Cory Branan books The Flat Iron for a February Friday

With a new album, You'll Live, out this year, Cory Branan brings his songs to a 200-capacity Summit Avenue room on Feb. 26, 2027.

Some songwriters need a big room to land. Cory Branan has always seemed made for the opposite: a couple hundred people, the bar close by, and nowhere to hide when a verse turns on you. Greensboro gets that kind of night next winter.

Branan is booked for Friday, Feb. 26, 2027 at The Flat Iron, 221-223 Summit Ave. The venue's events page lists doors at 7 p.m. and the show at 8 p.m. The date was announced Oct. 20, and tickets are on eTix. The room holds about 200. That's the appeal, and it's also the reason not to wait on a ticket.

The reason for the tour is a new record. Blue Élan Records announced *You'll Live* as Branan's seventh studio album and his second for the label. Anthony da Costa produced it in Nashville. The label describes the songs as gathered over nearly 20 years, which makes it sound less like a fresh batch and more like a writer finally emptying out the notebooks. "Kathleen" came out as the first single with the announcement. The album follows "Steppin' Outside," Branan's collaboration with Tyler Childers from fall 2025.

A record of songs gathered over nearly 20 years, played in a room that holds 200.

By late February, *You'll Live* will have had a few months on the road. That's often the best point to catch a writer: the new songs have been played in, and the old ones haven't been dropped yet. Our data files Branan under country, folk and rock. If you've seen him, you know all three tags apply and none of them covers it. He can go from a hushed story song to something that clearly wants a drummer, often with nothing but his own guitar.

The Flat Iron fits that well. The venue presents itself as a bar room built for original music, and a 200-capacity room on a Friday is about as close to a living-room show as touring gets. You'll hear the lyrics. The crowd will hear you if you talk through them, so don't.

For Triad listeners, it adds up simply: a small room, a weekend night, and a writer with a new album and a deep back catalog. Doors at 7 p.m. leave time to get a drink and find a spot along the wall before the first song. A February Friday on Summit Avenue might be cold, but this is the kind of show that warms a room up quickly.

If you only know Branan as the name on a Tyler Childers collaboration, this is an easy way in: one night, one room, and the songs at close range. If you've followed him for years, you probably bought your ticket when it was announced. Either way, the Flat Iron's calendar has the link, and 200 tickets won't last until Valentine's Day is over.

See you on Summit Avenue.

Sources: The Flat Iron — Events (flatirongso.com); The Flat Iron — Home (flatirongso.com); Blue Élan Records: Cory Branan Announces New Album 'You'll Live', Releases Single "Kathleen" (blueelan.com); JamBase: Cory Branan at The Flat Iron (jambase.com)