Review: Sierra Ferrell wows sold-out First Avenue with her refreshingly quirky country sounds

West Virginia Americana singer Sierra Ferrell knew the historic significance of where she was Friday night in Minneapolis. So she watched "Purple Rain" again before performing at First Avenue, where Prince shot his musical movie.

For the occasion, Ferrell wore a ruffled purple blouse over a sequined leotard, rhinestone cowgirl boots, glitter eyeshadow and a double-bun hairstyle decorated with butterfly barrettes. And she had her own "Purple Rain" moment by getting the sell-out crowd to wave along to her "At the End of the Rainbow" just like fans did during the song "Purple Rain."

Even without all the Purpleness, Ferrell's 95-minute concert would have been an unqualified triumph, featuring delightful personality and becoming playfulness along with first-rate songs and solid musicianship. This was the most refreshingly quirky country-adjacent show by a woman in the Twin Cities since Kacey Musgraves emerged a dozen years ago.

Backed by a quartet of guys wearing identical Western shirts, kerchief ties, slacks, boots and unmatching hats, Ferrell, 35, came across like Dolly Parton with less vibrato and less garishness. The songs mixed classic country, modern twang, bluegrass instincts, gypsy jazz and a little tango and Tex-Mex flavoring. That's why Ferrell's melting pot fits into the Americana category.

Like Dolly, Ferrell exuded sweetness and positivity, urging the fans to be confident and say kind things to ourselves before she offered "American Dreaming," from her 2024 album, "Trail of Flowers," her second full-length for Rounder Records. (Her 2021 debut, "Long Time Coming," led to Ferrell being named emerging artist of the year at the 2022 Americana Music Awards.)

The setlist was evenly divided between selections from her two Rounder albums with a couple of numbers from one of her early independent records as well as covers of John Anderson's no-regrets "Years," Arthur Smith's snarling "Chittlin' Cookin' Time in Cheatham County" and Gordon Lightfoot's pining "Redwood Hill," which received a resounding ovation.

The crowd was excitable all night, singing or clapping along when prompted and responding with rousing cheers after every number. And when the fans were super-excited, Ferrell and band reprised the chorus of the tune to everyone's delight.

Highlights included the country shuffle "Dollar Bill Bar," the Tex Mex-meets-tango "Why'd Ya Do It," the toe-tapping "At the End of the Rainbow," the twin fiddle-propelled "I Could Drive You Crazy," the fiddle-fueled "Fox Hunt" that would have made Charlie Daniels proud and Lightfoot's nature-loving "Redwood Hill," with the lyric "I could not change for any man" having a different resonance sung by a woman, especially one with Ferrell's character and confidence.