Concert Reviews Archives

WME & Sony Music Nashville Present: A Celebration of Women’s History Month

March 12, 2019/in Blog, Concert Reviews /by Jeremy Chua

Seaforth and Rachel Wammack

On Monday night, Sony Music Nashville and booking agency WME teamed up to present “A Celebration of Women’s History Month,” a night benefitting She Is The Music, a non-profit organization that focuses on increasing the number of women in music and gender equality in the industry. The night’s spotlight artists were Carlton Anderson, Rachel Wammack, Seaforth, Robert Counts, and Hannah Dasher; some of Sony’s newest artists on the roster. And hosting the night were beloved media personalities and journalists, Hunter Kelly and Ashley Eicher, the duo behind the All Our Favorite People Podcast.

WME booking agent, Carrie Murphy, was invited to start off the night by introducing the crowd to what She Is The Music was, and how the organization creates a platform for women to hone their craft and be supported on their journey in the music industry. “Girls can’t be what they can’t see,” shared Murphy.

The night took us on a chronological musical journey through country music’s finest women’s hits through the decades, from the 1960s all the way to 2010. Kelly and Eicher not only hosted the night but provided valuable summarized facts on social issues and the songs’ commercial success in each focused era.

Robert Counts

Kicking the night off was Robert Counts, who covered Loretta Lynn’s hit song, “You Ain’t Woman Enough To Take My Man,” that was originally recorded in 1965. “This might get weird…I feel weird,” joked Counts before he sang. “[Loretta] taught me a lot about songwriting. She has done a lot for my career [and] is a huge influence.”

Up next they focused on the 1970s, a time period where the feminist movement took place. In fact, because of the inundation of this movement, TIME awarded its “Man of the Year” award to “American Women” in 1975. Covering Dolly Parton’s second single and one of Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Songs of All Time” was Rachel Wammack and Seaforth. The soaring harmonies from both acts almost gave “Jolene” a hauntingly different version that’s been never heard before.

Hannah Dasher

The 1980s was a time when women were not getting fair wages, and part of the movement against inequality was Parton’s “9 to 5,” which was featured on the movie of the same title. The movie aptly depicted the social circumstances women were in the and workforce of that era. Hannah Dasher lent her voice to a rocking, feet-tapping cover of it.

Still keeping it in the 80s, Carlton Anderson came up on stage to pay tribute to Barbara Mandrell and her song that became a hit at the height of the urban cowboy craze, or as Kelly jokingly called it, “the early version of bro-country.” Anderson, the most traditional country-leaning act of the night, undeniably shined in his element as he sang Mandrell’s 1981 hit song, “I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool.”

Carlton Anderson

The next half of the night transitioned to the beloved 1990s onwards, and it was that era that saw a promising record number of women elected into congress. Dasher returned on stage to cover Reba’s “You Lie,” with Big Machine Record’s Dan Smalley, who she introduced as “the closest thing to Vince Gill.” Following their performance was Anderson, who came back with his rendition of Patty Loveless’ “You Don’t Know Who I Am.” “I grew up listening to this song. […] When you figure out what it’s really about, it kinda hits you in the chest, and I think that’s the beauty of this genre.”

Perhaps two of the biggest highlights of the night were both from Wammack. The Muscle Shoals, Alabama native shared how several people told her when she first moved to Nashville that she “sounded like Deana Carter when [she] spoke.” Wammack played the keys and sang two of country’s timeless ballads of the 90s: Carter’s “Strawberry Wine” and LeAnn Rimes’ “How Do I Live Without You.” Introducing the latter song, Kelly shared the history of its release, and how two of country’s women, Rimes and Trisha Yearwood, both had released the single at the same time. Unsurprisingly, the 23-year-old really captivated the crowd as soon as she started playing.

Seaforth

One of our 2019 Artists to Watch, Seaforth’s Mitch Thompson and Tom Jordan were back, and gave a refreshing cover of Shania Twain’s 1997 hit, “You’re Still The One.” Again, the duo’s harmonies packed a punch and proved why they’re Nashville’s next biggest Australia transplants in country music.

Closing the nostalgia-filled night was Counts, whose unique and raspy delivery invigorated the wistfulness of Miranda Lambert’s first number one song and her fastest-rising single to date, “The House That Built Me.”

What a night that took everyone a trip down memory lane, visiting decades of iconic hit songs from trail-blazing women in country music! If there’s one thing we’re hoping for after the show, it’s that somehow, these young acts record each of their spins on the songs they covered and share it with the world. One thing’s for certain: Sony’s newest exceptionally-talented class of acts are here to stay.

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Grammy Winners Dan + Shay Sell Out Hammerstein Ballroom

March 8, 2019/in Blog, Concert Reviews /by Nicole Sellati

Last night, Grammy award-winning duo Dan + Shay brought their headlining Dan + Shay The Tour to the historic Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City with special guest, Morgan Evans. Luckily for us New Yorkers, we were one of the stops on their completely sold-out tour this spring, making it a night to remember.

To kick off the night, Dan + Shay invited their friend and labelmate Morgan Evans to warm up the crowd. Evans took the stage with nothing but his acoustic guitar and loop pedal, performing in his signature style to showcase his undeniable talent. Opening up his set with his song “American” off his debut album, Things That We Drink To right off the bat, the rising country artist was captivated the crowd. Slowing it down for one song, Evans began talking to the fans about his album and how he was picking the songs during the time he was seeing a girl. Mentioning to the crowd, “When your a guy that sings and writes songs in that part of your life you write a lot of love songs and I just want to chill this out for 3 minutes and 9 seconds. I really want to play this song for you guys, it’s maybe my favorite song I’ve ever written, it’s the first song I wrote for my now wife, it’s called “Dance With Me.”

Picking up the pace, Evans continued his set with his latest single “Day Drunk.” While in the middle of the song he stopped to say, “I’m here to warm you up for my buddies Dan + Shay tonight! This is the third show of the tour, I’ve watched the first two shows they are going to rock your socks off tonight. As I’ve said I got one job to warm you guys up! Are you feeling warm yet NYC?!?” Evans continued with the crowd singing along, doing just what he was set out to do. Not stopping there, he incorporated covers “Free Falling” by Tom Petty, “Hey Jude” by The Beatles, “We Will Rock You” by Queen, and “This Is How We Do It” by Montell Jordan into his song. Throwing it back, getting the crowd fired up while belting out the lyrics along with him.

Before ending his set Evans told the crowd, “It’s early in the night but I’m going to go out there and say you guys are the best crowd of the tour so far! You showed up early in the freezing cold and are singing your asses off and it sounds bloody beautiful!” Performing his number one hit song “Kiss Somebody,” making it a moment to never forget with the entire venue singing back his lyrics. To close out the set, Evans did one final jam, performing his song “Young Again” while incorporating “Honey I’m Good” by Andy Grammer and “Shut Up and Dance” by Walk The Moon.

Next up was the moment everyone was waiting for, as the lights went down and a video started playing the venue erupted in cheers and screams waiting in anticipation for the duo to take the stage. Running out, Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney kicked off Act I of their set going straight into their songs from their newest self-titled album including “Alone Together,” “Make Or Break,” their most current single “All To Myself,” and their duet with Kelly Clarkson “Keeping Score.” This was just the start of their set and the crowd was already fired up screaming the words to every song they played. After “Keeping Score,” Smyers took a moment to speak to the crowd saying, “You caught us off guard, this is absolutely insane. I’m at a loss of words right now…Thank you so much for being here, this is one of the most beautiful venues we’ve played in our entire career and you guys, I think, are like 4 or 5 songs in and Y’all might be the loudest crowd we’ve ever played for New York!”

With the night just getting started they continued Act I performing their hit single “From The Ground Up,” while the entire crowd belted out the lyrics with the duo. After the song, Dan + Shay stood there in disbelief looking into the crowd with tears in their eyes before the crowd started to chant their name. After the chant, Smyers began talking to the crowd again, “Wow that may be the coolest thing that’s ever happened to us, that’s crazy. Thank you!… I feel like we are letting you all down we are supposed to keep this thing rolling but man that was such a moment there, like the last like 30 minutes of our lives, we’re just trying to soak this in if that’s okay, I’m sorry I’m getting emotional.” Doing just the opposite they exceeded everyone’s expectations, putting on a show to never forget. Their hard work shining through each and every song they played, showing they deserve every last bit of success they have. They continued Act I playing their songs, “What Keeps You Up At Night,” “Stupid Love,” and “No Such Thing.”

When it came time for Act II of their performance, another video popped up onto the screen showing Dan + Shay’s journey along the years including them winning their very first Grammy Award. As the lights came back up the duo were seen sitting on a couch in the middle of the stage getting ready for an acoustic set. Before continuing, Smyers mentioned that New York City has been the loudest crowds they have ever played for and thanked the crowd once again saying, “I know we sound like a broken record up here and we get emotional a lot but this is seriously the coolest thing, we dreamed about this our whole lives and we appreciate you guys sticking with us throughout it.” They were nothing but appreciative the whole night and to show it, they took the time to check their socials to see what the fans wanted to hear, coming up with this part of the show were they perform some of their older songs acoustically. Each date being different this time it was their single “Show You Off,” “Sway,” and “Lipstick,” before bringing the band back onto the stage to continue the set. They covered the song “Someone Like You” by Adele along with their hit single “How Not To” to end Act II.

As the night was coming to an end with the Final Act approaching they once again thanked the crowd for listening to their music and coming out to see them live. They ended the night on a high note, starting Act III with their number one hit single “Speechless,” before continuing with their first debut single “19 You + Me.” Before performing their last song of the night Smyers said, “If the previous songs are any indication I feel like this has potential to be the loudest this song has ever been sung, we’re going to do this together, we are gonna do it big, we’re gonna do it loud!” Performing their number one hit single “Tequila,” the crowd did just that, screaming the lyrics back, making it the loudest song of the night.

Luckily for us New Yorkers, Dan + Shay will be back again in July when they open for Florida Georgia Line on their Can’t Say I Ain’t Country Tour coming to Jones Beach in Long Island on July 20th.

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11th Annual Texas Independence Day Celebration in NYC

March 4, 2019/in Blog, Concert Reviews /by Shanna Vitaliano

Country music fans from all over packed Terminal 5 Saturday night, and the majority of them sported Texas gear to celebrate the 11th Annual Salute to Texas Independence Day featuring Texas artists Kyle Park, Aaron Watson, Eli Young Band, and Pat Green.

It was a jam-packed evening filled with 5 hours of Texas country music that was kicked off by Kyle Park. Aaron Watson continued the celebration singing crowd favorites such as “That Look”, “Kiss That Girl Goodbye”, and “Run Wild Horses.”

Watson paid tribute the heroes in the room and said: “I’ll tell ya, I’ve been around the world making music and we are blessed to live in the greatest nation in the whole wide world. We need to take time to give credit where credit is due, so all the veterans, the act of duty service men and woman, raise your hands. All the law enforcement officers and firemen get your hands up!” Over the cheers of the crowd, he sang “Raise Your Bottle”.

Another special moment was when Watson told the crowd, “Of all the songs that I’ve written this one means the most to me, this was the first song after my wife and I lost our little girl.” He continued, “There might be somebody out there tonight who is just hanging on by a thread, somebody who is having a hard time like I was and just want you to know, I know how you feel, I love you, God bless you, hang in there,” and he sang the beautifully written and moving song, “July In Cheyenne”.

Watson told everyone after he met Pat Green in the ’90s at a 150 person show, it was then he realized “I want to play Texas music for the rest of my life.” He played an ode to Texas with “Bluebonnets”, and “They Don’t Make Em’ Like They Used To” before closing out his set with the hit song, “Outta Style.” Watson said, “Thank you for helping to show country music that cowboys are never going “Outta Style!”

Next up were the multi-platinum selling artists straight from North Texas: Eli Young Band. A few days prior to the show, they announced they are releasing This Is Eli Young Band (Greatest Hits) album on March 29th. Fans were lucky enough to hear many of the cuts from their upcoming record, and they kept the energy level high as they sang hit after hit with “Always the Love Songs”, “Where Were You”, “Saltwater Gospel”, and “Love Ain’t”.

Young took a moment to dedicate “Skin and Bones” to his wife that was there in the audience, and sang another longtime fan favorite “Guinevere.” Young said, “Still to this day, it is absolutely positively one of my favorite songs I’ve ever written and been a part of writing, it is a song we wrote about a girl named Guinevere.” The crowd loved every minute of their set especially during “Drunk Last Night”, and they sang every word to “Crazy Girl”, and “Even If It Breaks Your Heart”.

Closing out the night, Pat Green took the stage and said: “If you didn’t know how badass New York City was, you wouldn’t be here at all – NYC is bad to the bone!” The chants for “Pat Green” rang loud throughout his set as he sang favorites like “Take Me Out to A Dancehall”, “Baby Doll”, “Songs About Texas”, and “Texas On My Mind.” Green even treated the crowd with a Springsteen cover of “Atlantic City.” Everyone sang along to his biggest hits “Feels Just Like It Should” and the final song of the night “Wave on Wave.”

Everything may be “bigger” in Texas, but the fans in the Big Apple sure did prove they can throw a huge Texas party alongside Kyle Park, Aaron Watson, Eli Young Band, and Pat Green. Green closed out the show by saying, “Thank you for having us, this is an amazing place, and we are lucky to be here.” All of the artists joined Green on stage and held a big Texas flag for a final goodbye and the crowd loved every second of it!

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Tyler Hilton Sells Out City Winery in New York City

March 4, 2019/in Blog, Concert Reviews /by Danielle Tornatore

This past Saturday night (Mar. 2), singer-songwriter and former One Tree Hill star Tyler Hilton brought his ‘City on Fire’ tour to a sold-out New York City crowd at The Loft at City Winery. Hilton was accompanied by special guest Alex2e, who warmed fans up with a 30-minute acoustic set.

With every seat filled in the dimly lit room, Hilton energetically entered the stage with a guitar in hand while the audience cheered. Going straight into “Overtime” from his newly released record, City on Fire, the singer-songwriter told the crowd, “You guys are fun already!” Playing two of the more upbeat tracks from City on Fire, “How Long ‘Til I Lose You” and “The Way That She Loves,” the crowd sang both tracks back to Hilton in which he whispered into his microphone, “New York, you guys are my favorite. You guys were a lot of the people I had in mind when I was making this record, nervous to play you guys the new stuff so it’s nice to finally be here with you guys.” Cracking jokes with his two bandmates in between songs and telling the audience hilarious stories from being on the road, Hilton made fans laugh hysterically all night long.

After playing one of his older jams, “Jenny,” Hilton decided to let the audience choose the remainder of his setlist. Asking the crowd if there were any One Tree Hill fans in attendance, everyone went wild, with Hilton replying, “Oh goodness, there’s a lot of Hulu subscriptions in the house tonight…This song goes out to you guys.” He played his prominent rendition of “Missing You,” which was made popular on the hit television series.
Taking suggestions from fans, Hilton played his very first single, “When It Comes,” which he filmed the music video for right there in New York City. “Prince of Nothing Charming” was up next, which he wrote for his wife, actress Megan Park, “I wanna dedicate this song to my amazing wife back home, she’s lending me out to the rest of the country for a couple of months and I’ll send this out to her, if you guys could tag her to prove that I’m thinking about her on the road that would be dope.” Everyone chuckled and sang along.

City on Fire’s title track was up next, followed by the one cover that is featured on the new record, “Stay” originally performed by Rihanna, “This is such a beautiful song that the first time I heard it, I thought ‘man, I wish I had written that’ and I wanted to make it my own so I took it and ran with it.” Before ending his set, Hilton played the love song duet on City on Fire, which features his former castmate Kate Voegele, “When The Night Moves.”

“Usually we end with that song, but I’m gonna sneak one more in […] thank you guys for coming out, I really appreciate it. I’m gonna send you guys out on a little tune from One Tree Hill.” The California native completely rocked out with “Loaded Gun” which he originally performed as Chris Keller in the series finale of One Tree Hill.
Hilton portrayed his personable demeanor, passion for music and true artistry throughout his hour-long set. He ended the night meeting every fan in the room, thanking each person for coming out and supporting him and this record.

Lucky for us New Yorkers, Hilton will be coming back around this summer on July 19th at Rockwood Music Hall. Tickets are available here.

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Rodney Atkins Delivers Entertaining Night of Country Music at Mulcahy’s

March 2, 2019/in Blog, Concert Reviews /by Dylan Bestler

Rodney Atkins at Long Island’s Mulcahy’s Pub

Singer-songwriter, Rodney Atkins kicked off the weekend by playing to a packed house at Long Island’s Mulcahy’s Pub on Friday night (Mar 1). The country superstar delivered a nearly 75-minute set that was filled with his classic chart-topping hits along with brand new music that kept fans singing and dancing all night long.

Opening the show was Fairground Saints, a California-bred and Nashville-based trio. Tasked with warming up the crowd for the 2006 ACM Top New Male Vocalist, the group sang songs from their self-titled debut album along with their latest release “California”.

Just before 10:30 PM, as fans eagerly chanted “Rodney, Rodney!”, Atkins hit the stage to deliver an entertaining night of country music for the New York audience. Pumping up the crowd right from the get-go, Atkins opened with his current hit “Caught Up in the Country”, which is the lead single from his forthcoming album of the same name. Atkins kept the party going by performing “America”, “About the South” and “Farmer’s Daughter”.

Taking a break from the energetic set to introduce his bandmates, Atkins then left the stage while his band stole the show. Playing instrumental solos of familiar rock hits like Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” and Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train”, the musicians shined on their own.

Rodney Atkins at Long Island’s Mulcahy’s Pub

“We’re gonna play you a real country song”, Atkins announced as he returned center stage just before playing “Friends with Tractors”. After a stellar performance of Buffalo Springfield’s “Stop Children What’s That Sound”, Atkins played an unreleased song from his new album titled “Figure Out You”; a slow, love song that will feature his wife, Rose Falcon. He followed that with his one of his multiple number one singles, “These Are My People”.

The crowd-favorite “Watching You” was a memorable performance of the night as just when fans thought the song was over, Atkins began playing the chords one more time, pointing the microphone to the audience as the rowdy crowd yelled back every word of the popular chorus as loud as they could one last time.

Atkins thanked the audience and left the stage after performing his 2011 hit song, “Take a Back Road”. Returning minutes later, Atkins closed the show with “Cleaning This Gun” and “If You’re Going Through Hell”. Adding an intimate feel, Atkins handed off the microphone to several people in the crowd as they sang the chorus. A very cool ending to a very cool show.

Back in June 2018, NYCountry Swag caught up with Rodney Atkins at Taste of Country Music Festival on Hunter Mountain. “I learned a long time ago that this is actually the most authentic country fans of anywhere you go…” Atkins tell us as he discusses his love for New York country music fans which was evident in his show last night. Check out the full interview in the video above.

Atkins’ much anticipated new album Caught Up in the Country comes out on May 10th and is available for pre-order today. Atkins last album, Take a Back Road was released over six years ago. Based on the three songs we have already heard from the album, we think Caught Up in the Country will be worth the almost seven-year wait.

Atkins will continue his tour tonight in New Hampshire, but will return to the NY area March 8th in Poughkeepsie at the Chance Theater and on April 13th in Morristown, NJ at the Mayo Performing Arts Center. For tickets and more information, visit: rodneyatkins.com.

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Morgan Wallen Gets Emotional at Sold-Out NYC Show

February 22, 2019/in Blog, Concert Reviews /by Erica Zisman

Last night, singer-songwriter Morgan Wallen brought his headlining ‘If I Know Me Tour’ to New York City’s Irving Plaza, with special guests Lainey Wilson and HARDY. The sold-out show marks Wallen’s first headlining performance in NYC.

Kicking off the night, Song Suffragettes singer and songwriter, Lainey Wilson opened up the show, getting the crowd pumped for HARDY and Wallen’s sets. She entertained the crowd with her songs “Dixie Hippies,” and “Middle Finger.” Keeping the audience involved throughout her set, the Louisiana native played a medley of some of her favorite cover songs, including “Fat Bottomed Girls.” Wilson impressed the crowd with her sassy lyrics, charming personality, and twangy vocals, sure to have garnered some new fans.

Songwriter turned solo artist, HARDY took the stage next. With a permanent smile on his face and a ton of energy, HARDY began his set with some uptempo songs, including his track “4X4” off his This Ole Boy EP and “All She Left Was Me,” off his newest EP, Where to Find Me. HARDY had fans excited and singing along from the minute he walked on stage, sharing with the crowd “ New York, Y’all wanna be the wildest crowd we play for?!,” only to later call the audience “the loudest crowd so far.”

Although most of HARDY’s set was filled with catchy and uptempo party songs, the singer-songwriter took a moment to play one of his slower, lyrically-focused songs “Signed, Sober You.” The stripped down song truly showcased his artistry as both a vocalist and songwriter.

HARDY also made sure to honor his song-writing roots by singing a mash-up of some of the tracks he has penned for other artists, including Florida Georgia Line’s “Colorado” and “Talk You Out of It,” as well as, Chris Lane’s “I Don’t Know About You.” The entertainer also sang his second number one song as a songwriter, “Simple,” off Florida Georgia Line’s newest album Can’t Say I Ain’t Country. HARDY definitely won fans over with his unique set and presence on stage, ending his set with fan-favorite and current single “Rednecker.”

Making his NYC headlining debut, Morgan Wallen took the stage next, after a quick introduction by Nash FM’s Jesse Addy and Katie Neal. Wallen’s set started off with high-energy, as he immediately played two songs off his debut record If I Know Me, “Whatcha Know ‘Bout That” and “Happy Hour.” Fans couldn’t contain their excitement, as the singer jumped around on stage, getting the crowd excited for his full set. Next, Wallen played “the first song [he] ever put out,” “The Way I Talk,” encouraging the crowd to sing along with him. Fans did just that, as they belted the lyrics back to the singer, who took a moment to soak it all in.

Following the song, Wallen interacted with the crowd, sharing his journey to get to this point, “This is special for me- means a lot! […] We played for a couple of years to a lot of empty rooms. it’s really cool to see a full, packed out room. Ya know, we’ve been on this tour for a couple of months, every single room was packed. You guys make me feel like we’re doing the right thing, man. I really appreciate that cause of y’all we got to put our debut album last year, I’ll be singing a lot of songs off it tonight.” Wallen continued his set singing almost every song off his debut album.

After covering one of this favorite country artists, Eric Church’s song, “Smoke A Little Smoke” and then a song he said was a ‘sexy song’, “Little “Rain, Wallen played his current radio single, “Whiskey Glasses.” The crowd was so loud, during his performance that it appeared every single person at the sold-out show was singing along. After the song, fans chanted ‘Morgan,’ bringing the rising country star to tears. It was truly a magical moment that both Wallen and fans will be sure to remember for a long time coming.

Continuing to connect with the audience on a deeper level, the artist shared a personal sentiment with the crowd, even introducing his parents, who were in the audience supporting their son. “I started writing songs in the garage in my parent’s house when I was about 18- 19 years old, on a work out bench man. I didn’t think I’d ever have a chance to do this for a living […] I thought about those days. I think about my parents how they gave up everything, pretty much for me to be here doing this. They up there right now!” he revealed, as fans applauded his parents as loudly as they could, making it another emotional moment for the Wallen family.

Towards the end of the show, Wallen switched gears and played some of his slower-paced, but heartfelt songs, including, “Redneck Love Song,” “Chasin’ You,” and “Talkin’ Tennesse.” The singer-songwriter even shared with the audience that if he had to guess, “Chasin’ You,” which he just put out a music video for, will probably be his next single to go to country radio. The crowd erupted into applause about that possibility.

After some more tender moments, Wallen and his band brought back the high-energy, involving the audience in an epic medley of some of his favorite rock songs, including Fall Out Boy’s “Sugar We’re Going Down,” Linken Park’s “In the End,” and “Pour Some Sugar On Me” by Def Leppard. He then closed out the show with the song that put him on the map “Up Down”, with HARDY, who co-wrote the track, jamming with him.

Catch Wallen and HARDY again this summer on July 20th at Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theatre on Florida Georgia Line’s ‘Can’t Say We Ain’t Country Tour.’

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Florida Georgia Line Celebrate Album Release in NYC

February 18, 2019/in Blog, Concert Reviews /by Danielle Tornatore

This past Friday (Feb. 15), multi-platinum-selling country duo Florida Georgia Line spent the day promoting their highly anticipated fourth studio album, Can’t Say I Ain’t Country, throughout New York City.
We first caught the guys during their exclusive in-studio Nash FM 94.7 interview with host Kelly Ford in the early afternoon, which aired on Nash FM over the weekend. The superstar duo discussed the process of making the record, along with backstories behind a few of the songs, which Ford hand-picked. “Talk You Out Of It,” “Swerve” and “Speed Of Love” were among Ford’s favorites. The radio host continued to compliment Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley on their entrepreneurship with all three of their businesses; their Nashville bar, FGL House, their whiskey brand, Old Camp Whiskey and BK’s clothing brand, Tribe Kelley. Ending the interview, Hubbard and Kelley gave everyone in the audience a physical copy of the new album as a thank you for supporting them over the years.

Later that evening, the duo teamed up with iHeartRadio for an official intimate album release party held at the iHeartRadio theater. The two superstars performed an hour-long set, along with a special question and answer portion, hosted by Brooke Taylor.

Kelley and Hubbard opened up about the album’s title, their choice of featured artists on the record and who Brother Jervel is. When asked about why they named the album ‘Can’t Say I Ain’t Country’, Hubbard took the lead and revealed it started with the album’s title track, telling fans it became Kelley’s idea to title the album the same name. The duo continued to explain how they came to choose each collaboration for the record, “Everybody that’s on our album in the collaborations, it just fit perfect. It was really organic. We wrote a song called “Women” with Jason Derulo out in L.A. a couple years ago and there was no chance his voice wasn’t going to be on that one. We left it, already sounded amazing, and we already had a vision of what it was going to sound like. And Jason Aldean, he answered back real quick and said, ‘Hey. I’ll hop on with y’all. That’s sounds amazing. Love the song.’ And HARDY is somebody, one of those young guns. We love him and couldn’t be more proud of him. He’s a rock star. He’s a hell of a songwriter and also a heck of an artist, too. So we kind of go by the song and imagine who we hear and who fits naturally and just kind of put out feelers.”

Hubbard revealed the man behind the character Brother Jervel who is featured in the four skits on the album. Brother Jervel is one of their longtime friends, whose real name is Chris. Chris would leave the guys funny voicemails and it sparked the idea of creating skits to set up some songs on the record.

The superstar duo performed five songs from Can’t Say I Ain’t Country, four of them being for the very first time, including “Colorado,” “People Are Different,” “Swerve” and “Y’all Boys.” They also performed the album’s lead single “Simple,” along with their record-breaking hit collaboration with Bebe Rexha, “Meant to Be” and tailgating tune with Morgan Wallen, “Up Down.”

Hubbard and Kelley couldn’t end the night without a few shots of their very own whiskey (of course) and performing their crowd-favorite hits, “H.O.L.Y.,” “Anything Goes,” “Round Here,” “This Is How We Roll” and the song that got it all started for them, “Cruise.”

Florida Georgia Line will hit the road this summer for their ‘Can’t Say I Ain’t Country Tour’ with Dan + Shay, Morgan Wallen, HARDY and Canaan Smith. New Yorkers can catch the show at Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater on Saturday, July 20th. Visit http://www.floridageorgialine.com for all ticketing information.

Can’t Say I Ain’t Country is now available everywhere you stream or buy music.

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Rob Baird Performs at Fort Worth Live in Texas

February 5, 2019/in Blog, Concert Reviews /by Taylor Felvey

Friday, Feb 1st brought unseasonably warm weather – but that wasn’t the only thing that had Fort Worth, Texas locals happy. TCU alumni and Austin resident Rob Baird was playing Fort Worth Live, celebrating the release of his new album, After All, that was released earlier this year. Held on the second story of the Juvenile Shoe Store, Fort Worth Live was the perfect venue for Baird fans to share an intimate evening listening to the singer-songwriter’s hits and even sharing a drink with him. The venue hosted 130 of Baird fans old and young, all singing along to his music.

The show began with Fort Worth local, Parker Chapin. As Chapin began to sing he quickly won over the crowd with his eclectic vocals and beautiful lyrics.

Baird opened up the show strumming away to one of his new songs “I Tried”. His fans listened intensely once he was done as he talked about his TCU days, his brief stint in Nashville and finally how he made the move to Austin. He also discussed how the album After All came to be – a shotgun romance with an actress from California. “Fade Away”, “Give Me Back Love” and “Best That I Was” were also some other hits played on this February night. Baird played a heck of a show, especially considering he was up before dawn for Good Day Fox 4 Dallas. He provided the perfect blend between hits from his previous albums and his newest masterpiece.

What was most intriguing about Baird was his connection to his fans, college students, young couples and even older adults all seem to have had the same enthusiasm for the Tennesee native. His lyrics speak to them, connecting fans from all over the country. The night was filled with sharing stories and the intimate setting was unforgettable for the fans in attendance.

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Devin Dawson’s ‘Stray Off Course Tour’ Hits NYC With Jillian Jacqueline

February 1, 2019/in Blog, Concert Reviews /by Nicole Sellati

Last night, singer-songwriter Devin Dawson kicked off his 2019 leg of the ‘Stray Off Course Tour’ at the Bowery Ballroom in New York City with special guest, Jillian Jacqueline. Luckily for New Yorkers, we got to experience this tour after Dawson extended the run and even despite the freezing temperatures, fans showed up to pack the place for another sold-out show at Bowery Ballroom.

Kicking off the night, rising artist Jillian Jacqueline took the stage going straight into performing her songs, “Hate Me” and “Holier Than Thou,” off her EP Side A. Before going any further into the night she mentioned, “This feels good, it feels like the perfect way to kick off this year, thank you guys so much for being here!” Jacqueline performed most of her songs from both EPs, Side A and Side B, like “Somebody,” “Sad Girls,” “Tragic,” “Reasons,” “If I Were You (feat. Keith Urban),” and her current single “Priorities.” Jacqueline put her beautiful vocals on full display, showcasing her raw talent to the crowd.

Before ending the night with her last song, she took a moment to talk to the crowd saying, “This has been a lot of fun. New York City you are amazing. I always love coming back here, it is my hometown show…thank you guys so much for the warm welcome…I just gotta say this tour with Devin Dawson is really exciting and I couldn’t think of a better tour for me to be on…Thank you, Devin, for having me out!” Ending the night with a song that has always meant a lot to her and for those who may need some words of encouragement, singing “God Bless This Mess.”

Next up was the man of the hour, Devin Dawson. He ran out on stage kicking off his set performing his high-intensity song, “War Paint.” Right off the bat, he was full of energy, getting the crowd pumped for a great show ahead. With the night just getting started he yells into the microphone, “Hell yea! How we all feeling tonight? Somebody scream with me. My name is Devin Dawson and I am now a 30 year old. This is the first show of the ‘Stray Off Course Tour’ for 2019 baby!” Dawson who just celebrated his 30th birthday the day before was ready to jam out the entire night while performing every song off his debut album, Dark Horse.

Throughout the night, Dawson made sure to interact with the crowd by talking in between each song, connecting with the audience on a personal level while also making sure they were having a blast. Each song transitioned perfectly into one another as Dawson and his band jammed out, turning the show into a rock concert. When it came time for his upbeat song “Placebo” he had one rule for the crowd, to jump. The crowd did just that, jumping in unison getting everyone’s blood pumping and ready for the rest of the night ahead. Before continuing his set he mentioned to the crowd, “If you guys have been to one of my shows before if you know me at all, you know I’m influenced by a lot of different things. I grew up listening to a lot of rock…a lot of soul, a lot of R&B, a lot of pop, all of that but number one on my mom’s record player when I was a kid was always country music…The one thing I learned was how to write a song…and this next song I’m about to sing is just my example of just writing a very good country song.” Performing his vulnerable single “Asking For A Friend,” the entire crowd sang back the lyrics to Dawson, making it a moment to never forget.

As the night went on, those lucky enough to be in the crowd had the chance to hear not one but two new songs from the singer-songwriter. One of which Dawson had written after he had a conversation with someone we all know, Tim McGraw called “I Got A Truck.” This song told a story while his other new song, “Finishing Touches” was all about the lyrics, saying that it was a groovy love song. He gave everyone a taste of what was coming, making the crowd excited to hear what was next for the singer.

That wasn’t all for the night, Dawson brought Jacqueline out one last time to perform their duet “I Can’t Trust Myself.” Combining their talents, they sang their hearts out singing the emotional lyrics to one another while their voices intertwined perfectly. After Jacqueline had walked off stage, Dawson mentioned that he had been waiting a really long time to tour with Jillian so he can do that song.

With the night coming to an end, Dawson couldn’t leave without singing the song that started it all, his debut single “All Of Me.” He had the entire crowd with their hands up swaying back and forth while they sang back the lyrics to the singer. Before officially ending the night, Dawson came back on stage for the encore saying, “It’s so insane, we’ve been opening up for so many people for you know two or three years now and to finally get to come headline in New York City and you guys sold this show out. It means the world to me man, thank you guys so much for showing up. Everything I sang tonight is on my debut album…Every single one of those songs on that album is my way of just telling you guys my story, three minutes at a time but this last song as many of you guys know is my autobiography…It’s been really cool to see how it brought us all together and I’ve created this family over the last two years and you guys will really never know how much that means to me…Thank you guys so much for tonight!” Ending the night with his powerful song, “Dark Horse.”

New Yorkers, you can check out Jillian Jacqueline once again when she comes back to New York City playing at the Gramercy Theater on May 10th.

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Ryan Hurd Sells Out Bowery Ballroom in New York City

January 28, 2019/in Blog, Concert Reviews /by Nicole Sellati

This past Friday, singer-songwriter Ryan Hurd brought his first ever headlining tour to the Bowery Ballroom in New York City with special guest, Ryan Beaver. Luckily for us New Yorkers, we were one of the four sold-out stops he was making on this exclusive series of club shows.

To kick off the night, Ryan Hurd invited his friend Ryan Beaver to warm up the crowd. Beaver took the stage with just a guitar, beginning the night saying, “Last time I was here it was 2016. It’s taken me 3 years to come back to the Bowery Ballroom but I’ve played all over the city, it’s always a blast!” He performed most of his songs off his record, RX, like “Fast,” “When This World Ends,” “Rum and Roses,” “Still Yours,” and the song people were waiting for “Dark.” While on stage he mentioned how performing with just himself and a guitar is one of the most terrifying things one could do but anytime someone is singing his songs, it makes his whole night. He performed each song effortlessly, making it hard to believe how terrifying it really was. Beaver got the audience pumped up for Hurd to take the stage, even covering a song everyone knows and loves, “Crazy” by Gnarls Barkley.

Next up was the man of the hour, Ryan Hurd. He kicked off his set performing the song “Last Turn Home,” which Hurd and his wife Maren Morris penned for country superstar, Tim McGraw. As the night was just getting started, Hurd took the time to welcome and thank everyone for coming out to the show before singing his romantic hit song, “Diamonds Or Twine.” The soulful love song had the entire crowd singing back the lyrics to the singer, making it a moment to always remember. As the night went on he performed his own music along with songs that he wrote for other artists throughout the years. Making sure to cover all his bases he sang his songs, “We Do Us,” “Love In A Bar,” “City Girl,” “Hold You Back,” and his most recently released song, “Michigan For The Winter.”

It was a night to never forget, those lucky enough to be in the crowd got to hear Hurd’s brand new song, with him mentioning, “The only other people who ever heard this in the entire world are the country music fans in Los Angeles, California…this song is called “Her Name Was Summer”.” The singer-songwriter was not one to disappoint, he sang his heart out giving everyone a new song to fall in love with. Throughout the night he continued to interact with the crowd, saying, “I’m a songwriter in Nashville, Tennessee, that’s the way I got moving and just sort of stumbled into this part and I never thought that I would have this many country music fans coming to a show like mine, so thank you from the bottom of my heart.” He was nothing but thankful throughout the show, telling everyone how appreciative he was to be performing to a sold-out crowd in New York City.

Hurd continued to show off his songwriting by performing the songs that he had written for other artists. Mentioning to the crowd, “I’ve written a lot of songs for other artists in Nashville and I still do. This is one of them, that’s my favorite,” singing the song he penned for Dierks Bentley, “I’ll Be The Moon.” That wasn’t all for the night, he also performed the songs he wrote, “You Look Good,” cut by Lady Antebellum and “Sunrise, Sunburn, Sunset,” cut by Luke Bryan. Each time the crowd singing along to the infectious tunes.

As the night was coming to an end, Hurd had a special surprise for the crowd. Turning the show into a family affair, he brought out his wife Maren Morris to join him on stage to perform his single, “To A T”. Bringing the song to life, she was on stage harmonizing and providing backup vocals, their voices intertwining flawlessly. The entire time the crowd was screaming, while every phone shot up to record the magical moment between the two. Head to our Facebook to watch the duet.

The show ended on a high note, with Hurd coming back on stage for the encore saying, “I wrote this song and I played it last week for the first time ever, there’s no recording of it. I love country music with all my heart and I love coming to see beautiful people like you sing it with me…I wrote this song and I hope that you take it home with you tonight, it’s called “Wish For The World”.” Ending the night perfectly, debuting another brand new song. Hurd left the crowd wanting more while being excited to see what the singer-songwriter comes out with next.

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