Shooter Jennings with JJ Grey and Mofro and Earl Greyhound

Shooter Jennings has maintained a difficult balance so far, copping just enough of his father’s outlaw image to make him seem like a rebel without pissing off the Nashville establishment too much. His 2005 debut, after all, was called Put the “O” Back in Country—a not-too-subtle reference to country music’s perceived drift away from its roots—but it was a hit, even among country music fans. His position’s becoming precarious, though—none of his last six singles has charted, and in March he released a greatest hits compilation that cries out contract fulfillment.
Artistically, though, Jennings has walked the line. He’s been as unpredictable as his father, supplementing Southern hard rock with cameo appearances from George Jones, his mother Jessi Colter, and R&B singer Faith Evans, tossing in a nod to Black Sabbath on the song “Busted in Baylor County,” and covering Dire Straits’ “Walk of Life.” (Matthew Everett)