Watson Maack makes his Philly debut at Bourbon & Branch with Lane Simkins

Nashville’s Watson Maack has returned close to home for his second gig of his small east coast summer tour to play an intimate set at Bourbon & Branch Friday night.

New Jersey native Lane Simkins opened the night with a solo acoustic set, playing swirling tracks like “Fooled,” “Cycles,” and “Wretch,” all of which were released within the last year. Simkins has an easygoing, confident stage presence, and he will take a moment to talk with the audience and just be there in the moment with them, and I’m glad I finally experienced that in person after covering his work twice before.

Maack took the stage, backed by a full band, and opened his set with “Discover” and “When A Heart Breaks,” a cover by Nashville singer-songwriter Ben Rector. Maack is charismatic and completely engaged with the audience, at one point even jumping up onto the bar to play a guitar solo during a cover of “Mr. Brightside.” He is fun, no doubt about it. If Maack is already this comfortable onstage with a small audience, I can’t wait to see what’s in store when he starts booking bigger gigs.

He ended the night with an amped-up version of “Differences" and had the crowd in high gear until the very end. High on the adrenaline of a packed SoFar Sounds gig in New York City the night before, Maack is ready to take the stage in Reading, PA tonight.