Shane Smith & The Saints (Friday Night Concert)

Doors: 9pm
Shane Smith & The Saints: 9:30pm

"It ain't black or white, babe; it's all the greys between," Shane Smith sings in "The Greys Between," the first single from Norther. On the surface, it's a cinematic love song about a relationship's twists and turns, punctuated by slide guitar, Appalachian fiddle, and sharp storytelling. Take a deeper listen to Shane Smith and the Saints' fourth studio album, though, and those words also sound like the motto of a band that's spent the past decade blurring the lines between genres. Norther is anything but monochromatic. Written and recorded during breaks in the band's touring schedule, the album captures Shane Smith and the Saints at their most colorful, offering up a hard-hitting version of American roots music that's influenced by country, folk, and roadhouse rock & roll. It's a sound that's been shaped by the road, where the Saints spent the past decade on tour, building a cult audience with each gig. Those years of raw, redemptive performances are now paying off — not only with headlining concerts at bucket-list venues like Red Rocks Amphitheater (which the group sold out in 36 hours) and the Ryman Auditorium, but also with an appearance on the hit TV show Yellowstone, where the Saints premiered Norther's final track, "Fire in the Ocean," with an onscreen performance. Thanks to early albums like 2013's Coast and 2015's Geronimo, Shane Smith and the Saints became a popular act in Austin, regularly cutting their teeth with marathon gigs at venues like The Stage On Sixth. Released in 2019, Hail Mary introduced the band's current lineup, as well as a heavier sound that separated the Saints from other Texas acts. It wasn't rock & roll. It wasn't country, either. It was everything that connected those genres, glued together by the camaraderie of a road-tested band that built its audience the old-school way: by hitting the stage and winning over the crowd, song after song, night after night. Norther builds upon that singular sound while also highlighting the bandmates' road-warrior chops. For an independent band like Shane Smith and the Saints, the work is never done. Norther is the soundtrack to that discovery. It's the sound of a band pushing its limits, broadening its reach, and expanding its audience.

GENERAL ADMISSION: $111.50 ($99.50 GA + $12 service fee)

See other events of Gruene Music & Wine Fest weekend: GrueneMusicAndWineFest.org