Charlottesville, VA - John Paul Jones Arena
September 22nd, 2025
Charlottesville, VA
John Paul Jones Arena
Preface: What a treat! This show was rescheduled from mid-April due to an illness and the guys did not let us down with their return! Changing openers from SG Goodman to Of The Dell was very welcomed! Of The Dell is a band we’ve listened to since first being introduced to their music at Whizzbangers Ball and it was amazing to see them added to this show.
Tyler Childers, CJ Cain, and Jesse Wells blessing the crowd as a trio
Show Notes: As said in the preface, this show was an absolute treat. The setlist included mainly songs off the new album and it seems as if Eatin’ Big Time will remain the opener for some period of time. A pleasant early tweak to the setlist was including “I Swear (to God)” and “Rustin’ in the Rain”, two of Daniel’s favorites to see live. He had to make this trip solo!
The guys also continued the trend of playing Snipe Hunt directly into Tulsa Turnaround before Tyler, CJ and Jesse began their acoustic part of the set. It can’t be stressed enough how amazing seeing Tulsa Turnaround absolutely jammed out is each time. Accompany that with Snipe Hunt leading into it and you’ve got a recipe for a nearly ten minute long jam session from everyone on stage.
This setlist was very similar to Healing Appalachia but it seems as if Amelia Meath and Nick Sanborn are no longer touring with the band; which while it is a sad note means that those who attended Healing Appalachia got an even more unique experience. However, the current show we’re talking about didn’t lack uniqueness by any means.
Tyler laying on the floor going on a rant about disliking people who’re on his Bitin’ List (no actual names given) before absolutely blasting his apparently now fan favorite chorus was certainly not something I’d expected to see. Accompanied with Tyler taking the time during his solo set to address 3rd party ticket resales and how it’s not a good idea to use them, this show was filled with little subtle differences that made it a very unique show.
We also collect a poster from each show we go to if there is a city specific one for sale and this was also a unique situation. Having been a rescheduled date, posters from the original date had already been printed and these were also being sold at a steep discount at the show (albeit you had to buy the updated dates poster to have access to the steeply discounted poster). The whole situation here was what created such unique circumstances and it certainly wasn’t lost on us.
Venue Notes: John Paul Jones Arena is the best arena in the south east and I’ll die on that hill if I have to. I’d never gone to this arena before but what an absolute GEM! When you walk in - if you’ve never been - you’re unknowingly on the top level of the venue, meaning if you have an upper level seat you basically have to walk a few stairs and you’re in your seat already; while I didn’t go upper level for this one I do love seeing ease of access for those who are in the upper levels and often cheaper seats. Having been to several venues it seems as if they cater more to the people in the lower levels who’ve spent more money, so when we see a venue making accommodations for those who paid less it certainly sticks out as a great customer service green flag.
But, don’t believe they didn’t do it absolutely correctly for those downstairs also. Once you walk down to the lower level you’re greeted with carpeted floors, ample food and beverage vendors, merch booths, and so much more.
I didn’t do any delving into the glass fronted wine shop which was aligned lower lever and dead center stage but it certainly makes you feel like you’re in a high end venue just walking by it.
Essentially shaped in a “U”, the venue was easy to navigate, signage was ample, and the people I spoke to working in the venue were absolutely amazing people. If Tyler and the boys ever listen to any suggestion we ever have I hope it’s this: Play John Paul Jones Arena anytime you can.
Tyler and the fellas as seen from the side stage view
Parking Notes: Parking at the venue was, well, interesting? I had pre-paid to park in a parking deck and upon arrival there was a cop who was blocking the entrance my GPS told me to take. Assuming this was just some error I circled the parking deck assuming that there was a 2nd entrance I was supposed to be taking. However, this 2nd entrance didn’t exist so I ended up right back at the road that was being blocked off.
The police officer was nice enough to tell me where to go which actually ended up being across the street from the venue in a much more expensive lot. The people there were fully aware of the situation and allowed me to park there with no questions or asking for additional money.
All of this extra travel time and going in circles did cause me to be late and nearly miss all of Of the Dell.
All things considered I could have done things differently and spoke to the cop the first time I passed instead of assuming and the venue could have let people know what was going on also.
All in all I’ll chalk this up to just something typical you can expect to happen when you go to a lot of shows. Things don’t always go as perfectly as you’d like and at the end of the day I was blessed with a great parking spot, took no time to leave, and ended up being blessed with an amazing venue.
Travel Notes: This trip was only a 3 hour trip for me but in terms of sight seeing there isn’t much here. It’s a no frills straight forward road with amazing scenery and limited stopping points. The best recommendation on this is to try and do this route in the fall as seeing the leaves change colors in this area is amazing.
All things considered, I love this route so much for it’s ease of driving, it’s winding in some areas, hilly in some areas, but for the most part it’s just like driving on a backroad you’d take to get home; except this back road leads you right to a Tyler Childers and the Food Stamps concert.