It’s hard to think of an artist whose fortunes changed as abruptly as Shaboozey’s did last year. Featured on two tracks on Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter (which he only found out on the album’s release), he became the poster boy of a revolution in country music overnight – one disrupting Nashville with Black cowboy aesthetics and trap and hip-hop mashups. The release of A Bar Song (Tipsy) just two weeks later was impeccable timing: it became a viral sensation, eventually tying Lil Nas X’s Old Town Road for the longest-running Billboard Hot 100 No 1.
It is curious, then, that Shaboozey finds himself performing at the 1,500-capacity Koko. Though sold out, the venue seems minuscule compared to the scale of his radio and chart domination. But it’s an appropriate choice – unencumbered by the recurrent pressure on early-career artists to pack out oversized venues and maximise returns. The vibe is intimate, focused on the close chemistry with his three-piece band, who blow the roof off with some thunderously loud peaks.
