John Paul White at Heartwood Soundstage

John Paul White brought his soaring vocals and heartfelt songs to a sold-out audience at Heartwood Soundstage. The multiple Grammy-winner with the duo The Civil Wars has been a solo act for almost ten years now, and he’s flourishing. His return to the fine listening room at Heartwood was highly anticipated, and the show was livestreamed on Facebook.

John Paul White Photo credit: Rick Davidson

White’s hour-long set was surprisingly light on songs from his most recent album, The Hurting Kind, but opened with one of the best from that country-oriented album, “I Wish I Could Write You a Song.” Co-written with legend Whispering Bill Anderson and featuring White’s channeling of Roy Orbison’s towering vocals, it’s a standout from the newest album. After title song “The Hurting Kind,” White relied on some songs from his 2009 release The Long Goodbye: “Feeling Like an Alien” and “Come Over.” One of the more interesting choices was to pair “The Once and Future Queen” from his Beulah album with Wham‘s “Last Christmas,” which provoked a few chuckles from both White and the audience.

“Safe and Sound” is a Grammy-winning song that was a staple of The Civil Wars catalog but took on a life of its own after being recorded by Taylor Swift. Cowritten by White, his Civil Wars partner Joy Williams, T-Bone Burnett, and Taylor Swift, the song was written for the Hunger Games movie. When Swift began re-recording her old catalog, she recruited The Civil Wars to reunite and sing with her; the re-recorded song was released in March 2023. A solo performance of the song works perfectly, and the audience knew it well enough to sing along.

After several other Civil Wars songs, including “Barton Hollow,” White closed out the night with a cover of ELO‘s “Can’t Get It Out of My Head” and “September,” another older song that perfectly mixes anger and sadness at a collapsing relationship. It was a great night of music before an attentive and appreciative crowd, and White has never sounded better.

Set List

I Wish I Could Write You a Song

The Hurting Kind

Feeling Like an Alien

John Paul White at Heartwood Soundstage