Live Review: Alabama Shakes and Hannah Cohen at Radio City Music Hall

On a rainy night at Radio City Music Hall, Hannah Cohen opens up the Alabama Shakes summer tour. The stage is a simple setup, yet a lot to look at due to the seven-person band accompanying her. They’re dressed in 70s garb, which fits perfectly with Hannah’s music. She opens the set up with a song from her new record, which brought a daisy-fresh start to the show. Her vocals are stunning and wowed the crowd with soft, yet powerful energy that spread throughout Radio City.

She has light banter with the crowd between songs, introducing the tracks. A track that stood out was “Summer Sweat”. It encapsulates her as an artist, a funky, light and cute track to close the set. She dances freely with her backup vocalist, enjoying herself and having as much fun as everyone in the crowd. The energy of the whole set was a perfect start to the night and left smiles on everyone’s faces.

Around 9 pm, Alabama Shakes enters the stage accompanied by their walkout track, Walk on By by Burt Bacharach. They open the show with “Tea Time”, their first track from their new record “I Must Be Dreaming”. The crowd stands up, dancing and cheering for the track. The stage is simple, with floodlights behind the band, faux clouds hanging from the top of the stage, and twinkling lights resembling stars, which perfectly matches the soulful dreamy energy of their discography. Brittany wears a textured white dress, making her look like an angel, which also matches the music. Her vocals are smooth, powerful and an absolute delight to listen to.

The crowd at Radio City tonight is positive and all different types of people. Their audience dances in unison, being brought together by the magic of Alabama Shakes.

The next track is “Future People” from their 2015 record, “Sound and Color”. The track gets people moving and singing along.

Brittany introduces her two bandmates on stage, Heath Fogg and Zac Cockrell, sharing their backstory, growing up in Alabama and meeting each other in High School.

The rest of the band on stage includes nine members, a full ensemble of incredibly talented people. The instrumentals are outstanding and perfected to a T, broadcasting their 17 years of experience as a band. The backup singers stood out, dancing in unison, displaying powerful vocals that accompanied Brittany perfectly. 

A track that stood out was about halfway through the set, being their most popular hit, “Hold On”. This one really got people moving. Brittany’s vocals are electric. Paired with the dreamy rhythm guitar and keys allowed for an all-encompassing experience, the Alabama Shakes experience. Another track that stood out is “Another Life” from “I Must Be Dreaming”. It’s drum-heavy and colorful. More tracks that stood out: “American Dream”, “Joe”, “Garden”, “Dunes” and “”Guess Who”.

To close out the set with a three-track encore and they end another crowd favorite, “Always Alright”. Brittany and the band thank the audience for coming out and expresses her gratitude for the New York fanbase and explaining that they never disappoint. They walk off the stage to Ms. Lauryn Hill’s “Everything is Everything”.

Set List:

1. Tea Time
2. Future People
3. Hang Loose
4. Rise to the Sun
5. I Feel Hope Coming
6. Guess Who
7. This Feeling
8. Hold On
9. Garden
10. Another Life
11. Tied to you
12. Dunes
13. Time
14. Sound & Color
15. Don’t Wanna Fight
16. Gimmie All Your Love

Encore:

1. Joe
2. American Dream
3. Always Alright