The Outlaws – Infinity Music Hall, Hartford, Connecticut – August 9, 2026

Photos by Jim Hackett

Southern rock veterans The Outlaws brought decades of history, harmonies and guitar-driven rock to Infinity Music Hall in Hartford, Connecticut, on August 9, 2026, delivering a 14-song set that reached back through the band’s classic catalogue while also representing the music that has kept the group moving forward.

Known to generations of fans as the “Florida Guitar Army,” The Outlaws built their reputation on a combination of country-influenced vocal harmonies, Southern rock songwriting and extended guitar work. More than five decades after the band’s formation, those ingredients remain at the heart of the Outlaws live experience.

The Hartford performance opened with “Gunsmoke,” immediately establishing the guitar-heavy character of the evening before the band reached back to one of its best-known albums for “Hurry Sundown.”

From there, The Outlaws moved into “Freeborn Man,” a song long associated with their early years and their ability to transform country and bluegrass influences into something much heavier onstage.

The first part of the concert continued with “Stick Around for Rock and Roll” and “Born to Be Bad,” followed by “Rattlesnake Road” and “Keep Prayin’.” Rather than relying entirely on a handful of recognizable hits, the set gave longtime listeners a broader trip through the band’s catalogue.

“You Are the Show” followed before the band performed “Grey Ghost,” the Henry Paul Band song that has become an important part of The Outlaws’ modern live repertoire. Its inclusion also served as a reminder of guitarist and vocalist Henry Paul’s musical history outside of The Outlaws.

The concert then arrived at one of the band’s signature songs, “There Goes Another Love Song.” Originally appearing on The Outlaws’ self-titled 1975 debut album, the song remains one of the group’s most recognizable recordings and an essential piece of its Southern rock legacy.

The band’s interpretation of “Riders in the Sky” followed, bringing a different atmosphere to the set before the instrumental “Waterhole.”

The closing stretch was devoted to some of the music most closely associated with the classic Outlaws sound.

“Knoxville Girl” arrived in the thirteenth position before The Outlaws closed the night with their epic “Green Grass & High Tides.”

For many fans, there could hardly be a more appropriate finale.

Originally released on the band’s 1975 debut, “Green Grass & High Tides” became a showcase for the multiple-guitar approach that helped separate The Outlaws from many of their Southern rock contemporaries. In concert, the song has traditionally provided the band with an opportunity to stretch beyond the studio recording and put its trademark guitar attack at center stage.

That musical identity dates back to the band’s beginnings in Tampa, Florida. The Outlaws emerged during the formative years of Southern rock and became one of the genre’s important groups alongside names such as Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Allman Brothers Band, The Marshall Tucker Band and The Charlie Daniels Band.

Their early albums — The Outlaws, Lady in Waiting and Hurry Sundown — established the combination of rock guitars and country harmonies that would become their signature.

The band’s history has included major successes as well as numerous lineup changes and the deaths of important members, including Billy Jones, Frank O’Keefe and Hughie Thomasson. Through the different eras of the group, however, The Outlaws’ music has continued to find an audience.

The August 9 Hartford concert demonstrated why.

Instead of presenting itself simply as a nostalgia act, the current version of The Outlaws continues to perform the material as a working rock band, while acknowledging the catalogue and musicians responsible for building its reputation.

The 14-song performance covered different chapters of that history, from “Hurry Sundown,” “There Goes Another Love Song” and “Knoxville Girl” to “Grey Ghost” and newer material such as “Rattlesnake Road.”

Ultimately, though, the evening came back to the sound that has followed The Outlaws throughout their career: voices in harmony and guitars turned loose.

More than 50 years after the band’s beginnings in Florida, the Florida Guitar Army continues to ride.