Wyatt Flores: Welcome to the Big Smoke

On August 29th Wyatt Flores played his first headlining gig in London, the same day he announced the release date and album cover of his debut red-dirt country album - Welcome to the Plains - he was maybe as far from Oklahoma as he could be.

After cancelling some UK shows back in March 2024 in order to concentrate on healing and helping his mental health, this little string of three UK shows (Glasgow, Manchester and London) felt like a big moment. For that very reason, there were multiple points during the night that Flores' connection with the music, the place and the people seemed to reach an almost overwhelming point.

Islington Assembly Hall was perhaps the perfect venue for Flores' first London show - a Grade II listed building with 1930s art-deco features. Mostly standing with some balcony seating and a couple of bars at the back of the room, the 800ish capacity venue might not have been sold out, but it sure should have been. There's always something special about seeing an artist in a smaller, more intimate venue - but there was a connection throughout this night that flawlessly demonstrated the reason this Oklahoma boy is making it big, and gaining an international audience too.

At the very core of country music is honesty. Between exceptionally well written songs, Flores truly bared his soul to a British audience - speaking on heartbreak, family trauma, and that ultimate yet incredibly difficult need to put yourself first sometimes, this was a gig full of honesty. A setlist that balanced the fun of high school football on Wildcat (not 'soccer', as he made sure to clarify), raw acoustic self-written lyrics on Half Life, and opportunities for his band to really show off their red-dirt skills on Orange Bottles and I Believe in God, neither energy or connection dipped throughout the set.

After a rowdy (as Flores himself put it) demand for an encore, including the new single Don't Wanna Say Goodnight, the genuine appreciation he had for that evening was blatantly clear. Leaving the stage shaking his head and with what looked like glassy, starry eyes, his longing to get back home to Oklahoma and still take in all that a country concert in London can offer was remarkably moving. Sometimes hearing an artist saying that they "can't believe their music made it this far" feels a bit like a cliche-repeat-every-night kind of comment, but there was absolutely no denying the sincerity from Flores. There was some disbelief in his reaction too.

The US to the UK is a long way, and the plains of Oklahoma to the North London borough of Islington is culturally even further. But it turns out wherever you are and whatever your upbringing, people feel and experience the same things and will turn to music on a Thursday night to share in them. Even in a room full of country fans, the sheer response volume-wise to deep-cuts like Milwaukee and Please Don't Go was a little suprising, these songs have come a long way and they mean a lot.

'Are you gonna wake up, before you close your eyes? Are you gonna hold the ones you love so tight? We're gonna die, gonna die, so do what makes you feel alive - we're running out of time.' One of the lyrics that was loudest from the crowd, and felt the most pleading from Flores and his band. For someone to stand on a stage in a city on the other side of the world and convey just how much sincerity are in the words he writes isn't something you come across often, it’s brave and it’s deeply country.

An artist that self admittedly felt he was running out of time when he was just getting started, Flores took a step back, took some time and waited until performing live had feeling in it again. Commenting on the cancelled shows, he thanked the audience for patience and understanding as if there might be a little resentment still lingering in some people. But there wasn't, his audience was there because they love good country music and they appreciate honesty, and for an hour and a half that's all that Flores gave.

The humble country star might not be playing small venues for long, he's got big things waiting for him along the road. So what an honour it was to have had a glimpse into his healing that night.

Wyatt Flores, welcome to the Big Smoke, we would be thrilled to have you back but either way, we'll meet you on The Plains.