On a perfect evening in Santa Barbara, California, country music’s “Please Don’t Go” singer Wyatt Flores played the beautiful Arlington Theatre. Established in 1931, this Spanish Mission Revival style venue has an atmosphere unlike most; with interior seating under what looks like a star filled sky and Spanish village buildings on both sides of the auditorium. This gives it the feel of a place in another time.
Opening the show was a trio of brothers hailing from Seattle, The Brudi Brothers. With their latest viral song “Me More Cowboy Than You” it’s got an old American sound that is sure to catch your ear and have you signing the chorus cowboy or not. Once those three left the stage the night was on, and the crowd was excited for Wyatt.
The backdrop of the stage is artwork from the album “Welcome to the Plains”, a set of lights arched across the stage and a few plants nothing fancy just making it about the live music. The first three songs to get the night rolling were “Welcome To the Plains”, “West of Tulsa”, “Running Out of Time”. With it being a small, seated show the crowds’ energy changed from song to song, at times people would stand up and singing along, other times they sat just captive by the music.
Out promoting his Welcome to the Plains album, Wyatt Flores gave a intimate performance that had everyone’s head locked in looking up front — well for the most part, but more on that later. The Life Lessons native from Stillwater, Oklahoma is a rising country music singer songwriter may be young, but his lyrics are heartfelt, and his unique voice adds something that draws you in.
At one moment as Wyatt tuned his guitar, it was so quiet — a brave man in the front started to sing out loud “Take Me As I Come,” a song by Evan Honer featuring Wyatt. For those who don’t know the song, it starts with Evan Honer singing the first part, then after the chorus Wyatt comes in. Now, the man didn’t get to singing the chorus yet, but he sang enough of the intro to catch the attention of Wyatt. He smiled then proceeded to sing his verse and chorus of the track — a huge surprise to the fans, thanks to that one brave soul. Other fan favorites that made the set were “Break My Bones,” “Losing Sleep,” and “Milwaukee.” The audience got to hear him cover a Tyler Childers song called “Shake the Frost” — it was an unexpected cover, and delivered very well.
Remember earlier, how I mentioned how everyone’s focus was frontwards? Well, that shifted when Wyatt decided to walk into the crowd sitting down towards the back, singing to those nearby. Then he decided to walk out the doors and into the concession stand area — and up the stairway into the upper balcony giving the people in the back a front row show — while everyone in actual front row now faces the back. Things continued a little longer, then we got to the final song “Don’t Wanna Say Goodnight.” After that, Wyatt realized that he spent so much time telling stories and jokes throughout the night that there would unfortunately be no encore, as the venue was going to pull the plug because of local curfew law. The show was still nothing short of an amazing time.
There are still shows left to fill out the end of this year — don’t miss your chance to get a ticket! I can’t promise it will be as intimate as this particular show, but he is an artist worth seeing, as his fame is on the rise. I’ll leave you folks with one of the jokes Wyatt told, “What does a fish say when it hits a cement wall?… Damn!”
GALLERY: Wyatt Flores at Arlington Theatre in Santa Barbara, California (September 13, 2025)
