Walking into the Mercury Lounge Saturday night, I was surprised to see how many people were already crowded into the dive bar for the Dysfunctional Family Christmas, a yearly show Sunny Sweeney puts on, with special guests like Ward Davis, Alex Williams, Brennen Leigh, Jason Eady and Erin Enderlin. Tonight’s show was supposed to feature Alex, Ward and Sunny, but Alex was missing due to illness. Harley Husbands, guitarist for Sunny, also sat in on the set, but only Ward and Sunny traded songs.

Ward Davis | Sunny Sweeney | Harley Husbands | All Photos By Melissa Payne

Dressed all in black, wearing a pair of leopard boots and with a can of wine tucked into her mic stand, Sunny started off with “Better Bad Idea,” followed by Ward’s “Same Kind of Crazy as Me,” a song that he co-wrote and appears on the newest Cody Jinks album, The Wanting, released earlier this fall.

Taking turns playing their own songs, as well as covers, Sunny’s set list included, “Whiskey Richard” (her mom’s least favorite song of hers), “Blue Christmas,” “Poet’s Prayer,” “Tulsa Time,” “Drink Myself Single,” and ended with “One More Christmas Beer.”

Ward often included antidotes within his song introductions, which ranged anywhere from a song written for his current wife, Natalie, to discussing an old classmate that attended the show, to the trials of raising daughters. “15 Years in a 10 Year Town,” “Unfair Weather Friend,” “On the Other Hand,” and “Good and Drunk” were a few that were included within Ward’s set.

Dysfunctional Family Christmas is a great way to catch talented artists in a relaxed setting. 2019 marked the fourth year of this tour and with sold-out shows all over, I can’t imagine this tradition will stop anytime soon.