On a highly anticipated evening in the beautiful city of Charlotte North Carolina, Dylan Gossett and company roll into the NC Music Factory, home of one of Charlottes staple music venues and delivered a beautifully intimate but highly anticipated performance debuting his self-written and produced album The Westward Tour.
A task as tall as this one comes with plenty of heavy expectations, most of which were met head on, guitar in hand and eager to prove that he belongs as a household name.
Kingfishr – When you think of opening acts, I feel like it’s easy to let your focus waiver and your attention flee. Kingfishr doesn’t allow that to happen during their opening set for Dylan Gossett on “The Westward Tour”. Hailing all the way from Ireland, their edgy-folk based sound demands you to listen with both ears to hear what they have to say.
One of Kingfishr’s signature moves on this tour is to perform a song in the middle of the crowd in each city. It’s a daring, connective gesture—walking into the audience with acoustic instruments and singing shoulder-to-shoulder with fans. That moment breaks down the barrier of “opener” vs. “main act” and gives the audience a personal stake in their presence. I’ve seen descriptions (or heard rumors) from several cities that this in-the-round moment becomes a highpoint of their set—an intimate pause before they resume full-band mode. While I did not catch that mid‑crowd song in Charlotte, I heard attentive murmurs before and after, as though people were still processing it.
From the first chord of “Tree Birds” you could immediately tell that Dylan felt like the crowd was already his for the taking and he was primed to execute the mission at hand. Because he insisted on writing this entire album himself, there was an added element of how personal this tour was for him. All throughout his entire performance and even the full album his worldview, morals, and values riddle each and every song giving it that relatable and personal feel that makes it so easy to connect to. From tracks like “Cicada Choir” all the way to “Tired Of Running” you truly get a deeper look into who Dylan is as an artist!
While no performance is perfect and there’s always something to be desired; Those feelings would begin to surface sparingly and could be noticed during a few transitions between songs. Some transitions having the feel that they were kind of stumbled through could be due attributed to the pressure to succeed on such a personal tour or maybe even a couple of last minute jitters and being caught up in the moment.
But right on queue, and not a moment too late, his band provided such solid support to Dylan that you were quickly drawn right back into the set, fully enjoying the performance and being fully engulfed in the moment.
It goes without saying that Dylan Gossett is certainly out to prove himself as a big player in the folk-country scene.
By the end, after a rousing encore, the audience was noticeably present—some cheering, others quiet, leaning into the last notes hanging in the air. Gossett’s tour isn’t flawless, but it’s earnest, forward‑looking, and already full of promise. For someone who took a gamble in making this album as personal as Dylan did, the gamble sure is paying off in more ways than one.
Be sure to catch a show while they round out the rest of their eastern seaboard portion of the tour.
The Westward is a album you’ll want to listen to time and time again!
A few shots to set the scene of the evening.
I encourage you to catch a show for the full experience, you won’t regret it!
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