Review: Fans ate what Tanner Adell served, her distinctive brand of country-pop with a side of kiss-off energy
From the moment Tanner Adell’s rhinestoned cowboy boots stepped on the T-Mobile Stage as one of Friday’s earliest acts, she clearly was prepared to give the kind of set she wanted, no matter how the Olivio Rodrigo fans at the barricades were going to respond.
Opening with her rowdy 2022 single “Do-Si-Don’tcha,” she established her unique sound — an eclectic dish of country conventions with pop, hip-hop and rock elements, topped with twangy vocals and a side of kiss-off energy with a wink.
That blend shone on songs like 2023’s “Backroad,” “FU-150,” which have Adell painting vivid images of spending a “couple racks at the Tractor Supply Co.,” dissing an ex-lover’s rusted tailgate, going to church after a night out “scuffing our boots at the county line.” These songs hit just as hard live as they would at blasting through car speakers on a drive home from work.
Adell showed off her strong vocal range while working the stage with cool confidence, wearing sparkling fishnets and a tan bra, to which cardboard paper star cutouts read, “Press Here” and “Press if u like c-ntry music.”
For nearly five years, Adell has been releasing songs that let banjos occupy the same space as trap beats and pedal steels share the air with high-flying vocals. Themes of love, loss and celebration Lollapalooza fans heard from headliner Luke Combs Thursday night rang out in Adell’s set Friday afternoon. She was just doing things her way — and it was working.
To no surprise, the crowd ate what she was serving right up, nodding and dancing as Adell strutted across the stage, stomped on the catwalk, shook her behind and smiled as she sang.
“I’ve been making country music for a minute now — I like to think I do it in my own way,” the Nashville-based singer told fans. It’s that confidence and direction that put her on the radar of Beyoncé, who recruited Adell and fellow Black women country artists Brittney Spencer, Tiera Kennedy and Reyna Roberts to sing on “Cowboy Carter.”
Among the set highlights was 2023’s “Love You A Little Bit,” a sunny, tender country pop rock tune that saw Adell belt about crushing on someone. Adell continued the theme in “Strawberry Crush,” about “a hot girl I saw at the grocery store,” as she told the crowd.
Throughout, she sang over a backing track that provided harmonies, and banjo, pedal steel and synth instrumentals. She was also supported by a solid two-piece band — a drummer, who would occasionally use a sample pad, and an electric and acoustic guitarist, who stuck mainly to a Telecaster for guitar solos, like the one on “Throw It Back.” While introducing that song, Adell told the crowd, “You ever heard the phrase there’s plenty of fish in the sea? That’s true. But if you don’t like the fish you catch — throw it back.”
She wrapped the set with one of her most popular hits, “Buckle Bunny,” someone she defined as “basically a country bumpkin hoe.” As the the country-trap bop got more people dancing, Adell sang the memorable line: “Ate the whole cake, left ‘em no crummies.”
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