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Review and setlist: Chris Stapleton brings the blues to Mohegan Sun Arena
Stapleton slipped effortlessly between blues and ballads and even leaned into three stripped-down moments that were just him and his guitar on stage.
When Chris Stapleton performs, he doesn’t talk much and doesn’t move much, but man, can he take up space. His voice, both raspy and soulful, raucous and whisper soft, much like his guitar playing, filled the Mohegan Sun arena Saturday as he played to a sold-out crowd.
The show was billed as An Evening with Chris Stapleton, which sounds like an intimate affair, but for a country star who is more bluesy rock and roll, he doesn’t immediately present as an intimate performer. James Taylor, Lyle Lovett — they are intimate performers and yet, and oddly, in this arena anyway, so was Chris Stapleton.
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Let’s be clear, it wasn’t like he was singing just to me. I’m pretty sure he wasn’t even aware I was there. But there was no opening act — it was just him, a very pared-down stage, a very tight eight-piece band, including his wife, Morgane, singing backup as always, and us, all 10,000 of us.
Stapleton kicked off the night with “Bad as I Used to Be” off the 2025 F1 movie soundtrack, followed it up with “Midnight Train to Memphis” from his SteelDrivers days, then flowed seamlessly into “Arkansas,” off his 2020 album “Starting Over.”
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By the time he hit “What Am I Gonna Do” the crowd was his and they never left his side — except for the few that were constantly in and out getting drinks, stretching their legs (one woman said) going who knows where — I blame it on the every shortening attention spans but for Pete’s sake, and mine, sit still will you!
Fan favorite “Millionaire,” off his 2017 “From a Room,” volume 2 album, had everyone swaying, but the sweet and gentle “It Takes A Woman” from 2023’s “Higher” and said to be an ode to Morgane, had couples swaying.
When he took a beat before launching into “Think I’m in Love With You” from 2023’s “Higher,” the crowd response was deafening.
All during the two-plus-hour show, Stapleton slipped effortlessly between blues and ballads and even leaned into three stripped-down moments that were just him and his guitar on stage. He shared the very first song he had on the radio, 2013’s “What Are You Listening To,” that may have landed at only No. 46, but everyone seemed to know every word.
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I think that is what lends itself to that air of intimacy — the fact that his fans are devoted. DEVOTED. From the guys two rows in front of me who screamed (among other flattery) “voice of an angel,” to the whoops, whistles, and I-love-yous that filled the night, everyone in that arena was there for him. They knew every word to every song, and they bobbed and swayed and pumped their fists in the air at the appropriate time all night long.
But Stapleton doesn’t perform in a vacuum.
As great as he is, Stapleton has a couple of guys in his band that are legendary — literally. I cannot adequately describe his pedal steel player Paul Franklin. This dude has been touring since the 1970s with the likes of Barbara Mandrell, Mel Tillis, Jerry Reed and Dire Straits and is an absolute master. His playing left my mouth agape. Suddenly, I wanted to take pedal steel lessons, which is new, and which he gives online, so in theory, I could.
Likewise, Lee Pardini, Stapleton’s keyboardist, who played both piano and organ, was magic. It was primarily the organ that caught my attention, it was like an old-school Hammond B3 or a Whirlitzer — I don’t know, but it was fun and deep and added a little gospel to everything — it was so very cool.
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Stapleton’s bassist, JT Cure, who’s been with him for 25 years, drummer Derek Mixon, kicks-ass harmonica player, Mickey Raphael, who has toured with Willie Nelson for over 50 years, guitarist Mike Eli LoPinto and Morgane were no slouches either. In fact, Morgane’s voice so perfectly wraps around Stapleton’s it’s hard to imagine him singing without her– though he does on occasion.
But Stapleton is center stage for a reason.
From uber fan favorite, “Tennessee Whiskey” off his 2015 “Traveller” album to the song “Traveller” of the same album to the ever so sweet “Joy of My Life” and oh so sexy “You Should Probably Leave” (both from 2020’s “Starting Over”) Stapleton is a Delta Blues guy at heart and heart is what he sings with.
He has this knack for starting out softly and building to these thunderous crescendos. He does it both with his voice and his guitar playing, which, by the way, his guitar is by no means an accessory — it’s more like an extension of himself. He has this controlled rawness that is a little bit mesmerizing and a lot crazy. When he did “I Was Wrong,” he managed to fill the entire hall with that crescendo, but when he got to “Cold,” he was nearly drowned out by his fans singing along.
In what I thought was an oddity of the evening, several people kept shouting out “Free Bird.” Since I was certain I was not at a Lynyrd Skynyrd concert, I thought it was just that thing people do, like shouting “Play Misty for me” (or maybe that’s just me), but then, I’ll be darned, he launched into “Free Bird.” But he only sang the first verse before segueing smoothly into “The Devil Named Music.”
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He went out on “Tennessee Whiskey” but came back for a quick few encores, leaving again with a screaming guitar solo still ringing in the hall and taking up all the space in the best way possible.
And it is a good space. This was my first time seeing a show at Mohegan Sun, and it’s a great little arena. I suppose a space for 10,000 isn’t necessarily little, but like Stapleton, it’s surprisingly intimate and worth the drive.
Mohegan Sun Set List 2/28/26
- Bad As I Used To Be
- Midnight Train to Memphis (The SteelDrivers song)
- Arkansas
- Think I’m in Love With You
- Millionaire (Kevin Welch cover)
- It Takes a Woman
- Second One to Know
- Parachute
- What Are You Listening To?
- Whiskey and You
- I Was Wrong
- Cold
- Joy of My Life
- What Am I Gonna Do
- You Should Probably Leave
- Starting Over
- Traveller
- Fire Away
- Broken Halos
- Free Bird / The Devil Named Music
- Tennessee Whiskey (David Allan Coe cover)
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