Dan Dyer

Photo by Sandy Carson

Dan Dyer

His showstopper "Anne-Marie" was lost as the second song in a short set scheduled in the thankless position of opening slot at ACL's seventh year, but Dan Dyer set the tone with soul and style. Dyer's self-titled release on Fat Caddy has made him something of a golden boy for the hot local label, and the fresh festival audience basked in the warmth of his spectacularly soulful vocals and sweet but never slavish love of 1970s R&B. After he uttered "Anne-Marie'"s coda by grinning "bitch" into the microphone, the local favorite sat down at the keyboards for a splendid set of his stylish compositions, including "Sorry, Baby," "Love Chain," and a finely wrought arrangement of Dr. John's "I Walk on Guilded Splinters," bolstered by drummer-vocalist Michael Hale and funky bassist Mark "Gumby" Williams. That's good enough for this year, but next year, Dyer will command headline status.