Live Music Spotlight: Cody Jinks

It was a hot day in Franklin, Ohio when the doors opened for the first of three Cody Jinks concerts at JD Legends Entertainment Complex on Friday, June 28.

It is significant that Jinks is playing three shows. It is the first time the venue, which has been hosting national acts for about 15 years, has ever booked a national act for three nights in a row. When JD Legends asked fans on social media earlier in the year who they would like to see this year, Jinks was one of the most-requested acts.

The opening acts for this show were Josh Morningstar and Sunny Sweeney. Morningstar is someone who is familiar to Jimks’ fans. He opens some of Jinks’ concerts and he wrote “Must Be The Whiskey,” which was the debut single from Jinks’ “Lifers” album. His set included some of his original songs mixed with some outlaw country songs.

Sweeney, who also opens some of Jinks’ shows, was also a good fit. She played some of her originals including “Pills,” “Drink Myself Single,” among others. One of the highlights of her show was a cover of “Tulsa Time,” which was a hit for Don Williams.

Finally, it was time for Jinks to take the stage. He opened with “Must Be The Whiskey” and it was hard to hear him for the crowd singing. His fans, known as the Flockers, are awesome. It reminded me of an Eric Church show in that the fans knew every songs, even the album cuts.

While Jinks has undeniable talent, the crowd makes a great show even more amazing. Flockers are there to have a good time. They are a great bunch of people and super supportive of each other. I posted Friday morning in a Facebook group of Jinks fans that I was excited to see my first Jinks concert that night. I didn’t expect much of a reaction from it. Instead, more than 500 people reacted to my post. In addition, there were dozen of comments on my post from people telling me to enjoy the show and telling me that I will have a great time. I found it impressive that so many people whom I had never met reached out to me.

It was the same way at the show. There were some people who travelled losing distances to come to the show. I talked to two sweet ladies named Casina and Julie, who had traveled a few hours to be there.

Jinks has a great voice and he sounds like the record. He told the crowd he hadn’t performed in about three weeks because he has been working on a new album, which he said should be released on schedule. His setlist spanned his albums and he played his biggest hits, although there were some album cuts I would have liked to heard performed live.

It’s hard to pick a highlight from a show that was so good from start to finish. I enjoyed getting to hear “I’m Not The Devil,” which is one of my favorite Jinks songs. He also did a great cover of “Chasin’ That Neon Rainbow,” a song made popular by Alan Jackson.