Koe honoring Coe.
Last Wednesday, country music suffered a huge loss with David Allan Coe, who passed away at the age of 86 while in an intensive care unit following years of health problems, including a long battle with COVID back in 2021. Since his death, many have shared tributes to the “You Never Even Called Me By My Name” singer, with artists such as Kid Rock, Cole Phillips, his estranged children, Tanya Montana Coe and Tyler Mahan Coe, and many more honoring him and providing insights into their relationships with him.
Over the weekend, Koe Wetzel became the latest artist to honor the late outlaw legend with a performance of his biggest hit.
On the first night of his Night Champion World Tour, which kicked off on Sunday in Melbourne, Australia, Wetzel would start the show with past hits such as “Good Die Young, “Ragweed,” “Austin” and “Fuss & Fight.” Around halfway through the set, however, the Texas native would take time to honor Coe with a performance of his 1975 Top 10 hit, “You Never Even Called Me By My Name.”
Though some of his monologue before the performance is cut off in the TikTok linked below, Wetzel would praise Coe for “not giving a f*** about anything or anyone” before telling the crowd that he hopes they continue to live out the “The Ride” singer’s legacy.
“Not giving a f*** about anything or anyone who said anything about anything… We felt like this is a good time to pay some homage to Mr. David Allan Coe, so we’re gonna play a little bit of one of his bigger songs he had… I hope you continue to live on David Allan Coe’s legacy.”
As he’s done at multiple concerts in the past, the “February 28, 2016” singer would go on to perform “You Never Even Called Me By My Name’s” iconic bridge that Coe forced its songwriter, Steve Goodman, to write in order to make it the “perfect country song.” Of course, this hinged on Coe’s facetious belief that no country song could be “perfect” without mentioning “mama, or trains, or trucks, or prison, or getting drunk.”
“Well, I was drunk the day my mom got out of prison
And I went to pick her up in the rain
But before I could get to the station in my pickup truck
She got run over by a damned old train”
Wetzel would close the performance out with a grungier take on the track’s chorus, finishing the tribute out in style for the sold-out crowd in Melbourne beautifully.
Watch here:
@countrytown_au Koe Wetzel performing ‘You Never Even Called Me by My Name’ by David Allan Coe as a tribute on the first name of The Night Champion Tour in Melbourne, Australia 🤠 #koewetzel #davidallancoe #thenightchampiontour #koewetzelmusic #countrymusic @Koe Wetzel @Frontier Touring ♬ original sound – Countrytown
Koe Wetzel Tour Dates
May 5 | Sydney, N.S.W (Australia) | Enmore Theatre
May 9 | Brisbane, Qld. (Australia) | Fortitude Music Hall
July 8 | Edmonton, Alb. (Canada) | Rogers Place
July 10 | Penticton, B.C. (Canada) | South Okanagan Event Center
July 11 | Abbotsford, B.C. (Canada) | Abbotsford Centre
July 23 | Nampa, Idaho | Ford Idaho Center Amphitheater
July 24 | Stateline, Nev. | Lake Tahoe Amphitheatre at Caesars Republic
July 25 | Las Vegas, Nev. | The Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas
July 30 | Airway Heights, Wash. | Northern Quest Casino
July 31 | Bend, Ore. | Hayden Homes Amphitheater
Aug. 1 | Tacoma, Wash. | Dune Peninsula
Aug. 6 | Bonner Springs, Kan. | Azura Amphitheater
Aug. 7 | Evansville, Ind. | Ford Center
Aug. 8 | Nashville, Tenn. | Bridgestone Arena
Aug. 12 | New York, N.Y. | Pier 17
Aug. 13 | Reading, Pa. | Santander Arena
Aug. 14 | Gilford, N.H. | BankNH Pavilion
Aug. 19 | Boston, Mass. | Leader Bank Pavilion
Aug. 20 | Washington, D.C. | The Anthem
Aug. 21 | Pittsburgh, Pa. | Petersen Events Center
Aug. 26 | Buffalo, N.Y. | Outer Harbor Live at Terminal B
Aug. 27 | Cleveland, Ohio | Wolstein Center
Aug. 28 | Rochester Hills, Mich. | Meadow Brook Amphitheatre*
Sept. 3 | Austin, Texas | Moody Center
Sept. 4 | Baton Rouge, La. | Raising Cane’s River Center
Sept. 5 | Bossier City, La. | Brookshire Grocery Arena
Sept. 10 | Knoxville, Tenn. | Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center
Sept. 11 | Greensboro, N.C. | First Horizon Coliseum
Sept. 12 | Wilmington, N.C. | Live Oak Bank Pavilion
Sept. 17 | Alpharetta, Ga. | Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
Sept. 18 | Columbia, S.C. | Colonial Life Arena
Sept. 19 | Richmond, Va. | Virginia Credit Union LIVE!
Sept. 24 | Pikeville, Ky. | Appalachian Wireless Arena
Sept. 25 | Huntsville, Ala. | The Orion Amphitheater
Sept. 26 | Brandon, Miss. | Brandon Amphitheater
Sept. 30 | Rogers, Ark. | The Walmart AMP
Oct. 1 | North Little Rock, Ark. | Simmons Bank Arena
Oct. 2 | Tulsa, Okla. | BOK Center
Oct. 3 | Wichita, Kan. | INTRUST Bank Arena
Oct. 8 | Chicago, Ill. | Salt Shed Fairgrounds
Oct. 9 | Fishers, Ind. | Fishers Event Center
Oct. 10 | Milwaukee, Wis. | Fiserv Forum
Oct. 28 | Morrison, Colo. | Red Rocks Amphitheatre
Oct. 30 | Lubbock, Texas | Cook’s Garage
