Canaan Cox Brings Unique Contemporary Country Vibe to South End Charlotte

Singer-Songwriter Plays An Intimate Show At Amos’ Southend

Last night, Charlotte-area music lovers got the chance to hear some amazing music from one of the hottest new artists to hit the contemporary country scene in a long time, Canaan Cox. A graduate of Catawba College, Cox is a native North Carolinian, hailing from Hendersonville (although he jokes that he always says he is from Asheville because nobody has ever heard of Hendersonville) before moving to Nashville to further pursue his career in music. Canaan received critical acclaim with his 2022 single “As You Leave” which has garnered over 9 million listeners to date after an appearance on radio and tv personality Bobby Bones’ show. With a strong blend of country, pop, and even a little bit of rhythm and blues, Cox offers a distinctive sound that easily crosses over a variety of genres.

There was no support act this evening and things kicked off right on time as Cox and his band made their way onto the stage. There was definitely a casual, at-home feeling to the night as many of Canaan’s friends and college alumni were in attendance as he called them out by name throughout the set. With a guitar in hand, Canaan got things started as his powerful vocals soared across the venue. It was pretty clear from the start that we were all witnessing something special as Cox and his talented backing band took us on a musical journey.

There was a little bit of something for everyone with some get up on your feet and groove numbers like “J.O.Y.” and exquisite ballads like “One Percent” which he dedicated to his wife. Canaan even gave us his own version of Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” complete with dance moves (although not the moonwalk) and after some convincing and cajoling from the audience, a little bit of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Freebird,” after which he jokingly declared that he hated us so much for that.

Throughout the set, Canaan made a strong connection to the audience, sharing stories about his life and how his experiences morphed into the songs we would hear, talking about his wife and joking about his exes whose names all started with the letter K. Of course, we got to hear a spectacular live version of “As You Leave” as well as his latest single “Hate Me More.”

This was my first time seeing Canaan live but I’m sure it won’t be my last. This is an artist who is rising fast and I’m sure we will all be hearing a lot from Canaan Cox in the future. If you get the chance to catch his show, please do. You’ll be glad you did. His next stop is tomorrow evening in Vienna, Virginia and he will be jetting off to the UK in June for some summer tour dates.