Wicked Ways - NRA Country Featured Artist Chuck Wicks

Move over Blake Shelton, Chuck Wicks may be the funniest guy in country music. I’ve never laughed more at a concert than I did Saturday night when NRA Country’s featured artist Chuck Wicks sang to an intimate crowd of mostly co-eds from the University of Central Oklahoma. Wicks engaged the crowd with his humor, lightheartedly heckling the audience members and bantering with his band mates. Opening with his tune, “All I Ever Wanted” followed by “Old School”, Wicks seemed in charge of the audience from the start.

I’m a sucker for cover songs, and Wicks won me over as soon as his band started playing Eddie Rabbitt’s “Driving My Life Away.” He asked the crowd if anyone was born before ’79, when the song was released. A precious few of us whooped in affirmative response. Wicks’ humor came through when he began a reggae-sounding beat that fit in perfectly with the “Old School” vibe, his cover of “Billionaire/Single Ladies” complete with alternate lyrics was a hit with the crowd.

Chuck is as good a songwriter as he is an entertainer. His skills shined on the ballads, “Hold that Thought” and his signature song, “Stealing Cinderella,” during which his merchandise manager proposed to his girlfriend to the awwwws of the audience.  At the end of his set he asked if the crowd was warmed up for the next act. The crowd was pumped, but I hoped he was just getting started.

After the show I caught up with Wicks and his crew for a few minutes. I knew he could shoot a shotgun—I’d heard he competed in NRA’s ACM celebrity skeet shoot in Vegas earlier this year but I just didn’t know he was so darn funny. He also has great rapport with his fans, and is a genuine, down-to-earth-country boy from Delaware (sounds weird, yes, but it’s absolutely true!) Of course I also like his meet-and-great backdrop that proudly displayed his NRA Country support.

Don’t miss his show if he happens to come your way. Wicks, who currently is off-label, is at the top of his game. I suggest a Shelton/Wicks tour … and I am not sure whose “is bigger” but I’d love to see a match of wits between the two of them unfold on a stage somewhere. And ladies, if you do happen to make it to one of his shows, he likes girls in camo … just sayin.’

–NRA Country-Beat Reporter, Jen Johnston

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