July 13th
Jamey Johnson
Stir Cove, 1 Harrah’s Blvd. in Council Bluffs
8 p.m., $35, stircove.com
Jamey Johnson may have landed on the modern country charts, but his mix of old school honky-tonk, outlaw country and classic country twang is completely separated from most of his chart-topping contemporaries. After “In Color” helped pave his path to stardom and made That Lonesome Song a 2008 sleeper hit, Johnson continued to defy expectations on 2010’s The Guitar Song, a double album that started in gritty, dark shades and moved towards light on the album’s second half, all while doubling down on the honky-tonk sound that continues to disappear from the country radio dial. Up next for Johnson is a duets album tribute to Hank Cochran, a country music songwriter who penned “I Fall To Pieces” and other ’60s country hits.