Ahead of his very special Country Show in Birmingham, we had the chance to sit down with Cody (after he had ordered Papa Johns because it tastes like it does in the US) to find out a little more about the man behind the show.
Cody is originally from Nashville, but now lives in Birmingham – and we were intrigued about his journey from the home of country music to the 02 Institute in Digbeth.
The story starts with Cody playing “a little bit of music” in his hometown, albeit mostly rock and metal, but as he was under 21 he wasn’t allowed in bars so never made it in that scene.
Deciding that he needed to
do something with his life (with some hinting from his Dad) Cody joined the US
Air Force as a medical technician. The
Air Force took him to San Antonio Texas, then to Turkey and then to Cambridge
UK.
The story doesn’t stop
there! His military allowed him to
switch his shifts to allow him to pursue music on the side, and in 2015 Cody
made the decision to leave the military and return to Nashville.
Gigging in Nashville isn’t
the dream often portrayed in films – it was a tough time, until a job came up
singing on Cruise Ships which led to him meeting not only Canaan Cox but also
his future wife while in Australia.
Dating a girl from
Birmingham, plus his previous time in Cambridge resulted in a move back to the
UK and ultimately a wedding and a beautiful (now three) daughter.
The pursuit of a career in
law once again had to give way to the music, which is clearly the real first
love. Thus, the Cody Pennington Country
Show was born which has grown from a small crowd at the Hare and Hounds in
Kings Heath to a UK tour, growing crowds and a strong following!
Cody cites John Mayer as an
influence on his music, loving the idea of singing with an acoustic guitar, but
also rock bands encouraged him to pick up a guitar.
Morgan Wallen and of course
(if you attend a show, you guessed it) Luke Combs have recently been a
motivation to perform and write original music.
Having seen the Cody Pennington Show before, and his philosophy to make it interesting the whole time, we knew that once we went out into the venue we were in for a great night. The Birmingham show was a special show for charity. Cody has supported NHS charities since his time stationed in the UK with the Air Force and wants to give back by playing a charity gig at least once a year. With his daughter being born in Birmingham’s Women’s Hospital, supporting a local hospital charity was the obvious choice.
Cody finds it amazing when a crowd sings his songs back to him – at his recent Manchester gig everyone sang along to his song How About Kentucky. We were taken aback too, given that the crowd didn’t know some of the country classics. Its always an upbeat evening, that have you foot tapping if not dancing away.
Cody’s a great guy, willing to help others and his southern hospitality always shines through. Theres real effort that goes into planning his performance, his set list must be the most professional we’ve seen. He's also a great musician, playing lead guitar throughout his set the crowd were clearly loving every minute of it.
Cody is backed by a great trio of musicians – Niran Mistry on bass, Holly Carter on pedal steel and Lee Brooks on drums, plus some backing tracks to bring the punchy sound. We reviewed his last Birmingham show here - review
By the end of the night,
through ticket sales and donations over £6,000 had been raised for BirminghamChildren’s Hospital Charity.
Cody will be touring the
show again next year, with a promise of bigger venues, but in the near future
he will be performing at Nashville Sounds In The Round in Birmingham Symphony Hall,
this Thursday
and at Country In The Afternoon this Thursday and
at the Half Moon Pub in Putney, in November. (Tickets)
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