Concert Reviews Archives

Texas Independence Day Show Feat. Aaron Watson & Jack Ingram

March 5, 2018/in Blog, Concert Reviews /by Christina Bosch

Aaron Watson, Jack Ingram, and Ryan Beaver brought a Texas-sized show to New York City this past Friday night. The Gramercy Theatre was the venue for this historic night for Texas country fans, celebrating Texas Independence Day with some of their favorite artists.

Ryan Beaver and Jack Ingram warmed up the crowd both playing their soul-filled country music, bringing the laughs and good vibes to the room. Ingram who was a co-writer on Miranda Lambert’s heartbreaking single, “Tin Man” ended his set with his meticulous version, the crowd was hushed, hung on every last word.

Switching gears, Watson took the stage for his high energy set which included songs from his two-decade-long career like “Freight Train”, “Getaway Truck” and “That’s Why God Loves Cowboys” as well as a cover of George Strait’s classic “Amarillo By Morning”.

A highlight of the night was during “That Look” when the crowd cheered as a man got down on one knee to propose, of course, she said yes then Watson invited them to the front of the stage to get a selfie. ” Everybody get your hands up! This is their engagement party!” he yelled.

Performing his latest single which he wrote for his wife, “Run Wild Horses” as well as closing the night with his smash hit “Outta Style” Texas was well represented in New York City and it was the perfect way to celebrate Texas Independence Day. Watson continues 2018 by touring the nation, to keep up with the singer follow him on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and for tour dates head to his website.

In case you missed it, earlier in the day Watson joined the New York Country Swag team as we took the main stage at Opry City Stage in Times Square. Catch the full video below.

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Little Big Town: The Breakers Tour Sells Out Iconic Radio City Music Hall

February 28, 2018/in Blog, Concert Reviews /by Christina Bosch

Photo Credit: Carl Scheffel

Little Big Town‘s The Breakers Tour kicked off a few weeks back and has made its way to the east coast. Tourmates Midland, Kacey Musgraves, and headliner Little Big Town sold out New York City’s legendary Radio City Music Hall Saturday night (Feb. 24), where fans of all ages gathered to listen to some of their favorite country music.

Kicking things off were Midland who hail from Texas and brought their traditional country flair to the big apple. Singing songs off their debut album, On the Rocks, including “Check Cashin’ Country”, “Burn Out” and of course their debut number 1 single, “Drinkin’ Problem” the boys brought the energy to the theatre. “This is pretty special for us to be playing at Radio City Music Hall, sometimes life will just trip you out a little bit,” Mark Wystrach, the lead singer stated in between songs. “This is really cool and we wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for our good friends, Little Big Town. I’m getting all emotional now so I’m just going to raise a toast to y’all.”

Next up, Kacey Musgraves took the stage wearing a blue faux fur coat under the most colorful and sparkly jumpsuit. Musgraves released new music on Friday and was excited to share her new songs with the audience. Alternating between songs off her first album, Same Trailer Different Park including “Merry Go Round” and “Follow Your Arrow” as well as four brand new songs off her forthcoming album Golden Hour including “Slow Burn”, “High Horse” and the recent release “Space Cowboy” and “Butterflies” the crowd got to understand the true versatility of the singer-songwriter.

Right at 9 o’clock on the dot, Little Big Town’s Karen, Jimi, Kimberly, and Phillip took the famed stage, opening with their version of Elton John’s “Rocket Man”. The band played songs from their 2 decade long career, including their very first number one song “Pontoon”. Packing their set with classic songs that the audience knew every word to including “Little White Church” and “Day Drinkin” to deep album cuts from their previous albums like “Save Your Sin” and “Sober”.

Photo Credit: Carl Scheffel

“We made it here! Radio City, sold out, holy freaking cow!” Karen Fairchild exclaimed. “Country fans are the greatest fans and you’ve been so so kind to us, thank you for coming tonight.”

A few highlights included “I’m With the Band” which is from their 2007 album A Place to Land, the group who has been together for neatly twenty years had old videos playing behind them from their early days together. Proving that sticking to your guns and recording music that you love will get you a long-lasting career in this business.

The acoustics at Radio City Music Hall lent perfectly to the group’s harmonies, especially on their tribute to Glenn Campbell. “We’ve lost a lot of heroes and icons recently, back during the CMA Awards we were honored to pay tribute to Mr. Glenn Campbell, we got to do a very special performance that night and we wanted to share that with you here tonight, this is ‘Witchita Lineman’,” Jimi Westbrook explained.

Closing the night with their second number one hit, “Girl Crush” the audience almost drowned out the band, singing every word back to them. (Video below) Their set was iconic, the mix of slower more emotional songs with absolute anthems made for an incredible night of country music.

The Breakers Tour heads to Pennsylvania this weekend and wraps up late April. Check out below for remaining tour dates.

March 2 – Reading, PA @ Santander Arena
March 3 – Washington, DC @ Anthem
March 15 – Green Bay, WI @ Resch Center
March 16 – Duluth, MN @ Amsoil Arena
March 17 – Grand Forks, ND @ Ralph Engelstad
March 22 – Grand Rapids, MI @ Van Andel Arena
March 23 – Cedar Rapids, IA @ U.S. Cellular Center
March 24 – Sioux City, IA @ Tyson Events Center
April 5 – Minneapolis, MN @ Target Center
April 6 – Milwaukee, WI @ BMO Harris Bradley Ctr
April 7 – St. Louis, MO @ Chaifetz Arena
April 19 – Greensboro, NC @ Greensboro Coliseum
April 20 – Greenville, SC @ Bon Secours Wellness Arena
April 21 – Atlanta, GA @ Infinite Energy Arena

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Nash FM Stage 17: David Lee Murphy

February 15, 2018/in Blog, Concert Reviews /by Stephanie Wagner

Early Tuesday Afternoon (Feb. 13), Nash FM 94.7 Hackensack Meridian Health Stage 17 hosted David Lee Murphy for an intimate Up Close & Country performance.

The Grammy-nominated country hit-maker kicked off his set with “Party Crowd,” one of the biggest party songs of the 90s. He then went on to sing a career changing track he penned for Jason Aldean, “Big Green Tractor”, as well as “Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not”, the #1 song he wrote for Thompson Square.

Murphy has spent the past several years concentrating on songwriting and producing, penning numerous #1 hits over the past three decades like “Living in Fast Forward” for Kenny Chesney, “Anywhere With You” for Jake Owen and “The Only Way I Know” for Jason Aldean.

Now, for the first time in thirteen years, Murphy is putting out new music with his forthcoming album, No Zip Code. The record was co-produced by Buddy Cannon and longtime friend Kenny Chesney, and features Chesney on the debut track, “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright.”

“How do you tell Kenny No?” Murphy jokingly tells the Nash fm crowd before playing the new uptempo track. Following the already popular song, Murphy closed his set with the #1 single and timeless classic, “Dust On The Bottle.”

Listen to David Lee Murphy’s latest single, “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright” and additional popular tracks below. Check out the full live show at Nash fm here and listen to Nash FM 94.7 daily for your chance to win a seat at these intimate shows.

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Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris, Maren Morris & Kesha deliver at ‘All For The Hall’ NYC Event…

February 14, 2018/in Blog, Concert Reviews /by Stephanie Wagner

Tuesday Evening (Feb. 13), New York City fans had a rare opportunity to see country legends, Vince Gill and Emmylou Harris with Grammy winner, Maren Morris & pop star, Kesha, at The Country Music Hall of Fame’s All for the Hall benefit concert.

The fundraising event, which took place at Times Square’s Playstation Theater, was staged as a traditional guitar-pull style format and featured the artists taking turns singing songs and swapping stories.

Leading the charge, Country Music Hall of Fame member and All for the Hall founder, Vince Gill, introduced his all female guests on to the stage before kicking off several rounds of hit songs between the four powerful artists. Highlights included the first live rendition of Maren Morris and Vince Gill’s, “Dear Hate”, a song Morris penned in 2015 after the mass shooting in Charleston and released later to benefit the victims of violence in Las Vegas.

Another standout was Emmylou Harris’ “If I Needed You.” A true gem in Harris’ catalog, she dedicated the song to her duet partner on the track, the late Don Williams.

“I still love making records. I’ve been making them for 44 years,” Gill exclaimed mid-show, before introducing a new song, “Forever Changed.” The emotional ballad tells the story of a sexual assault from a female’s perspective, leaving the capacity audience completely moved.

Throughout her turns, Kesha shared stories of her singer-songwriter Mom, Pebe Sebert and her country music roots, before adding a country twist to her chart-topping pop-dance songs. Closing out the show, Kesha performed an acoustic edition of the first number one song that she wrote with her mom, “My Love Is Your Drug.” Morris, Harris & Gill joined her for a chorus of voices, while the audience clapped along, proving to be a crowd favorite.

The sold out show was a success for the Country Music Hall of Fame. Proceeds from the night will support the museum’s education programs, which teach audiences about the enduring beauty and cultural importance of country music.

For more about the Country Music Hall of Fame, visit their website here and follow them on Instagram.

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Next Women of Country Kicks off in NYC with Sara Evans, RaeLynn & Kalie Shorr

February 13, 2018/in Blog, Concert Reviews /by Christina Bosch

Sara Evans joined by RaeLynn and Kalie Shorr took the stage at B.B Kings in Times Square for the kick off night of CMT’s Next Women of Country Tour. The venue was packed, with standing room only crowd members at the bar.

First to take the stage was Kalie Shorr, this being her first tour and her first time performing in New York City, the young punk-country artist opened her set with “Fight Like A Girl”, an anthem which she powerfully performed. She also sang her latest single “Two Hands” and “Damn Sky” which are both featured on her EP Awake. Covering a kick-butt version of Shania Twain’s “Man I Feel Like A Woman” the girl power night started off with a bang.

Next to take the stage was RaeLynn, the “Wildhorse” singer sang songs off of her debut album including “God Made Girls” and “Young”. “It’s a dream to be playing in New York tonight at B.B King’s opening for Queen Bee, Sara Evans, I’m just so excited to be on tour with her,” she told the audience. Referencing her time on the reality talent show The Voice and her coach Blake Shelton, the young singer explained that after writing for a few years she loved being able to put honest music out into the world. She closed her set with a song that she explained “changed her life,” “Love Triangle”.

Finally, Sara Evans took the stage as the headlining act of the night. Evans was joined by her band which included her brother, Matt, sister, Leslie and oldest son Avery. The powerhouse vocalist sang songs from her 20-year career including, “Suds in the Bucket”, “Born to Fly” and of course “A Little Bit Stronger”.

She also performed songs from her latest album Words, including “Night Light”, “Long Way Down” and “Marquee Sign”. The songstress had the entire audience singing along to her hits, entertaining them with her wit and humor in between songs and empowering all of the women in the room. “We need a lot more women in country music, that’s for sure,” she exclaimed. “I can’t tell you how honored I am that you are all here on a Monday night.”

Evans didn’t just sing originals but included some incredible cover songs, stylistically changing them to suit her signature sound including Gavin DeGraw’s “Not Over You”, Chicago’s “Hard to Say I’m Sorry” and closed out the night bringing her two opening acts back on stage for “Girls Just Want To Have Fun”.

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Tegan Marie Chats Before her Opry City Stage Debut

February 5, 2018/in Blog, Concert Reviews /by Christina Bosch

At just fourteen years old, Tegan Marie has the poise and confidence of a veteran in this business. She made her way to New York City last week to show off her new songs and her high energy personality. Before taking the stage as the first artist to play The Studio at Opry City Stage in Times Square, the singer sat down with New York Country Swag to talk about her journey so far.

“I started singing when I was 3 years old. I stole the karaoke machine from my dad and I haven’t put down a microphone since,” she tells us. Remembering family cookouts in her hometown of Flint, Michigan where traditional country music like Johnny Cash was frequently played. She was signed to Sweety High, an all-girls media company when she was twelve years old and her rise to fame included covers of current country songs on YouTube. Her cover of Florida Georgia Line’s, “H.O.L.Y” (below) has racked up over 17 million views on Facebook.

Now, Tegan is writing her own music and releasing it one song at a time, starting with her latest single “Keep It Lit”. She recalls walking into a songwriting session in Nashville with Rune Westberg and Jason and Nelly Reeves of High Dive Heart and saying “Alright guys, let’s keep it lit”. After laughing, they realized that the word “lit” is very popular with Tegan’s generation and that there was a song idea there. The lively song has a great melody and is definitely memorable.

As if playing the Today Show with Hoda and Kathie Lee and Opry City Stage wasn’t enough excitement for one day, right before she took the stage she found out that the video for “Keep It Lit” had reached over one million views.

Her sold-out show at Opry City Stage featured a 60-minute high energy set filled with pop covers (Bruno Mars’ “24K Magic”, The Chainsmokers “Don’t Let Me Down”), country covers (The Band Perry’s “Done” and Florida Georgia Line’s “H.O.L.Y.) as well as a ton of original music. Fans ages ranged from 5 and 6-year-old girls which she called to stand in the front of the stage to their parents who also enjoyed watching the pint-size performer entertain. “I’m so honored to be playing the Opry City Stage, it’s a dream come true,” she exclaimed before playing an original song called “Roots”.

Tegan Marie Opry

She spent time explaining each of the songs and the story behind writing them, letting her fans in on her process. “This song is about chasing your dreams and chasing those city lights and how ironic is it that we are here in the most beautiful city and I am definitely chasing my dreams,” she said before singing “City Lights”. Closing her set by putting her own spin on John Mellencamp’s “Pink Houses” and then spending time meeting and signing autographs for every person in attendance. Looking forward into 2018, Tegan is excited to release new music and performing more since it is her favorite thing to do.

Be sure to follow him on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

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“Under the Covers” NYC Songwriter Night ft. Lee Brice & Morgan Evans with Victoria Shaw…

January 30, 2018/in Blog, Concert Reviews /by Christina Bosch

Award-winning singer-songwriter, Victoria Shaw hosted her “Under the Covers” concert series last night at Birdland, bringing a little bit of Nashville to New York City. The venue was the perfect setting for a night full of stories behind the songs, as candles flickered on the tables and fans of music nestled into their seats.

Shaw took the stage and kicked off the night by singing Lady Antebellum’s 2008 single, “I Was Here”, a song she co-wrote with Hilary Scott. After a rousing applause, Shaw introduced her two guests, rising star Morgan Evans and award-winning singer-songwriter Lee Brice. The three took turns singing the songs they have written and recorded, all the while bantering back and forth with each other.

Shaw sang a medley of hits she wrote for Garth Brooks including, “Baby Let’s Lay Down and Dance” and one of Brooks’ most critically acclaimed songs, “The River”. She closed out the night with a meaningful version of “Never Alone” a song that was recorded by both Sara Evans and Lady Antebellum and written with Sarah Buxton and Gary Burr.

Newcomer, Morgan Evans performed his first single to hit country radio, “Kiss Somebody” as well as a song he had written for his now wife, Kelsea Ballerini when they were only just dating, “I Do”. He also got the crowd clapping along to “Day Drunk” and a rowdy version of a song he wrote, “We Will Never Be This Young Again”.

Lee Brice, who has also written songs for plenty of talented country artists, sang songs off his new album including “Songs in the Kitchen” and “Boy” which was written by Nicolle Gaylon and Jon Nite. Brice told the audience, “This song is perfect, and I love to be able to say that, because I didn’t write it,” before singing his latest single “Boy” which he dedicated to his two sons Takoda and Ryker. For his last song, Brice chose to sing “I Don’t Dance” the first song that was a major hit that he had written. He explained how happy he was that his wife was there to hear him sing it and she watched lovingly from the bar.

At one point in the evening, Shaw asked legendary songwriter and producer Mark Hudson to come up and sing a song. After telling some hilarious stories, he sat down to detail his writing session with Aerosmith and the Grammy awarding-winning song that was written that day, “Livin’ On the Edge”.

Overall, bringing a little bit of a Nashville songwriting round to New York City had the audience howling, wishing the night wouldn’t end. All three performers stayed to chat and take pictures with the crowd after the show. For more information on Birdland and the events they host head to birdlandjazz.com and make sure to follow us on instagram and check out our IG Stories as we post snippets from these fun NYC shows.

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Nash FM Stage 17: Midland

January 30, 2018/in Blog, Concert Reviews /by Christina Bosch

Kicking off their epic Grammy weekend, Nash FM Hackensack Meridian Health Stage 17 hosted two-time nominees, Midland. The band made up of Mark, Cameron and Jess took the stage in their signature outfits to play songs from their debut album On The Rocks.

“We’re going to put you right in the middle of a west Texas honky tonk,” the lead singer says before they kicked off their set with “Check Cashin’ Country”. The trio sang “Burn Out” as well as their current single, “Make A Little” and talked about what an honor it is to be nominated for not one, but two Grammy awards. “We take great pride in being able to write, record, and perform our songs live and to be recognized and validated by our heroes, it’s really surreal.”

Commenting on their “ten-year-overnight success” story, they proudly played their debut single and first number one song, “Drinkin’ Problem” to close out the set. “Follow your heart, put one boot in front of the other and some pretty amazing things can end up happening,” Mark said about their determination in this business.

Listen to Midland’s debut album On The Rocks below. Be sure to Like Hackensack Meridian Health Stage 17 on Facebook to get a notification everytime they go live and listen to Nash FM 94.7 daily for. your chance to win a seat at these intimate shows.

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Nash FM Stage 17: Lauren Alaina

January 29, 2018/in Blog, Concert Reviews /by Christina Bosch

Lauren Alaina dropped by Nash FM’s Hackensack Merdian Stage 17 to perform a few of her songs and chat about her biggest news announced earlier this month. Throwing it back to one of her very first singles, Alaina kicked off the intimate set with, “Georgia Peaches”. Following up with cuts from her latest album, including her current single “Doin’ Fine”, and “Next Boyfriend”, Alaina had the entire room’s undivided attention.

“I’ve had this dream since I was three years old and it is all I’ve ever wanted to do,” she told the live studio audience before singing “Three”, a song that Alaina says is her favorite song shes ever penned. Amongst the struggles that young artists have to endure while trying to make their way in this business, the song mainly focuses on missing home, events, family and friends, while chasing the dream.

A highlight of her set was when she asked a young boy to join her on stage for “Next Boyfriend” and although at first, he said he didn’t really dance, he showed us his moves grooving next to the country star. Discussing her journey in this industry as well as some very big news, Alaina took time to chat with Nash FM DJ Katie Neal about touring with Jason Aldean. The epic tour stops at Madison Square Garden on August 11th. Alaina explained how excited she was to play the iconic stage with her band for the first time.

She finished her set with her very first number one single, “Road Less Traveled” and was sure to thank country radio and Nash FM for playing it and making her dreams a reality. “I wanted to write a song to make people feel good and to make them forget about their insecurities,” she told the crowd. For ticket sale information and more tour dates head to www.LaurenAlainaofficial.com

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Granger Smith and Smithfield Entertain Fans at Irving Plaza

January 19, 2018/in Blog, Concert Reviews /by Christina Bosch

Last night, Granger Smith fans came out in droves to support the singer at Irving Plaza. Plaid-wearing country fans packed out both floors of the famed NYC venue to catch Granger Smith, his alter-ego Earl Dibbles, Jr., and opening act, Smithfield on the first night of the “Don’t Tread On Me” Tour.

Rising country duo, Smithfield, took the stage to warm up the eager crowd. Singing songs from their 2015 self-titled EP including the first song that Sirius XM The Highway played “Nothing But the Night”. Mid-set, they hyped up the crowd with their medley of cover songs including Justin Timberlake’s “Cry Me A River”, Shania Twain’s “That Don’t Impress Me Much”, and even the classic Goo Goo Dolls song, “Iris”. Closing out the 45 minute set with their latest single (slated to head to country radio this week) “Hey Whiskey”, Smithfield’s harmonies and incredible on-stage chemistry was the perfect way to kick off the night. Check out an exclusive acoustic performance of the song during our New York Country Swag Session.

With this being both the first show of the tour and of 2018, Granger Smith was primed for an energetic night. Opening his set with “Gimme Something”, it was instantly apparent how equally happy he was to be on that stage and his fans were to hear him sing. He spent the entire night fist bumping and high fiving the lucky fans who waited online in the bitter cold to be front row. Throughout the set, he alternated between songs from his latest album When the Good Guys Win and from his earlier albums such as Remington.

Taking a moment to slow things down, he grabbed a stool and sat on the edge of the stage to chat with his audience. “This is my first full band show in New York City and it’s an honor that we get to play here and that you guys come out to see us,” he says. “We get to see a lot of cool places but it comes at a price, we miss birthdays, weddings, funerals, being a dad and a husband it’s hard and sometimes I have to ask myself if it’s worth it? Then I come out here on a Thursday night in New York City and I see your faces and see you reacting emotionally to these songs and that tells me it is definitely worth it.” He then sang one of the most powerful songs on his newest LP, “Everybody Lives”.

The night wouldn’t be complete without Smith transforming into his alter ego, Earl Dibbles, Jr. “NYC is officially Yee Yee nation tonight,” Smith yelled as he appeared on stage dressed in his signature overalls, boots, tank top and trucker cap. He rolled a cooler out on to the stage and cranked the end of the party up a notch. Singing “Don’t Tread On Me” and “If The Boot Fits” to close out the night, Smith proved he is a mega entertainer. Fans that will catch this tour in the future are in for a fun, high-energy filled set. Click here for the rest of the tour dates and ticket information.

Days before the show, New York Country Swag hosted a special Meet & Greet contest for our followers. We gave one lucky winner a pair of Meet & Greets for Granger Smith before the show. Congrats to our winner & thank you for supporting New York Country Swag! Make sure you’re following us on instagram for contests, ticket giveaway & more!

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Thanks for supporting Country Music in NYC!

Click Here to learn more about NYCountry Swag
+ Follow our Country Music Adventures on Instagram, @NYCOUNTRYSWAG!

– Team NYCountry Swag