Review: Country singer Adeem the Artist sells humor and empathy in Twin Cities concert

Adeem the Artist may be an acclaimed country songwriter, but Adeem is not for everyone.

Adeem, who uses the pronoun they, knows that. That's why they set the record straight from the get-go at performances by using humor to deflect/disarm potential detractors.

On Thursday night at Margie's Kitchen & Cocktails in Andover, Adeem opened with the autobiographical "I Never Came Out" and pointed out they are a nonbinary country musician ("there are eight of us").

For the rest of the night, Adeem tried to explain themselves, talking about stereotypes, racism, transphobia, queer phobia, religious zealotry, parenting, pronouns, the South, the music biz, lipstick and life.

Adeem, a 30-something "seventh generation Carolinian raised southern Baptist with some charismatic Christianity," was disarmingly self-deprecating but also as adept as a stand-up comic, poking fun at Italians, Irish people and Sioux Falls, S.D., where they performed the night before at an events center.

Adeem, who grew up in North Carolina and Syracuse before settling in the hills of Tennessee, is accustomed to being an opening act for 40 minutes in red states. So being onstage for 100 minutes in a blue state was a bit different. While performing only a dozen tunes, Adeem must have spent 60 minutes in conversation, even playfully wondering if they would get paid at the end of the night.

Although Adeem was LOL funny, they proved to be a standout songwriter, impressing with "For Judas" (which was set in Northeast Minneapolis Arts District after Adeem opened for American Aquarium at the Turf Club in 2021), "I Wish You Would've Been a Cowboy" (a rollicking country sendup of Toby Keith), "Going to Hell" (which evoked John Prine) and "Middle of a Heart" (a penetrating and profoundly sad tale of military PTSD).

Between the songs and patter, Adeem, in a word, exuded empathy. Even though they didn't preach it, the message was clear: empathy is something we all need to navigate this divisive world.

To be sure, a handful of the 170 concertgoers left early. (There were two enjoyable opening acts from the area, Humbird and Dan Rodriguez.) By the end of the long evening, Adeem was accommodating unsolicited song requests — and received a rousing standing ovation.

Adeem stuck around to sign albums and T-shirts. Then they packed up the SUV with their wife and young son to head to Green Bay, where Adeem promised to make fun of the Andover audience.