William Michael Morgan Brings Traditional Country to ToC Fest 2016

Fans watching William Michael Morgan's set on Saturday (June 11) at the 2016 Taste of Country Music Festival may have been a little confused: Was this really the same stage that Kid Rock had played just 12 hours before? Morgan's old-school brand of country is about as far away from Rock's country-rock-rap hybrid as you can get, and the up-and-comer was warmly received by the fans who came out early in the day.

Morgan's performance kicked off the second day of music at ToC Fest 2016. Throughout his hour-long set, he mixed up songs from his self-titled debut EP, classic country covers and even a few new tunes. Morgan pulled out Mark Chesnutt's "It's a Little Too Late" early on in his show, followed later by an acoustic version of Keith Whitley's "Don't Close Your Eyes," the Georgia Satellites' "Keep Your Hands to Yourself" and David Allan Coe's "You Never Even Called Me By My Name" ... among others.

A self-described "ol' Mississippi boy," Morgan proved with his original songs that his affinity for "traditional" country runs deep. "Cheap Cologne" in particular, which Morgan told the crowd is one of his favorites, features some darn good lyrics that would have fit into the country landscape back in the 1980s and '90s. Written by Odie Blackmon, Kevin Denney and Jimmy Ritchey, the tune features lyrics such as "No matter how hard she tries / There's no way to hide what's been goin' on / She don't smoke cigarettes / And I don't wear cheap cologne," and although it's a slower track, the Taste of Country Festival crowd appeared happy to hear it.

Along with Morgan, Old Dominion, the Swon Brothers, Eric Paslay, Frankie Ballard and Kenny Chesney were slated to perform on Day 2 of the 2016 Taste of Country Music Festival.

See Photos From Day 1 of ToC Fest 2016