Adam Doleac Shares An Acoustic Set at an Intimate NYC Venue

Guest post by Andrea Rogers for NYCountry Swag

Adam Doleac

After playing for 20,000 fans at Taste of Country Music Festival, Adam Doleac did a pop-up show at Berlin NYC on the lower east side Monday night. He told the audience that he loved playing acoustic intimate venues that allowed for more interaction with the audience and storytelling. He allowed the crowd to control the set list and joked that he knew all his own songs if anyone wanted to request his original music. “We are hopefully able to build this thing bigger and bigger as we go and continue to do stuff like this. This is the first of many pop-up shows and it’s so cool that I only posted it yesterday and y’all came”.

He joked with the audience about experiencing NYC and riding the subway. “We normally Uber and we rode the subway. Ride the subway they said. It would be fun they said. At least we are experiencing the culture of NYC” He played originals such as “Refill”, “Shady”, and “Mom and Daddy’s Money”. He opened up about his gratitude towards his parents for all they have done for him. “The best thing you can have in the world is two good parents. That’s the best start anyone can have. I was lucky enough to have two good parents. I was spoiled by them…I wouldn’t be here without them. They treated me good…I knew I could never say thank you enough in person so this was my way of thanking them via song. It’ll be around forever, they can listen to it, and I love playing it when they are in the audience. I hope I can do it as well as they did when I have my own kids”.

He announced that his next single will be “Solo” and it will be released to Sirius XM radio next Friday. NYC got to hear him play it for the first time live. “I wrote it with a track guy in the room so I didn’t have to play it and I haven’t sung it for anyone yet. The first time playing it, it could be a good thing or a bad thing” he joked. He also shared that the initials of “SOLO” mean “Stay Over Lay Over”, a play on words similar to Florida Georgia Line’s song “H.O.L.Y.”.

He also played hits such as “Whiskey’s Fine” and he shared how that song was his start two years ago on the radio. He was named “Highway Find” artist in 2017 and was our very first Swag Session back in October of that year.  He ended the night with “Puzzle of Us”, “Bigger Than Us”, and his latest hit “Famous”. “Famous” being his first #1 song on Sirius XM The Highway’s Hot 3o Countdown. “It’s the smallest song I’ve ever written but it’s doing big things at #1 on the Highway for 2 weeks, going on 3”. The inspiration behind famous is his girlfriend. There was a night she was all dressed up and his brother described her as “looking famous” which was his muse for the song. Check out our interview from last weekend at Taste of Country Festival below.

To keep up with Adam Doleac, follow him on FacebookTwitterand Instagram.

 

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Chris Young Brings the ‘Raised On Country’ Tour to New Jersey

Raised On Country

Photo Credit: Jeff Johnson

Country music fans made their way to the PNC Bank Arts Center in New Jersey on Sunday night to celebrate Memorial Day weekend with Chris Young’s ‘Raised On Country Tour 2019.’

Dylan Scott kicked off the show, bringing the audience to their feet with a mash-up of his hit “Hooked” and The Black Eyed Peas song, “I Gotta Feeling.” He continued to keep the crowd entertained with his song “Ball Cap” and his newest single and the title track to his latest EP “Nothing To Do Town,”. The entertainer slyly added in “This ain’t no nothing to do town, am I right about that?!,” to which fans erupted into applause.

Dylan Scott

After he introduced himself to the crowd, Scott took time to express the sentiment behind the next song he went on to play, while playing the piano. He shared, “Well, I’ve been with my wife, since I was 15 years old, and we’ve been married three years now. We have a beautiful baby boy and a little girl that’s going to be here in September. And y’all I love doing what I do, I love getting on this stage, and I love performing and singing, and I love the fact that I see y’all smile and singing along. So thank you so much- I appreciate it. But this next song, I looked at my wife, and not in a cocky or an arrogant way, just the truth, and said, “nobody’s going to love you like I love you.” And when I said that, I said that’s a song, and I went and wrote that song. It’s one of my favorite songs that I wrote in the past year, so we’ll play it for you tonight, it’s brand new. It’s called “Nobody.”

Keeping the crowd entertained Scott, went on to sing a medley of 90’s country songs, including “Fishin’ In The Dark,” “Check Yes or No,” and “When You Say Nothing At All.” By the time he ended his set with his first number one song “My Girl,” Scott had won the crowd over and was sure to have garnered many new fans from his performance.

Raised on Country Tour

Continuing to get the audience ready for the headliner, Chris Janson took the stage next with an unbelievable amount of energy. From start to finish, Janson was jumping around on stage, playing the harmonica, and singing a mixture of songs he wrote, covers, and of course, his own hits. Underneath his namesake sign, utilizing an official Grand Ole Opry microphone, and with a full band there to support him, the singer-songwriter exploded on to the stage with his song, “Redneck Life,” immediately getting fans on their feet, singing and dancing along. Fans continued to match his energy throughout his entire set.

After signing, “Everybody,” Janson took some time to acknowledge the service men and women in the audience, while still continuing the party. “I really am thankful to wake up free in this country. If you have served, please be recognized- will you raise your hand, please be recognized. Thank you for your service. It is a privilege- we raise a toast to you tonight for the sacrifice you’ve made to our country and to us as Americans. I’ll also raise a toast to your health and happiness! […] So now let’s sing a number 1 song, and have a party. Here’s one called “Fix A Drink.”

At this point, every single person was on their feet, jamming along with the entertainer and holding their drinks in air, even during his newest song, “Good Vibes,” his track, “White Trash,” and the cover of a song he had written for LOCASH called “I Love This Life.” Afterward, Janson decided to slow it down a bit, singing a mesmerizing cover of Billy Joel’s “Piano Man,” and his impactful song, “Drunk Girl.” The sky was lit up by the fan’s flashlights on their phones, making it a moment that neither Janson or the audience will ever forget.

Janson ended his set on a high note, jamming to Tim McGraw’s “Truck Yeah,” and even playing some drums, just before singing one of the song’s that started it all for him, “Buy Me a Boat.”

Raised on Country Tour

Under a neon ‘CY’ sign and accompanied by a full band, Chris Young took the stage next, beginning with his latest number one hit “Hangin’ On.” Young went on to sing nineteen songs, including, “Gettin’ You Home (The Black Dress Song)” and “Lonely Eyes.” The former being his first number one song and the later making its way to number two on the charts.

After singing a crowd favorite, “Lonely Eyes,” Young interacted with the audience, sharing, “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been parked behind this building somewhere because I was opening for someone else. It’s my honor and my pleasure to be here tonight,” adding, “This is the ‘Raised On Country Tour.’ We’re going to be playing a whole bunch of random stuff for you guys tonight. We might play a couple of new things off the new record that’s getting ready to come out this year. We’ve been in the studio doing a lot of work on that. […] We’ve got a whole bunch of stuff we’re going to announce really soon, but most importantly, all of this was only possible because you guys care anything about me getting up here playing music, so we’re going to play some country music for you guys tonight.”

Young’s set included some of his biggest radio hits, including “Losing Sleep,” “Think of You,” “Tomorrow,” “You,” and “I’m Comin’ Over,” which all went number one on the country charts. The entertainer made sure to sing both fan favorite tracks, including, the rowdy, “Hold My Beer,” the heartfelt tracks, “Who I Am With You,” and “The Man I Want To Be.”

One of the highlights of the night was when Young sang his newest song to go to country radio, the lead single off his upcoming album, “Raised On Country.” The crowd screamed back the lyrics to each and every song, but were especially loud during the new song, giving their approval of the track to Young. He even shared on Twitter that the crowd “Broke the audience volume record” for his career. Right before singing the new track, Young got a little help from the country music family, as images and videos of fellow country musicians flashed before our eyes on the big screens as they shared some love for the country music that they were raised on. Artists included the men from Brothers Osborne, Brett Young, Kane Brown, Lauren Alaina, Morgan Evans, Cassadee Pope, and more talented artists.

Raised on Country Tour

Another awesome moment came when Young sang a cover of Garth Brooks iconic song, “Papa Loved Mama.” Guitar in hand, the recording artist jammed to the catchy song, as the audience danced and sang along. Young continued the momentum, singing his ode to beer and country music in, “Save Water, Drink Beer.”

Leaving it all out on the stage, Young closed out the night with the high-energy song, “Aw Naw.” The concert was the perfect kick-off to the unofficial start of summer and concert season. For those willing to travel, Young, Janson, and Scott will bring the ‘Raised On Country Tour’ to Connecticut’s Xfinity Theatre on June 14th. Head to chrisyoungcounty.com for tickets and more information.

For more summer concerts heading to this area, check out our calendar.

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Hannah Bethel Brings Storytelling to NYC’s Rockwood Music Hall

Guest post by Andrea Rogers for NYCountry Swag

Hannah Bethel

Hannah Bethel brought the heart of Nashville to the intimate acoustic venue, Rockwood Music Hall Sunday night. Rockwood is one of the first stops that kicked off her summer 2019 tour. She honed in on the storytelling component of country music as she described the life experiences that inspired her original music.

She shared with the crowd her experience navigating New York City for the first time. “I travel a lot by myself, I do a solo backpacking and camping trip every year. I’ll go 10-15 miles out in the wild, I love it…It’s much scarier to navigate the subways!” she said jokingly to the crowd.

Bethel noted her musical inspirations: “I grew up on soft rock, it’s still my warm safe happy place” before covering “Dreams” by Stevie Nicks. As for her originals, she described the heartaches that inspired her songs “Last Summer”, “El Dorado”, The House is On Fire”, and “On the Way Down”.

She opened up to the Rockwood crowd about her journey that inspired the song “Train”. “I went through a hard season personally and professionally, trying to find my feet again in the music business. From the moment of its conception, I wrote this song with my sister, and when we were writing it I just felt like this song had this power and presence. I couldn’t explain it but I just knew I had to trust this song and follow it wherever it wanted to go”.  She recorded “Train”, made a video for it, and it made it to number 3 on the CMT Hot 20 Countdown. “This song has changed the trajectory of my life and it’s been pretty sweet. I’m grateful for it.” 

This Friday (5/31), fans can look forward to “Rhinestone Rodeo”, her next single.  The song is inspired by her journey in Nashville and the music business. “I moved to Nashville when I was 18, I didn’t know anyone or anything about the music business. I just said ‘Here I am Nashville!’ It was full of surprises but it’s been the most beautiful journey and it keeps getting brighter. I’m very grateful”.

Check back later this week to hear “Rhinestone Rodeo” and our exclusive Swag Spotlight with Bethel next Monday (6/3).  Go to http://www.hannahbethel.com for tour dates and more information.

To keep up with Hannah Bethel follow her on Instagram and Facebook.

 

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Cody Johnson Brings Texas Country to Sold Out NYC Crowd

Friday night, country music fans packed Irving Plaza in New York City for a rowdy night of traditional Texas country by none other than our Swag Session album Cody Johnson.

Jobe Fornter

The opening act singer-songwriter Jobe Fortner, who is dubbed one of the hardest working guitarists from Monroe, Georgia kicked off the night. His powerful Stapleton-esque voice rocked Irving Plaza as he sang songs influenced by his southern rock background. Fortner told the crowd, “It’s damn good to be playing some country music in New York City tonight, and it feels real damn good coming from the south y’all, thank you for that.” He energized the crowd and set the stage for Johnson, and performed his brand new song “Wherever She Is.” Fortner definitely made a ton of new fans in New York City.

Cody Johnson NYC

The much-anticipated part of the night came when former professional bull rider turned rising country superstar Cody Johnson took the stage to the sold-out Irving Plaza crowd. Johnson said, “New York, are you ready to get wild?” And that they were. Dedicated COJO nation fans sang along to favorites like, “With You I Am”, “Wild as You”, “Ride With Me”, “Dance Her Home”, “Diamond in My Pocket”, and “Noise.” You could feel the intensity and emotion behind each song, especially right after singing “Noise,” Johnson told the crowd, “I think this the most intimate part of the entire set.” “The whole time God had a plan to put me on this stage right here tonight. I don’t care if this offends you or not, I’m going to go ahead and give all the credit for me being here tonight to Jesus Christ.” Johnson then sang “Dear Rodeo” a song that depicted his life immensely. His passionate lyrics and emotional tracks create such an incredible connection and bond with his fans. But if he was not singing heartfelt songs, you bet Johnson turned Irving Plaza into a good timing honky-tonk with other hit songs like “Y’all People,” and “Honky Tonk Mood.”

Cody Johnson NYC

It was not an easy road for Johnson to get where he is today, and he explained, “As for me personally, there’s a lot of people along the way that said your music will never work outside the state of Texas, there was a lot of people that said if you sign a record deal you’re gonna have to sell your soul – well here we are proving them, wrong ladies and gentleman,” He continued, “If you’re doubting yourself about something in your life tonight, I want you to dig down deep, and I want you to think about this – I am living proof that we live in the kind of country that you can step outside your box and chase your dreams and be successful. This song is for every hater in your life and everybody that wants to hate on this country its called ‘Doubt Me Now.'”

Cody Johnson

Johnson also took time during his set to invite all of the first responders, firefighters, police offers, military and the retired act of duty to raise their hands and be acknowledged. He graciously thanked each and every one of them for sacrificing and allowing everyone in the audience the freedom to be there listening to him chase his dreams. Johnson played his collaboration of “Red Dirt Road” from Brook’s and Dunn’s Reboot album, along with cover songs by his idol Chris LeDoux, Garth Brooks, Merle Haggard, Patsy Cline, George Strait and more. The crowd was loving every moment and screaming for more.

As Johnson pointed to his huge Texas tattoo, he told everyone, “Thanks for making us feel at home.” New York City fans sure did welcome Johnson with open arms, especially when he ended the incredible night with his current chart-topping single “On My Way to You” and the crowd sang back every single word to the powerful ballad. Johnson left it all on stage Friday night and fans did not want the night to end. It is no surprise that he is selling out show after show on his tour and will be joining Luke Combs at future amphitheater shows. For all upcoming tour dates head to https://www.codyjohnsonmusic.com/tour.

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Jason Aldean Brings The Ride All Night Tour to PNC

Jason Aldean brought the party and his Ride All Night Tour to Holmdel, New Jersey at the PNC Bank Arts Center on Saturday night. With him were special guests Kane Brown and Carly Pearce.

Carly Pearce Jason Aldean

Pearce opened up the show, energizing the crowd with hits such as “Catch Fire”, “Every Little Thing” and her newest single “Closer To You”. She ended her twenty minute set with her hit song “Hide The Wine”. Before the song, Pearce shouted out “Do I have any wine drinkers in New Jersey?!” which caused an uproar of the fans.

Kane Brown was next, opening his set with the first track on his newest album Experiment, “Baby Come Back To Me” and his first number one song “What Ifs”.  After performing “Weekend”, Brown asked the audience “Who out there loves their mama?” which generated a lot of feedback. He explained his next song, “Good As You”, was written in dedication to his mother and grandmother. If you are familiar with the singer-songwriter and his story, you know how important these women are to him.  Brown performed “Short Skirt Weather” karaoke style as the words were displayed on the big screen. He then covered Ben E. King’s “Stand By Me” and Sean Kingston’s “Beautiful Girls”.

Kane Brown Jason Aldean

After his covers, the stage went dark and various military veterans were displayed on the screen. Brown explained how his next song, “Homesick” was dedicated to the US military. He performed a slowed down version and revealed it will be his next single to country radio.  The stage went dark again and old videos of Brown singing on Facebook and YouTube appeared on screen. “This is a little embarrassing to show but this is how I got my start in country music. It was you guys who made my dreams possible. Here’s my first radio single ‘Used To Love You Sober’”.

Brown ended his set with his two most recent number one songs in “Heaven” and “Lose It”. He brought his dance moves out for “Lose It” as the country star showed off his moonwalking skills to give the fans one last thing to cheer about before Jason Aldean took the stage.

Groundbreaking DJ/remixer/producer/radio host Dee Jay Silver was keeping the fans entertained in between sets. Silver recently released a single with country duo Waterloo Revival called “Getaway Driver” which he played for us after Pearce’s set. Silver is set to release his first full-length album titled Corners this summer. The album plans to blend music from all different genres. “The reason for naming the record ‘Corners’ is because this album literally takes you into all corners of my mind,” Silver explains in a recent press release.

Jason Aldean

The headliner for the night, Jason Aldean opened his set with “Take a Little Ride”, “Tattoos On This Town” and “Fly Over States”. Aldean then took a few minutes to chat with the crowd.  “I’m not one of those guys up here that does a lot of singing and dancing; that ain’t really my thing. So if that’s what you came to see, you’re at the wrong show. Our show’s a little bit more rock and roll if you guys are into that.”

He explained to the fans that he will be playing songs from his most recent album Rearview Town, songs from his first album and ones from the middle six. “So what I’m basically saying, we’re going to be here for a while tonight so you guys settle in.”

Unlike Brown, Aldean is not much of a talker; he wants to fit as many songs in his set as possible. Aldean performed 24 songs for the New Jersey crowd, taking very few breaks in between. His next set of songs highlighted his earlier music, including “Big Green Tractor”, “Crazy Town” and “Amarillo Sky”. He then jumped all the way to his most recent single “Rearview Town”.

Aldean then rolled off seven more hits from a variety of albums, barely stopping to take a breath. “Burning It Down”, “Any Ol’ Barstool”, “Getting Warmed Up”, “Johnny Cash” and “Night Train” were among those songs.

Jason Aldean PNC

Before performing “Drowns The Whiskey”, Aldean praised Miranda Lambert who is featured on the track and described how important she was to making this song go number one. “Unfortunately, Miranda isn’t with us tonight so I’m going to need y’all help with this one”, he encouraged. Aldean has a ton of party anthems, which he played for the fans on Saturday night. “Lights Come On”, “Girl Like You”, “They Don’t Know” and “My Kinda Party” were next in the set.

He got the crowd was roaring before “My Kinda Party” by taking a shot of tequila on stage. “I feel like at every party there’s that one thing that happens that takes it from like a really good party to a really kick-ass party….and even though I think this party’s pretty good right now, I’m about to drink this shot of tequila and I think it’s time we kick this bitch into overdrive.”

“Hicktown” and “Dirt Road Anthem” followed. Aldean then expressed his opinion on encores at concerts, calling them bull**** and how they just waste time.  “We’re going to give you guys everything we got and when the show’s over it’s just over. How does that sound?”

He closed the show with “She’s Country”, “You Make It Easy” and “The Only Way I Know”. Aldean chugged a beer and then walked off the stage in style, putting an end to the fun, exciting and boisterous night at the PNC Bank Arts Center. 

The Ride All Night Tour will return to the Metropolitan Area September 6th at Jones Beach Theater in Long Island.

To keep up with Jason Aldean, follow him on Facebook, Twitterand Instagram.

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Jillian Jacquelines Makes New York City Headlining Debut

Jillian Jacqueline

Justin Aharoni (@jaharoni) for NYCountry Swag

On Friday night in New York City at Gramercy Theatre, the crowd waited patiently for Jillian Jacqueline by listening to her opener, Joy Olakodun. This singer/songwriter from Arizona is incredibly sarcastic and funny, which is only an addition to her insane vocals. Her demeanor and stories had everyone laughing and falling in love with her immediately. As soon as she opened her mouth, you knew you had a new artist to follow; she made you want to even just be friends with her. She’s definitely one to add her to your Spotify playlist.

Jillian Jacqueline

Justin Aharoni (@jaharoni) for NYCountry Swag

When Jacqueline came out, sporting an adorable striped jumpsuit and sneakers, everyone was ready for her, and you could tell she had some major fans in the room. After playing “Prime”, “Reasons”, and “Somebody”, she talked about how special this show was to her. You could tell she was really excited. “The last time I played this room, I was opening up for another artist; I think it was about five years ago. This is kind of a full circle moment for me when I walked down the street today and saw my name up there, I definitely shed a little bit of a tear.” She had a lot of family in the room, explaining that she was Italian, so they just “came out of the woodwork”. She also said she just got married two weeks prior, calling this the “Honeymoon Tour”, because her husband happens to be her guitarist.

Jillian Jacqueline

Justin Aharoni (@jaharoni) for NYCountry Swag

She followed with the slower “Sugar and Salt”, that has a bit more of a country vibe than some of her more indie tunes. Asking where all her codependent people were at, she played “Friends” off her album Side B. After, she talked about how she had been in Nashville for about 8 years, and shortly after moving, she made a list of all the songs she wish she’d written, and then she tried to track down all of those songwriters that wrote those songs. “It was very aggressive, but that’s just the way that I am.” In addition, she wrote down a dream list of who she’d want to collaborate with, and one of them was Keith Urban, who is featured on her song “If I Were You”. “Little did I know that 8 years later, we would have a song together. It’s just really, really cool, it makes this song even more special because when I wrote this song, it was actually the first song I wrote about Bryan, which is hilarious because it’s basically saying, ‘Get the hell away from me’”.

Jillian Jacqueline

Justin Aharoni (@jaharoni) for NYCountry Swag

She can switch styles so seamlessly, evident when she played her cover of “I Feel It Coming”. Jacqueline talked about how since this was a headlining gig, she can play songs she never plays anymore. Talking about “Overdue”, she said, “This was the first song I ever released as a solo artist…I guess it hit a nerve; for me, I wrote it in a time when I was very lonely and really hoping to find someone, and it kinda just came out one day. It was like a journal entry…It’s really cool to feel that this song has connected with so many people over the years and it’s meant a lot to other people the same way that it did to me when I wrote it.” Everyone really related to this song and sang along.

Jillian Jacqueline

Justin Aharoni (@jaharoni) for NYCountry Swag

She followed with her beautiful “Kids These Days”, “Sad Girls” with a story about getting poison ivy for six weeks after shooting that music video, and a new song “When It Rains”. After a few more songs, and an encore, her fans went home happy after hearing all of their favorites, old and new.

To keep up with Jillian Jacqueline follow her on InstagramFacebook, and Twitter.

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Lauren Jenkins and The Wild Feathers Perform in NYC

Lauren Jenkins / The Wild Feathers

Texas-born, Carolina-raised singer-songwriter Lauren Jenkins transformed Gramercy Theatre into an intimate sharing experience with a lot of laughs for those in attendance. The Big Machine Records singer opened for The Wild Feathers and kept it real with the audience, removing all walls that could hide her vulnerability. Having been a touring artist since she was 15, she’s gone through so much, and that life experience is evident in her songs, without sparing any details.

Her ‘tell it like it is’ personality had her instantly admired, and the crowd, somewhat unfamiliar with Jenkins, immediately related to her. She lived in New York for a time, and was extremely glad to be back, saying it felt like home. She opened with her cover of Ella Fitzgerald’s “Summertime”, followed by the popular “Give up the Ghost”. Her folk style with the acoustic guitar and memorable lyrics created instant new fans. She told the stories of bad habits which came to be “Maker’s Mark, Marlboros, and You”, and the story of looking at her bank account and sparking the idea for “Pay Day”. She got the crowd to sing the last verse, laughing, saying “I have not gotten paid from this song yet, but here’s to hoping.”

The next song she played, also the title of her debut record, “No Saint”, tells her personal story of not being able to forgive someone even though she knows she should.  She goes on to tell the story of a too-long relationship she had in Charleston with a guy who cheated on her and brought a girl to the bar she was bartending at. “My Bar” describes how she kicked him out of the bar, and then wrote a song about it. “Moral of the story is don’t be a jerk, especially to a bartender, or a songwriter, and tip your bartenders.” This story got some cheers from the crowd and everyone on her side.

She finished her set with the track with the same title as her short film, “Running Out of Road”. She said, “Sometimes the road is long and you have to go on the dirt and make your own path.” This speaks to her grit and commitment to her own path and following where the music leads her. Overall, Jenkins connected with the audience and had everyone singing along by the second chorus of every song, even if they didn’t originally know the lyrics. She has the openness as well as the vocals to make a huge contribution to the music scene, and we’re excited to see how she continues to leave her mark.

The Wild Feathers Lauren Jenkins

The Wild Feathers started their set off slowly with “Lonely is a Lifetime”. The harmonies of this song were so intriguing, creating a captivating experience. They followed with tons of energy during “American”. The fans were already ready, singing along and many isolated cheers of “You’re awesome!” accompanied by loud whistles. Their voices blended well together, with their eyes closing, lost in the feel of the music. The guitar solos brought a rock vibe to the group that everyone cheered for.

“Quittin’ Time” has a strong beat and a nice rock to it. These lyrics were easy to catch on for any new fans. “Wildfire” has more of a laid back vibe, talking about burning everywhere they pass like a wildfire. The band hadn’t performed their own show in a while and was excited to be back in New York. The crowd definitely consisted of some serious fans who knew every word, and the band definitely delivered.

Showcasing songs from their latest release, Greetings From the Neon Frontier, the band who has been together for almost a decade flawlessly performed their biggest hits for a room full of fans. Their ability and their catchy songs had the room captivated all night.

Keep up with Lauren Jenkins on social media – FacebookInstagram, and Twitter.

Keep up with The Wild Feathers on social media – FacebookInstagram, and Twitter.

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Smithfield Kick Off Their ‘We Make Our Own Tour’ in NYC

Last night, country duo Smithfield bought their first ever headlining tour to Joe’s Pub at The Public in lower Manhattan with special guest, Carolyn Miller. Luckily for us New Yorkers we got to experience an intimate night of good food and great music to kick off their ‘We Make Our Own Tour’ right here in New York City.

Smithfield We Make Our Own Tour

Justin Aharoni Photography / @jaharoni / Whole Trout Media

Kicking off the night, New York native Carolyn Miller took the stage going straight into her 20-minute acoustic set performing her song “Something Right About A Wrong Turn.” Getting the crowd ready for what was to come, she showcased her incredible vocals and stage presence performing a set of her original songs, “Save It, and “Strangers In This Bar.” While also covering a song that is dear to the singer-songwriter’s heart telling the crowd, “One of the first country songs I could ever remember hearing was this one…I was about 6 or 7 years old when I got this cd and I heard this song and fell in love with it and the storytelling. This is one of my favorite songs of all time, this is “When You Say Nothing At All” by Alison Krauss.” Performing the song effortlessly, she gave the audience a beautiful rendition to remember.

That wasn’t all for the singer-songwriter, Miller gave everyone who attended an exclusive premiere of her brand new song coming out on April 26th called “What You Can’t Have.” Before ending the night with her last song, “Remember Love,” she thanked the crowd for coming out mentioning how excited she was to see Smithfield coming up next.

Smithfield We Make Our Own Tour

Justin Aharoni Photography / @jaharoni / Whole Trout Media

Next up was the headliner themselves, Smithfield, kicking off their set with their uptempo title track “We Make Our Own” from their recently released EP Smithfield: We Make Our Own. Right off the bat, they were full of energy, getting the crowd ready for a great show ahead. As the night was just getting started the duo, Jennifer Fielder and Trey Smith took the time to welcome and thank everyone for coming out saying, “Y’all this is our first time headlining in the city so we are so excited to be here with you guys tonight, thanks for coming out to Joe’s Pub!… We know New York City is like the biggest market for Sirius XM, so they gave us our first shot to hear our first song on the radio and it’s a little song about skinny dipping,” going into their song “Nothing but the Night” followed by their new song “Counterfeit.”

Before going any further, Fielder gave the audience a little background on the duo mentioning to everyone that they grew up on different musical backgrounds as kids with Fielder being a country girl while Smith is a rock n’ roll guy. The duo got creative telling the audience, “We did a little mashup of our greatest heroes in music and we want to showcase that tonight, the songs that we love, why we do what we do up here on this stage.” They performed an epic 5-minute mashup of 90’s hits from both genres featuring songs “That Don’t Impress Me Much” by Shania Twain, “Iris” by Goo Goo Dolls, and “This Kiss” by Faith Hill, showcasing their undeniable talent no matter what song it is.

Smithfield We Make Our Own Tour

Justin Aharoni Photography / @jaharoni / Whole Trout Media

Keeping up the energy they kept the night going performing songs of their own “Slippin,” and “Me No You,” along with covers “Cry Me A River” by Justin Timberlake and “Come Back To Me” by Keith Urban. Before slowing it down Fielder asked the audience, “Are y’all cool if we just play this next one broken down just me and Trey and an acoustic guitar? Cause that’s where this whole thing started. The first time we came to New York was on the Highway Tour and we just played me, him, and a guitar.” The next song up was a very personal and special song to Fielder “If It Ain’t You,” the duo showcased their harmonies and incredible vocals syncing together effortlessly.

Before ending the night, Smithfield couldn’t leave without singing the song that started it all. Smith began talking with the audience saying,” Y’all this song we always called our little song that could cause it’s gotten us so many things in our career so far and the outpour we saw from you guys on this song, just the reaction I don’t say this lightly it meant the world to us really that you listened to it that you commented on it, thank you for being here tonight it really means the world to us guys. This is our first headlining tour, thank you for coming to the ‘We Make Our Own Tour!’ It’s a great way to kick it off!” Going into their emotionally driven ballad “Hey Whiskey,” before bringing the beat back up with their last song of the night singing their current single on country radio  “Our World.”

For those willing to travel you can catch Carolyn Miller on Chase Rice’s  ‘Eyes On You tour’ at the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, New Jersey on April 25th!

To keep up with Smithfield follow them on FacebookTwitter, and Instagram.

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Brandon Ratcliff Performs at an Intimate New York City Bar

Brandon Ratcliff

Last night (3/25), the NYCountry Swag team headed to Beckett’s Bar & Grill in downtown Manhattan to listen to rising country artist and one of New York Country Swag’s 2019 Artists to Watch, Brandon Ratcliff performed an intimate set for Sofar Sounds. This marks the second time, we’ve been able to witness the singer-songwriter’s talents with the first time being back in February, during Country Radio Seminar.

Ratcliff’s performance was part of a string of ‘Sofar Sounds’ shows that he participated in, sharing that NYC was his second to last show. A ‘Sofar’ gig is a unique show held at different venues, fans sit on the floor surrounding the artist and listen to each act play three to four songs. Most times, the crowd doesn’t know in advance which acts are performing that night, giving the rising artist a chance to organically garner fans and to interact with audiences in cities across the globe.

After a quick introduction by the emcee, the Monument Records recording artist got right into his acoustic set, performing his first unreleased song “Sometimes, Always, Never You,” with help from two band members. The catchy country and R&B infused jam resonated well with the audience, who were all swaying to the beat of the track. After the song, Ratcliff showed off his humble and vivacious personality, introducing his family and friends who were present, as well as, sharing his journey as a singer and a songwriter.

Ratcliff shared that he moved to Nashville from a small-town in Louisiana, four years ago, where he met fellow songwriters Pete Good and AJ Babcock. Read more about his backstory here in our Swag Spotlight interview. The three formed an undeniable relationship and got busy writing each and every song off his debut album, slated for release sometime later this year.

The Swag Spotlight alum continued his performance, singing the most recent song he has released, “Number in My Phone.” Excited to share this song, Ratcliff exclaimed “This song is one of my favorites off the record because I love writing about relationships because I think it’s something that we can all relate to,” adding, “Relationships are some of the most important in our lives.”

Ratcliff went on to sing his next unreleased song, “Slow Down, Hometown.” The ballad was truly touching and showed off the singer’s artistry and songwriting skills. He shared, “So I kinda wrote this song almost as a love letter to my hometown. I know you gotta move on, I know there’s a new set of kids coming up in this town, but just for a small time, while we’re here, in this moment, can we be who we were when you were my hometown?!” Adding later, that fellow musician, and one of his family friends, Alison Krauss lent her voice to this record.

Ratcliff closed out his show with the first song he ever released publicly, announcing that the song will go to country radio next month as his first single. The track already has over 20 million streams and counting and is sure to be a hit on the radio. “This song is super special because it’s kinda the catalyst that started this whole record. […] “Rules” really was just the song that was about the one relationship that made you want to break all those rules. This song’s called “Rules of Breaking Up”.”

Brandon Ratcliff

Brandon Ratcliff with Contributing Writers Danielle, Nicole and Erica with Managing Editor, Christina and Founder, Stephanie.

At the end of his 20-minute set, Ratcliff took some time to answer some personal questions from fans, including how he met his wife and of course, sharing his upcoming tour plans. The artist will accompany fellow country stars, Kelsea Ballerini and Brett Young this spring on the ‘Miss Me More Tour.’ For more information and dates head to brandonratcliff.com

To keep up with Ratcliff, follow him on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

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Maren Morris iHeartRadio ‘GIRL’ Album Release Show

Maren Morris has been promoting and celebrating the release of her sophomore album, GIRL, right here in New York City all week long. This past Monday night (Mar 11th) the songstress partnered with iHeartRadio to throw an official intimate album release party at the iHeartRadio Theater. Hosted by country radio DJ Bobby Bones, Morris performed three of her biggest hits from HERO, as well as seven brand new songs from GIRL.

Kicking the night off with the album’s title track, the Texas native gave a bit of insight behind the song’s writing process, “No one really wants to have those days where they don’t like themselves and I was having one when I wrote that song. And I just felt like it was a really therapeutic co-write that day.” She also shared one of the co-writers, Sarah Aarons also wrote her pop hit collaboration with Zedd, “The Middle.”

Transitioning into the song that she claims changed her life, “My Church” was up next. Bones asked Morris about how much her life had changed in the past three years, since releasing her debut record back in 2016. “I still have my sass and Texan in me, but I also have gotten married in the last year, fallen in love and so there’s a lot more love on this record represented [..] but also the industry’s changed, the culture of music has changed this year, I just felt Iike I wanted to put something out that’s honest and uplifting because it’s crazy times and I felt like this was a good medicinal record to put out.”

After performing her first ever number one hit“I Could Use A Love Song,” Morris transitioned into two brand new tracks, “The Bones” and “All My Favorite People.” The songstress revealed that when she played demos for this record to family and friends, each one insisted “The Bones” to be featured on the album. She co-wrote “All My Favorite People” with her husband, Ryan Hurd, in which she shared some insight into their professional relationship, “My husband and I met writing songs so it doesn’t ever feel weird to have that part of our relationship be creative and professional. We love writing songs.”

The powerhouse vocalist continued the night with “The Feels” and her seductive new song “RSVP,” which she told the crowd was intended to have country lyrics and the sound of a 90s R&B track. Before performing “Shade,” Morris told the crowd she purposefully placed it as the last track on GIRL, saying it was a perfect period at the end of her sentence, so to speak.

Wrapping up the evening with the nostalgic tribute to music, “A Song For Everything” and “Rich,” the singer-songwriter continuously thanked the audience for showing up and singing along, as well as iHeartRadio for putting on such an unforgettable event.

Morris will head back to New York City this spring, as part of her headlining ‘GIRL: The World Tour.’ Lucky for us New Yorkers, we will have two chances to catch the live show; Friday, May 3rd at Brooklyn Steel and Saturday, May 4th at Terminal 5. Tickets are available now. Visit https://www.marenmorris.com for all information.

Be sure to tune into the iHeartRadio Music Awards tonight, airing live on FOX at 8 p.m. to catch Morris presenting and hopefully taking home some awards of her own.

 

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Thank You for supporting Country Music in NYC & Beyond!

Subscribe to our Weekly Round-Up here 
for ticket giveaways, meet & greet contests, upcoming events,
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