Frankie Ballard plays country with a lot of heartland rock mixed in. He’s got a movie-star jawline and a nicely retro hint of a pompadour that suits his songs. This is music about burning fossil fuel, heading out of town, gambling, home cooking, rolling the windows down and having a good time despite being stuck in the middle of nowhere. John Mellencamp might reasonably feel like Ballard is copping some of his corn-fed style. But Mellencamp was already lifting some of his template from Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty, so all’s fair in respectful bowering.
Oh, and Ballard, who’s from Michigan, draws appropriately from Bob Seger, too, by covering him. Ballard, who’s toured supporting acts like Florida Georgia Line and Lady Antebellum, released his third studio album, “El Rio,” last year, which was recorded in the desert-kissed setting outside of El Paso, Texas. It’s got a mix of country and power-ballads that could easily work with fans of Bon Jovi and Luke Bryan. “Little Bit of Both” is a song about reconciling contradictions, the classic country conundrum of balancing Sunday morning piety with Saturday night excess, but extended to a romance, falling in love with someone who’s “a little bit of straight A and a little bit of cray-cray.” Ballard is a pro with the country double entendre. His song “Southern Side” is a clever twist on the old north-south divide, mixing geography and anatomy.
Frankie Ballard plays at College Street Music Hall, 238 College St., New Haven, Friday, April 14, at 8 p.m. Tickets are $25. collegestreetmusichall.com.
