Corey Smith brings his 21 After 21 Tour to Soul Kitchen on March 19

The Georgia songwriter's anniversary run, celebrating 21 years on the road, stops on Dauphin Street on a Friday night in March 2027.

For a lot of people across the Southeast, one Corey Smith song has been a rite of passage for two decades. So it fits that his new tour is built around a number. The 21 After 21 Tour reaches Soul Kitchen in downtown Mobile on Friday, March 19, 2027.

The date went up on Soul Kitchen's own calendar last week, listed as *Corey Smith: 21 After 21 Tour* at 8 p.m., with tickets through the venue's site. Soul Kitchen holds about 1,100. For a songwriter whose fans know every word, that's big enough to feel like an event and small enough that the singalongs carry.

The tour's subtitle explains the name: Celebrating 21 Years on the Road. The Georgia singer-songwriter is marking two decades and change as a touring act with a run that starts in early 2027. Venue listings so far include the Tennessee Theatre in Knoxville on Feb. 18, Pop's in Sauget, Illinois on Feb. 27, and the Capitol Theatre in Macon on March 20, the night after Mobile. In Macon, a limited batch of $21 tickets went out in a presale. Mobile's listing shows tickets from $32.57 to $72.20.

The number has a second meaning for longtime fans. "Twenty One," the single from Smith's 2003 debut album, is still the song crowds wait for, and his Ticketmaster artist page notes that it shows up in his sets regularly. Calling an anniversary tour 21 After 21 is a nod anyone who came up on that song will catch.

His reputation was built in rooms like this: country and Americana songwriting delivered to crowds who sing along louder than the PA.

Soul Kitchen is the right Mobile room for that. It's a downtown music hall on Dauphin Street, and the Corey Smith date sits alongside the rest of the club's country, rock and touring bookings on its calendar. A Friday in March downtown, with the weather turning and the night getting late, is about as good a setup as a singalong show gets.

When to buy: the date was announced Oct. 20, and other stops on the tour opened presales on Oct. 21. Mobile's listing has a live Buy Tickets link now. Tickets for a 1,100-cap room on a Friday don't usually last until spring, so if this one's on your list, don't wait for March.

Calling an anniversary tour 21 After 21 is a nod anyone who came up on that song will catch.

Some artists mark anniversaries with a box set. Smith is marking his the way he built his name, one night at a time in clubs across the South. Mobile gets its night on March 19.

Sources: Home and Upcoming Events — Soul Kitchen Music Hall (soulkitchenmobile.com); Corey Smith — Soul Kitchen Mobile (soulkitchenmobile.com); Corey Smith: 21 After 21 Tour — Pop's (TicketWeb) (ticketweb.com); Corey Smith 21 After 21 Tour at Tennessee Theatre, Feb 18, 2027 (tmpresale.com); Georgia singer-songwriter Corey Smith to perform in Macon on 21st-anniversary tour (yahoo.com); Corey Smith — Ticketmaster artist page (ticketmaster.com)