Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats Rocks Charlottesville
On Sept. 15, at around 8:45 p.m., the lights of the Ting Pavilion on the Downtown Mall in Charlottesville dimmed as a band of eight men walked on stage. A red glow illuminated the stage, and a loud, bassy sound filled the air, demanding the audience’s undivided attention. Fans who were previously seated got to their feet at once and cheered as the pavilion erupted with bright lights and mirthful music. The band had arrived, and they wanted you to know it.
Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats is a band of many genres, most notably rhythm and blues, folk, and Americana. The band was created in 2013 in Colorado by its frontman, Nathaniel Rateliff, and several other collaborators. Nathaniel Rateliff created the band in 2013 with several long-time collaborators, and The Night Sweats skyrocketed to popularity with the release of their self-titled debut album in 2015. This album contained the band’s most popular song, “S.O.B.,” which caught the attention of Jimmy Fallon, and later thousands of viewers when the band performed it live on The Tonight Show.
Despite how popular the band is, I had never heard of them before the performance in Charlottesville. However, when I worked at the Ting Pavilion that night, I quickly realized just how much I was missing out on. Immediately, the pavilion was blasted with the sound of powerful drums and brassy trumpets as the band broke out into a lighthearted tune. As he sang, Rateliff’s twangy voice was clear and soulful, complimenting the sound of the guitar and keyboard and creating a melody that sounded like a mixture of old ’60’s blues and newer folk music. Each song had its own distinct sound, ranging from slow and mild, like “Hey Mama” and “A Little Honey,” to the upbeat, bold, and fast-paced “S.O.B.”
“S.O.B.” was truly the show’s magnum opus, and the entire crowd was stomping their feet and clapping to the catchy rhythm. The song opened with Rateliff humming a tune that sounded very similar to the vocals from Thurston Harris’ “Little Bitty Pretty One,” accompanied by a thump-clap-thump-clap beat. The pace kicked up suddenly as the drums joined in, and Rateliff’s voice rang even more powerfully than ever as he nearly howled the lyrics. The whole crowd erupted into song and sang with him. Even I clapped along as I scanned the crowd during the moments when I wasn’t preoccupied with helping patrons find their seats or telling them not to stand in the ADA area.
While the Night Sweats aren’t in Charlottesville anymore, they aren’t done touring yet, and you can still get tickets to their upcoming performance in Washington DC on Nov. 4. Their albums are also released on YouTube, as well as music streaming platforms such as Spotify, and Apple Music. If you can’t attend one of their next concerts but still want to feel what it’s like to be there, they also have music videos and videos of their performances on their site at https://www.nathanielrateliff.com/update.
The author of this article is a member of RMC Events, a company that provides event staffing services to all Ting Pavilion events.
