Naked Gypsy Queens live at The Basement East
On Sunday night, Naked Gypsy Queens took the stage at The Basement East in Nashville, Tennessee with an explosive energy that flowed through the room. They wasted no time and took the stage earlier than scheduled and played a 45-minute set packed full of electrifying hard rock riffs and bass heavy blues. They played a mix of their older songs as well as new, unreleased music and kept the energy high and never let up all night.
Naked Gypsy Queens are a blues-hard rock band based out of Nashville, Tennessee, featuring Will Sawyer on vocals and guitar, Cade Pickering on guitar, Bo Howard on bass, and Landon Herring on drums. They formed in 2018 and have amassed an impressive local following and are one of the leading acts in the Nashville rock scene. They fuse the classic styles of the 70’s and the blues with a modern hard rock sound that sets them apart from other current rock n’ roll bands. They play with a fervent passion and have a very real love for making music that is apparent when they take the stage.
It is rare for a rock band to take the stage on time, let alone early, but bassist Bo Howard said he was so ready to play that they practically had to hold him back from running out there. They came out swinging with hits like “Down to the Devil” and “Georgiana” early on in their set and debuted a few unreleased tracks, including the title track, “Hate or Love”, from their upcoming album. It was a high energy show from start to finish. When they slowed it down a bit, they kept it groovy, and when they picked it back up again it was electric. They played so hard that somewhere along the way, singer Will Sawyer busted his hand open and got blood all over the mic.
This was my second time seeing Naked Gypsy Queens and there was something distinctly different about them this time around. The energy was almost indescribable. They know how to work the stage and get everyone packed in real close. The chemistry between the four of them is remarkable and it is easy to imagine this band quickly blowing up in the rock n’ roll world. If you did not know who they were before the show, you certainly left as a fan.