get stoked. I mentally get to a place where I’m so excited I can barely stand it. And the payoff is always there, time and time again. It was different with Charles Wesley Godwin. The hype came before the music. I was expecting to be a little let down. I was expecting to see a cliche. Instead, I walked out of Stage AE knowing deep in my heart that I saw the future of country music.