Stephen Wilson Jr. ~ Son of Dad Tour
Sacramento, CA (10/29/25) – Stephen Wilson Jr brought the “Son of Dad” tour to Channel 24 in Sacramento, California on Wednesday, October 29th. To be completely honest, out of all the shows I’ve covered this year, I was most excited for this one. I was also a bit apprehensive as I had never been to Sacramento’s newest music venue.
Upon arriving, I quickly realized that my apprehension was quite unnecessary. Channel 24 is an awesome 2,400 capacity venue with friendly and helpful staff. The lower floor of the venue is all general admission (standing room only), while the balcony offers ticketed seating with a great view of the stage.
Although I sat down to write about this show a few times, I had the nagging feeling that this write-up required more depth. I felt that both Stephen Wilson, and Stephen Wilson Jr deserved that. Although I was well versed in the music of, and knew a few facts about Stephen Wilson Jr, I decided to do a bit more research on the microbiologist turned singer-songwriter.
Stephen Wilson Jr – The Fighter
During this “research” I watched two podcast interviews that afforded a great deal of background into the man, the son, the songwriter, and the artist that is Stephen Wilson Jr. I highly recommend watching those two interviews. The first one I watched was “Stephen Wilson Jr – Live at the Print Shop” with Adam Blank. Next, I dove into “Stephen Wilson Jr – Grief & Music” with Jim Hamilton on “The Big Jim Show.” Both very insightful interviews can be found here:
In listening to SWJ describe himself growing up as an intelligent but very “quiet kid” that wrote poems but threw them away, I immediately envisioned the high school kid in the song ‘Mr. Misunderstood’ by Eric Church. “Hey there, weird kid in your high-top shoes. Sitting in the back of the class, I was just like you. Always left out, never fit in. Owning that path you’re walking in. Mr. Misunderstood. Mr. Misunderstood.” Ironically, this will likely resurface a bit later.
Growing up in Indiana, Stephen’s dad was a fighter. No, not the barroom brawl type of fighter, but a legitimate boxer. This was one of the things that Stephen Wilson Sr. taught a young Stephen Jr. In learning from his dad how to box, Jr went so far as to become an Indiana State Golden Gloves boxing championship finalist.
Stephen Wilson Jr never envisioned himself becoming a performer and singing his songs to the masses. He actually quit his lucrative job as a microbiologist in the R&D department of Mars to pursue his dream of becoming a songwriter.
Upon making the move to Nashville, SWJ eventually landed a publishing deal as a staff songwriter with BMG. His dream of being a bonafide songwriter was becoming a reality as he was able to write songs with songwriting juggernauts such as Jeffrey Steele and Travis Meadows.
Wilson Jr may have been content with only writing the songs. The universe however had entirely different plans for him. On September 15th, 2018, Stephen Wilson Jr’s world came crashing down when his father, Stephen Wilson Sr passed away at the age of 59. In fact, Stephen tells his heartbreaking story of how he had to say goodbye to his dad on an iPhone. Senior’s final words to his son being, “write a good song for me. I love you.”
It was just two weeks later, while still reeling from the loss of his dad, and “in pretty bad shape” that Stephen Jr performed at a songwriter’s festival in Deadwood, SD. The song he chose to perform was a song that he claims has “haunted him all his life”, Ben E. King’s ‘Stand By Me’. Of course, SWJ didn’t simply cover the song, he interpreted it!
That singular performance would be the cataclysmic event that would eventually lead to Stephen Wilson Jr’s full length debut album ‘Son of Dad’. ‘Son of Dad’ is a 22-song album that was released on September 15th, 2023…… on the five-year anniversary of the death of his father, Stephen Wilson Sr.
For those unfamiliar with the music of Stephen Wilson Jr, you’ll notice that it’s been labeled as Country. I feel that it’s so much more than a singular genre, though. Sure, there are songs and lyrics steeped in tradition, such as the lyrics from ‘Father’s Son’. “He was named by my grandma; she got it from the Bible. And he passed it on to me like my grandaddy’s rifle.” Yet other lyrics are drenched in nostalgia. Such as, “I must admit I felt the flame, Kurt Cobain, a Fender Mustang. MTV brought me up. This is your brain on drugs” from ‘Year to be Young 1994’.
Sure, both tradition and nostalgia are definitely qualities of Country Music, to me there are also songs and lyrics that have marinated in grunge and Gothic literature. Such as, “Hand on the Bible lies, maggots turn to flies. Whole world’s gone to hell, mama’s back in jail. Just can’t get enough, think we’ve had too much. Gunfire in the schools, melt down the golden rule. Wear your promise ring, preacher’s got a thing for me. Keep it to yourself, the whole world’s gone to hell” from one of my favorite songs on the album, called ‘The Devil’.
Yes, Stephen Wilson Jr’s music is Country. More importantly however, his songs are real! They are poetry set to music. In the end, genres don’t really matter as long as the authenticity is there, and folks believe what you’re singing about. A fact made evident in that Stephen Wilson Jr’s shows have been selling out at nearly every venue.
Stephen Wilson Jr ~ The Fight
Weighing in with the weight of the world on his shoulders is Stephen Wilson Jr. He brings with him an arsenal of one previously released EP (Bon Aqua), one regular LP (Son of Dad), one Deluxe Edition LP (Son of Dad), and one EP soon to be released (Blankets).
Ringside at Channel 24 in Sacramento, California. St. There are roughly 2,000 eager spectators in attendance. Rumor has it that Wilson Jr has gone more than 12 rounds on the heavy bag during warm up. That pretty much guarantees a spectacular bout.
The stage is set with various accoutrements. Aside from the necessary amplifiers and instruments, roses, a puffy vest with wings bearing Gary’s name tag, space helmets, and a bird cage with a miniature robot inside can also be seen. There is also an Orion DVD/TV combo, on which the “45 Fantastic Fights of the Century” will play during the entire Stephen Wilson Jr bout. Some would say, myself included, that this may be another way for Stephen Jr to have his dad with him.
As Wilson Jr makes his appearance, he wastes little time landing jabs with songs like ‘Calico Creek’ and ‘Billy’. Then he quickly lands an uppercut with the blue-collar anthem, ‘Cuckoo’.
Stephen Wilson Jr is in amazing form, and his corner of musicians are amazing as well. There’s little doubt that this bout will go the distance. Wilson Jr decides to show some fancy footwork with ‘Patches’ and ‘Grief Is Only Love’. Make no mistake, this is not showboating. Jr has executed this brilliantly! The crowd is eating it up!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It’s clearly evident that Stephen Wilson Jr is happy to be here. That smile and the waving to the crowd says it all. Oh, there’s a cross by Jr, as he eases into ‘Not Letting Go’. I believe he’s setting up for the knockout punch.
There it is! He’s got ‘em on the ropes with ‘Father’s Son’! There’s a lump in my throat as I see everyone in the crowd raising the flashlight on their phone. They’ve really illuminated this place, honoring Stephen Wilson Sr!
This is a fight for the ages! He’s going with another jab with ‘I’m a Song’. Then comes the ol’ one-two with ‘Year To Be Young 1994’ and then ‘Something In the Way’ (Nirvana cover).
Wilson Jr is not tiring, he’s showing he’s got a lot of gas left in the tank. A little more fancy footwork with ‘Hometown’, before delivering a barrage of uppercuts with ‘Holler From the Holler’, ‘Stand By Me’, and a brand-new song ‘Gary’.
All in, Stephen Wilson Jr went 14 rounds and definitely got the TKO! There’s absolutely zero doubt that he would have got the knockout had he performed ‘American Gothic’. As they say in show business though, “always leave them wanting more”. It was quite evident that the crowd could not get enough of Stephen Wilson Jr.
In the past I’ve frequently called out highlights from the show. Honestly, this entire show was a highlight. There were a few stand-out moments, though. In no particular order they were:
‘Holler From the Holler’ – This song is absolutely epic live!
‘Stand By Me’ – SWJ introduced this song by saying that he never imagined that playing this song in some guy’s basement would change his life. Witnessing this performance live was hauntingly beautiful.
‘Something In the Way’ – From his upcoming EP ‘Blankets’. This was absolute FIRE!
‘Father’s Son’ – It doesn’t get more authentic than this. It appeared that Stephen Jr was definitely in his feels introducing this song. As was the audience.
Stephen Wilson Jr put on an amazing, high-energy show at Channel 24! It was easy to tell that he was truly grateful to be up on stage performing his songs. I urge everyone to get out and see him perform on his headlining tour this year. He also has some a few dates as direct support for Eric Church (Mr. Misunderstood) in 2026.
When you go, be sure to raise a glass, your lighter, or your flashlight to the memory of STEPHEN WILSON SR. After all, without Stephen Wilson Sr, we would not have Son of Dad.
Do not altar photos
Copyright: Chris Couture Photography
