Ingram Shows Promise and Independence in Country Set

Underground country singer-songwriter Jack Ingram arrived Tuesday at the House of Blues with lots of impressive endorsements, including one from Steve Earle, who co-produced “Livin’ or Dyin’,” the fellow Texan’s major-label debut album on MCA-distributed Rising Tide Records.

Opening for headliner Junior Brown (who was reviewed here recently), Ingram and his three-piece band asserted an Earle-like independence from the bland, pop-leaning, hat-act mentality that is gripping Nashville. He started his set with “Nothin’ Wrong With That,” a blue-collar lament that echoes Earle’s style, and then moved nicely between honky-tonk ballads and the wry, restless commentary of Jimmie Dale Gilmore’s “Dallas.”

Yes, the promise is there. But Ingram, 26, is still in the starting blocks. He needs more authority as a singer and his writing would benefit from more of the intimacy and daring of “Don’t You Remember” and “She Does Her Best,” two songs from the “Livin’ or Dyin’ ” album that he didn’t sing Tuesday. Too many of his songs, including “That’s Not Me,” simply salute country tradition rather than challenge it.

The test is whether he can move from being simply an engaging entertainer to a compelling artist. The sad thing about contemporary country is that he’s one of the few figures on a major label who is even trying.