As of 2022, Mickey Guyton is a four-time Grammy-nominated country artist. However, she also suffers from imposter syndrome. Before her April 26 taping of her June 15-premiering CMT Crossroads special with the similarly Grammy-nominated pop-soul duo Black Pumas, she highlights that her appearance on stage at The Factory complex in Franklin, Tennessee, was her second live performance since she feels her imposter issues have significantly lessened.
The “Black Like Me” vocalist’s first post-Grammy appearance on stage was at the 2022 CMT Music Awards, where her performance on the Black Pumas’ 2020-released breakthrough hit “Colors” was an unexpected favorite. Three weeks later, her stylings on that song, plus numerous more from both her and the Pumas’ catalog, wowed those in attendance at the closed taping.
Guyton, like many, became a COVID-era Black Pumas fan. “Their music makes you feel like you’re running through a field at Woodstock,” she joked. But clearly, upon the first note striking of her lovestruck “Remember Her Name” album track “Lay It On Me,” the presence of the duo offered more than simple euphoria.
Singer/songwriter Eric Burton and guitarist/producer Adrian Quesada comprise the Austin, Texas-based vocal tandem. Of late, they have been extremely vocal about their desires to dig longer and deeper into the connective ties between country music, folk, rock, and their pop-beloved sound.
Prior to performing, Burton noted that he was “excited” to sing and play Guyton’s works. By the time Burton, Quesada, and Guyton’s traditional live backing band played their second take on her previously-mentioned 2020 hit “Black Like Me,” the country ballad-driven vibes of the evening disappeared.
What emerged offered a glimpse of Guyton’s best artistic future — it bore strong comparisons to another religiously-devoted soul crooner: Aretha Frankin. Their stories have strong comparisons.
In 1967, Franklin departed Columbia Records for a new deal at Atlantic Records. Upon signing, she was sent to Muscle Shoals, Alabama to record her tenth studio album, “I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You.” Franklin’s work with the gut-bucket soul players at the city’s noted FAME Studios yielded the album’s title single, which alongside the songs “Do Right Woman, Do Right Man” and a cover of Otis Redding’s 1965 single “Respect” profoundly changed the arc of success of Franklin’s then middling-to-good career.
From the moment Adrian Quesada’s bass commandeered sections of Guyton’s catalog, and the vocalist grew more comfortable with Burton’s sultry tenor, the evening evolved. Upon launching into the Pumas’ catalog, the second run of their track “OCT 33” showcased the tones, vibes, and empathy that occupy the most seductive space between soul and country’s classic inspirations.
It’s premature to state that Mickey Guyton has fully evolved into the country superstar she has been cast as for the past two years. But it can be said — via her standout set alongside Black Pumas — that she clearly feels like she’s more ready for the spotlight than ever before.
