REVIEW: Reese Fulmer takes the Carriage House Band to The Park

May 4

05/01 @ The Park Theater, Glens Falls

“‘I want things to happen that I won’t expect,’ he told the crowd at one point in between songs. ‘I want them to play things they haven’t played before.’”

The Park Theater has such a unique vibe. It’s large for a small venue with a max capacity of about 220, and on any given night every table in the room is full and the entire crowd is completely invested in the performance. Once the lights go down and the curtain draws open on the band, it feels like it becomes the largest listening room in the greater Glens Falls area. That made for an almost perfect setting for the latest incarnation of Reese Fulmer and his Carriage House Band.

The Park serves as familiar stomping grounds for the group, with this serving as their fourth appearance at the historic theater. Opening up with “Straight Lines,” Fulmer informs those who may be seeing them for the first time that this is a change of pace from their recent norm; the band has been playing a lot of high-energy sets as of late and they intended to take this opportunity for a more laidback vibe than the crowd might be used to. That made perfect sense, as Reese’s backing band for the evening did not include any percussion.

The Carriage House Band features a somewhat fluid lineup, and this incarnation took the shape of a five-piece band with standing bass, keys, mandolin, and saxophone backing Fulmer on acoustic guitar and lead vocals, along with backup vocals forming occasional three part harmonies. Fulmer joked that this just might be the first time ever that this particular incarnation of the band has come together, and maintained that their aim is to never play the same show twice. “I want things to happen that I won’t expect,” he told the crowd at one point in between songs. “I want them to play things they haven’t played before.”

The set for the evening featured almost entirely original music with many of the tracks appearing on the band’s recent debut studio album, In The Sunlight, released in October 2025. The only cover of the evening’s main set was The Waterboys’ “Fisherman’s Blues,” which Reese told the crowd reminds him of his Massachusetts roots back in his hometown of Gloucester. On “3AM,” he manages to make insomnia and late nights eating ice cream and plunging deep into pseudo-philosophy a poetically transcendent experience. The band also made their way through the bluegrass romper “Sinner’s Prayer” as well as “Locust Tree,” which gave a very touching anecdote of giving a bird that had died in his driveway a dignified burial. For “Born to Die,” Reese invited the crowd to participate, imploring us all to pick up on the chorus and serve as the fourth voice in the song's four-part harmony.

As a frontman, Fulmer is a smooth operator and seems completely at home interacting with a crowd. Despite this silken demeanor, he maintains a gruff and gritty sound in his vocals that gives his particular brand of Americana some distinct bite. Even with this, he is able to maintain his vulnerability through his heartfelt lyrics while his band backs him up with great aplomb. If you haven’t experienced lead mandolin before, here it is in spades and rest assured: it kicks ass. The saxophone answered as it always does, bringing some swinging funk that has you thinking of New Orleans whenever it busts out.

The end of the set drew a standing ovation, which led to an encore. “We should do a fast one where they get to do a lot of solos,” Fulmer said cheekily as he gestured to the band. And that they did, launching into a high-energy cover of Hank Williams’ “Jambalaya (On The Bayou)” that had everyone stomping, clapping, hooting and hollering to end the night.

It was a poignant exclamation point to the night, with a subtle and laidback evening building up to a triumphant explosion of energy. The Park Theater continues to be a destination to see the finest local artists in the 518 region, and for that the community is eternally grateful. With venues like it, and with artists as talented and dedicated to their craft as Reese Fulmer and the Carriage House Band, a day at the park for 518 music fans is sure to be a picnic in more ways than one.