Saturday night’s show with Chris Jones and the Flycatchers, RC & The Ambers and Kyle Nix and the 38’s might have been one of the best shows of 2021. Normally you don’t see this many members of The Turnpike Troubadours on the stage at Cain’s Ballroom without it being New Year’s Eve, but Saturday night was an exception. The line to get into Cain’s stretched down the block, a line full of many people who had driven in from other cities and states after rumors had been swirling all week that the show would turn into a Turnpike Troubadours reunion. This was largely due to the news that the Troubadours had reunited and would be hosting a show at Red Rocks on May 14th.

It’s hard to even pick a favorite moment from this night of music. Chris Jones, accompanied by Isaac Stalling and Ken Pomeroy (all three are incredibly talented musicians that call the OKC metro home) took the stage first and held their own against a rowdy crowd. Highlights of this set were many, but one of the standout songs was “Flannel Cowboy” sung by Ken Pomeroy (her album, Christmas Lights in April, is out December 10th). It was obvious she wowed the crowd, as they cheered during some of her impressive vocal work throughout the song. Covering “Bird Hunters” with Kyle Nix accompanying on fiddle got the crowd fired up in a hurry.

RC & the Ambers were up next. Although RC Edwards and Amber Watson are the namesakes of the band and integral to the popularity of it, I’d be remiss not to mention the other musicians that they’ve added to the band since the early days of its existence. Lance Roarke, Justin Kay, Brennan Marcotte and Nick Pitre have joined the band, as well as pedal steel whiz and Turnpike Troubadours member, Hank Early, sitting in with them as well. It’s not an RC & the Ambers set without hearing “Big Country,” but “Oklahoma Beach Body,” “Fall Out of Love” and “Drunk, High, and Loud” all made the setlist as well as a Amber absolutely nailing a cover of Little Big Town’s, “Girl Crush.” With this many members in a band, it’s a joy to watch them interact with each other on-stage. Lance Roarke’s guitar work was as thrilling as Amber’s vocals and it was the perfect lead-in to the headlining act.

Taking the stage last were Kyle Nix and his 38’s, to include Bill Corbin, Kevin “Haystack” Foster, Jason Andrew and Turnpike drummer, Gabriel Pearson. It was a jam-packed set, to include multiple sections devoted to bluegrass (“Rolling in My Sweet Baby’s Arms” and “Sitting On Top of the World”), a few acoustic numbers, The Flycatchers joined Kyle for “Sweet Delta Rose” and a rousing ending with everyone jumping on stage, to include Turnpike guitarist, Ryan Engleman to sing “Georgia on a Fast Train” and the crowd favorite, “Easton & Main.” Not to be denied an encore, the crowd stomped until the floor shook and “1968” and “Faded Love” were the last songs of the night.

Truly, the best part of the whole night was how well each act wove Turnpike songs into their sets, yet still did their own originals and well-chosen covers. It was a great way to remind those out there that The Turnpike Troubadours are back, but without overshadowing the bands and albums that both Kyle Nix and RC Edwards have been busy with since the hiatus began. Their efforts and work deserve credit and as Kyle announced from the stage, “just because Turnpike is back doesn’t mean these other bands are going anywhere.” If you didn’t leave your heart on the Cain’s Ballroom floor on Saturday night, then you missed out.