Scotty McCreery & Friends Sell Out Long Island Venue

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On Saturday night at NYCB Theatre at Westbury, country singer Scotty McCreery brought his headlining ‘Seasons Change Tour’ to Long Island, New York. Lucky fans filled the intimate venue for the sold-out show, which was the last show of the tour.

Tasked with warming up the crowd, brilliant singer-songwriter, Heather Morgan performed first, showcasing her talent with every song. One of the highlights of her set was her cover of the song she wrote with country crooner Brett Eldredge entitled “Beat of the Music.” Morgan shared the backstory with the audience just before jamming out to the track with her guitar in hand. “He’s this tall guy with an amazing voice, and we passed the guitar around, and he was just amazing. […] We got together and wrote a song. […] You might know this song, I’m hoping you do, it was on the radio a bunch that year, it’s called “Beat of the Music” that I wrote with Brett Eldredge.” Beaming with pride and positive energy, Morgan ended her set with her favorite song from her debut album Borrowed Heart, “Hurricane” and the audience erupted in cheers for the upcoming artist.

Scotty McCreery Jimmie Allen

Next up, rising country star, Jimmie Allen made quite the entrance, walking through the audience, jamming to his song “County Lines” as he made his way to the the stage. The crowd immediately erupted into applause. Allen’s set was full of noteworthy moments, which truly gave concert-goers a feel for who he is as both a person and entertainer.

Allen engaged with the audience throughout his entire performance, often introducing the backstory to the songs he’s penned, influences in his life, including his late Grandmother, as well as, his love for being a father to his young son. Just before performing his new single “Make Me Want To,” the singer-songwriter addressed the crowd. “So I put out my first album last year called Mercury Lane, named it after the street that I grew up on in Delaware. We’re gonna jump into that. This next song is my second single going to country radio starting Monday. This song’s called “Make Me Want To”.”

Up until this point, many concertgoers were still seated in their seats, which didn’t quite match Allen’s high-energy personality, so he responded by getting each and every person invested in his performance. A true entertainer, the singer had everyone up on their feet dancing and swaying as he belted the lyrics to “American Heartbreaker,” another song off his debut album.

Towards the end of his performance, Allen humbly thanked fans for helping him reach number one on the country charts with his first single “Best Shot,” just before singing the song. He ended his set with the incredible anthem “Underdogs,” which we think make a great single. By the time Allen’s set ended, it was evident by the energy in the room that he had gained a ton of new fans that evening.  Allen received a standing ovation by concert-goers and left everyone pumped for the headliner, Scotty McCreery, who was up next.

Scotty McCreery Jimmie Allen

A few minutes later, the man of the night, appeared on stage donning a jean jacket, jeans, and a yellow guitar, with a big grin on his face. The McCreery Army erupted into applause almost instantly. After songs “Buzzin’” and “Boys From Back Home,” McCreery kept the high-energy going, as he engaged with the crowd for the first time. “New York, I tell ya what, we have one question for y’all right now. We just love to know how many folks here on Long Island are feeling it already tonight..” exclaimed the singer-songwriter just before singing the opening lyrics to his hit “Feelin’ It.”

Stopping to thank the crowd once again for their support of his first number one album, Seasons Change, McCreery introduced his current radio single “This Is It.” “It’s been a good year already, but I’ll tell ya what 2018 was probably the best year of my life. Started out that year, February 25th got a call from my label back in Nashville. They said ‘Hey man, just wanted to call you up and let ya know that as of today you have the number one single in the USA with “Five More Minutes”,’ and what’s better, we put out a whole album called Seasons Change behind that single, and I got a call a week after that album went out from the label again, said ‘Hey man, as of today you have the number one country music album in the US of A.’ It just kept getting better. June 16th, 2018, I became a married man. […] My wife at home, I wrote a song for her and it’s currently the number 3 song in the country and it’s called ‘This Is It.’”

McCreery passionately performed the beautiful love song, as the crowd sang along. Song after song, the singer-songwriter had concertgoers on their feet, bopping and singing along throughout his entire set. The recording artist shared another personal moment with the audience, just before he acoustically performed his beautiful song “Still,” as well as, his classic song, “The Trouble With Girls.” He shared that he has known his wife, since kindergarten, admitting that he did not have the nerve to ask her out, until he came back to high school, after winning American Idol. His performance of the song reminded fans why they fell in love with his deep and rootsy voice several years ago.

Scotty McCreery Jimmie Allen

As the concert came to a close, McCreery thanked fans again, just before ending his set with an incredible cover of Garth Brooks’ “If Tomorrow Never Comes” and fan-favorite, the heart-melting “Five More Minutes. The singer will continue to play shows throughout the first half of the year. Head to scottymccreery.com for more information. As for, Allen, fans can catch him on Kane Brown’s ‘Live Forever Tour.’

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Bastian Baker Showcases His Undeniable Talent During NYC Show

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Bastian Baker

We first introduced you to the talented Bastian Baker back in November, in our NYCS Swag Spotlight feature. Hailing all the way from Switzerland, the singer-songwriter brought his unique vocals and his acoustic guitar to the stage at New York City’s Le Poisson Rouge on Thursday night (1/24).

Filled with New York fans and supporters from across the globe, Baker performed a 16 song set, filled with tracks from all four of his albums, including his most recent self-titled project. Beginning his set with a high energy song, “Everything We Do,” off his 2016 album, Facing Canyons, Baker had the crowd mesmerized by his smooth vocals and stage presence from the first note.

Immediately following, the singer introduced the audience to his endearing personality, filled with sarcasm, authenticity, and comedic value. “It’s good to be here. I’m going to play a couple of songs. We started on high energy since you all seem to be in a really good mood, I’m going to play a very sad and depressing song, it’s called “Six”.” The contemporary song showcased Baker’s vocals, as the lyrics, beautifully and delicately told the story of love and loss.

Baker’s set was full of highlights from start to finish. One of the most memorable moments was when the musician shared about his experience being hand-selected to open for superstar Shania Twain on her ‘The Shania Twain Now Tour’. Just before playing an incredible rendition of Twain’s hit “You’re Still the One”, Baker jokingly shared his relationship with the songstress with the crowd, stating, “She was gonna open for me, but last minute, you know- Traffic. I figured I’d do a little something though. Baker would later cover another song, this time by Bruce Springsteen entitled “The River,” which was equally as impressive.

Baker’s performance of his song “All Around Us” deserves to be spotlighted as well. He shared his inspiration for the lyrics with the crowd, just before beginning to play, which made the performance even more meaningful. “The next song is a very positive song- I think we’ve got tired of all the negativity around us the last couple of years. […] It kinda makes you wonder where the good people are. I feel like we only have good people tonight. […] 99.9% of the people you meet are cool and awesome and generous and stuff. And we wrote the song to ya know, put a spotlight on the people that are actually awesome.”

Another crowd favorite of Baker’s included his performance of his song “Blame It On Me.” One of the more country and folk-infused tracks on his most recent album, Baker showed off how effortlessly his vocals worked with his simple acoustic guitar instrumentals. The audience quickly learned the chorus to the song as the singer played, as well as, the chorus of the next song in the set, called “Tattoo on My Brain,” which the crowd also sang along to.

Bastian Baker

Finally, Baker gave us arguably the best moment of the night towards the end of his set, when he performed his rendition of Leonard Cohen’s iconic “Hallelujah.” The talented singer and guitar player jumped off the stage, asking the crowd to circle around him, as he played his acoustic version of the heart-warming song. You could hear a pin drop in the room, and it was truly a special, one of a kind moment for concertgoers.

Ending the set playing his song, “You Should Call Home” for the first time live, crowd-favorite, “I’d Sing for You,” and his classic, “Leaving Tomorrow,” Baker delivered a set that any music lover would enjoy. He is a professional at infusing different genres into his songs and getting the crowd on his side from the minute he starts to sing. Overall, anyone who gets a chance to see Baker live should go. Head to bastianbaker.com for tour information and make sure to follow him on social media.

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Brothers Osborne Sell Out Terminal 5 in New York City

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This past Wednesday night, CMA and ACM Vocal Duo of the Year, Brothers Osborne brought their country rock and roll flare to a sold-out, passionate New York City crowd at Terminal 5. The duo was joined by special guests The Wild Feathers, who warmed fans up for the platinum-selling duo’s epic headlining hour and 45-minute set.

TJ & John Osborne Brothers Osborne

With a wall to wall packed room, TJ and John entered the stage with their guitars in hand, ready to give the cheering audience what they came for. Kicking the night off with “Drank Like Hank” and “Shoot Me Straight,” everyone inside of the venue danced and yelled out the lyrics, we all knew it would be a night to remember.

Not missing a beat, the guys moved right along into their current single, which they made their Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon debut with the night prior, “I Don’t Remember Me (Before You).” Taking a moment to interact with the crowd, TJ jokingly mentioned how much he loves New York City with the exception of how expensive everything is. He and John wanted every fan to give everything they had in them for the remainder of the night, warning everyone that the next tour stop would be in Boston, in which the crowd booed, but it sure did work.

The duo continued to perform songs from both studio length albums, including fan favorite “Rum,” which concluded in an A cappella sing-along of the chorus from the audience alone. The sing-along continued into the next song, “Burning Man.”

TJ & John Osborne Brothers Osborne

TJ paused to share some of what went into their latest album Port Saint Joe, “It’s been a long process with this record. We shacked up in a beach house in Port Saint Joe, Florida which is one of the neighborhoods that got wiped out by the hurricane recently. We wanted to make something really different, we made it with our band here and it’s been a long journey with this record. We wanted to make a record that would not necessarily make a big splash in its first week but something that would be around for ten, twenty, thirty years. Then for us to wake up not too long ago to see that it was nominated for a grammy honestly was a huge moment in our career.”

The guys slowed things down a bit with “Tequila Again” and a stripped down version of one of their most well-known tunes, “21 Summer.” It wasn’t long before they picked things back up with a rendition of “Copperhead Road” by Steve Earle and the hand-clapping anthem “Ain’t My Fault,” featuring a 10-minute jam session and guitar solo by none other than John himself.

Returning back to the stage for the encore, TJ and John expressed how wildly great the night has been and if there wasn’t an 11 o’clock curfew, they would continue to play all night long. As their set was coming to an end, they asked the crowd if they had any specific song requests, in which quite a few fans yelled “While You Still Can”, which they played on the spot.

Ending the night with “Heart Shaped Locket” and a cover of John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” which resulted in yet another crowd-only A cappella sing-along, Brothers Osborne thanked the audience and threw their remaining guitar picks straight into the crowd.
From the multiple epic sing-alongs to the countless guitar solos and jokes told throughout the night, John and TJ put on a show that every last person inside of Terminal 5 on January 23rd, 2019 will remember and await their return to New York City.

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Randy Houser Performs Up Close & Country at Nash FM 94.7

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On Tuesday, January 15, a lucky group of Nash FM 94.7 listeners and NYCountry Swag winners were invited to witness one of country music’s greatest vocalists, Randy Houser, live. Performing an acoustic set from the Hackensack Meridian Health Stage 17 as part of the station’s “Up Close and Country” series, Houser sang some of his biggest hits in addition to songs from his new album, Magnolia.

From the studio located high above Madison Square Garden, Houser launched his set with “How Country Feels,” which was the first song ever played on NASH FM 94.7 when it launched on January 21, 2013, and brought country music back to the Big Apple. Backed by a keyboardist and guitarist, Houser’s voice was on full display during the six-song set, which also included his first ever Top 5 hit, “Boots On,” which went to number 2. “There’s a big difference between number one and number two,” he laughed.

While Houser may have performed a few of his classics, the show was a really a celebration of Magnolia, released January 11th. For the singer-songwriter, the deeply-personal project was a “labor of love” that truly shows off a different side of the singer. “When I started this record, I had reached this point in my life where I wanted to make sure I was being able to flex my brain and my muscle,” Houser revealed. “I feel like a lot of times a lot of the music ends up staring to sound the same and like everyone else’s because everybody at a lot of record labels encourage people to copy the last thing that was working and whatever was the most popular thing last week. ‘Let’s make sure we do some of that.’ So for me, it was just like couldn’t do it. I grew a little bit tired of the same sound and I wanted to go create something that you could only get at Randy Houser’s house.”

In addition to the album, which Houser initially funded himself (“I thought I might get dropped,” he jokes of his record label.), the album is also the subject of a feature film, to be released at a later date. While the film was initially slated for release with the album, some large outlets and festivals have expressed interest, so the release is currently to be decided. According to Houser, the music serves as a backdrop for the film.

As for why he named the project Magnolia, Houser revealed that it all stemmed from a tree he discovered as a child that he’d get in trouble for climbing. “That’s partly the way I felt about this album. It was also something that was part of me climbing a tree and climbing up and ya know, using what I had to be me and to move up another level.” He felt like he was expected to “maintain the status quo” and make a lot of “different cars in that same color” because that was what was working and selling when it came to his music. “This album was sort of a return to myself, and what makes me, me…and the Magnolia trees I climbed.”

From the new album, Houser sang one of his favorite songs, “No Stone Unturned,” which he co-wrote with his brother-in-law Dallas Davidson about a “traveling man.” He also performed the ballad, “Our Hearts,” which was written about the start of his relationship with his wife, Tatiana. According to Houser, the song is “a really nice way of saying ‘Stay the heck out of my business’.”

Houser also performed “No Good Place to Cry,” a deeply personal track that was written nearly ten years ago during “a way crappier time” in his life. Of that track, he admitted that this was the first album the song had a home on saying, “I never felt like any of those albums deserved this song.” Houser also admitted that he wasn’t always super proud of the music he was releasing so he refrained from doing press. However, of Magnolia, he says, “This one I wanted to come back and brag on.”

Despite a fan request for one of his biggest hits, “Runnin’ Out of Moonlight,” to which Houser quipped “I never heard it,” he ended his set with his current single “What Whiskey Does”. With a voice as big as Madison Square Garden, Randy Houser charmed fans last night in the audience and on Facebook Live. If you didn’t have a chance to attend last night’s intimate show, you’re in luck because you can watch a replay of it below.

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Brett Eldredge: ‘Glow Live’ Sells Out Historic Beacon Theater In NYC

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Glow Live Tour

Last night, platinum-selling artist and country music’s King of Christmas, Brett Eldredge came back to the Big Apple to spread the Christmas spirit with his ‘Glow Live Tour’. He brought his captivating Christmas show back to the city where it all began, once again selling out the holiday evening for the second year in a row. Last year, Eldredge packed Irving Plaza with his one night only holiday show, but this year he extended the run to 4-cities playing at theaters in Canada, Chicago, New York, and Nashville. This time around he sold out the historic Beacon Theater in New York City, giving many more fans a chance to see him perform songs off his deluxe edition of ‘Glow.’

As the lights dimmed and the stage lit up, the man of the hour walked out dressed to impress in his dashing velvet suit jacket while holding his drink of choice, whiskey. The stage itself was a winter wonderland set-up with Christmas trees and other holiday decor, while also having a full orchestra to perform alongside the powerhouse vocalist. Eldredge kicked off the night with a holiday favorite, “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!,” right off the bat enchanting the audience with his holiday spirit. As the night was just getting started he was already in awe of the crowd, taking in every moment on stage while saying, “Beacon Theater! I have waited the entire year to play this show, this is like a bucket list right here. I have been waiting to do this for a long time, this place is beautiful, you are beautiful! We are going to do this right tonight, I just want you to have a smile on your face, feel good, no pressure.”

Before each song, Eldredge would take the time to interact with the audience by telling stories. Right before he sang the classic “I’ll Be Home For Christmas,” he mentioned, “We have been traveling all around the country and the world this year but I love one thing, I love to end the year here. For the last three years, I’ve been coming here and everybody has treated me so well, I get to walk around this city and then I finally get to go home to my home in Illinois at the end of the year, this song is something special.” He continued the night playing his renditions of the holiday hits off of his deluxe album ‘Glow,’ while even playing with some of the crew that helped him record the album here in New York City. There was an endless amount of talent up on the stage, every note was played effortlessly while Eldredge showed off his smooth vocals.

Glow Live Tour

Throughout the night he performed the holiday classics and favorites, “It’s Beginning To Look a Lot Like Christmas,” “Sleigh Ride,” “Silver Bells,” “Silent Night,” “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” and “O Holy Night,” which got a standing ovation at the end. He moved the entire audience with his renditions and his unbelievable vocals, as well as performing his original song, “Glow,” showing everyone just how much he loves Christmas music. Once everyone was standing up he kept the night going with everyone on their feet, singing his rendition of the Elvis Presley song, “Blue Christmas,” getting the whole crowd clapping and dancing along.

When it came time for his last song of the night, the King of Christmas, turned off his microphone, shut the lights and stood in the front of the stage to take a moment of it just being him and the crowd. Before going into the song he said, “I don’t care what beliefs you have or  whatever it is, we can all still pull together on a certain thing, just trying to get through life by putting a smile on each other’s faces and we can work through this, so when I sing this song, if you feel like singing you can sing along but just let it be gentle, let it be quiet, and just feel it in your heart and leave with a smile on your face and know that I love you!,” singing an A cappella version of “The First Noel.” Check out our exclusive video of the chilling moment above. Eldredge was a force to be reckoned with, his voice running through the theater while everyone in the crowd sang softly along. Leaving the audience with goosebumps, making it a moment to never forget, a moment where we all experienced the magic that is Brett Eldredge.

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Chris Young, Dan + Shay, & Morgan Evans at Nash 94.7 Holiday Bash

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Morgan Evans, Dan + Shay, Chris Young

Friday night (Dec. 7), Nash FM 94.7 took over Chris Young’s ‘Losing Sleep Tour’ with special guests Dan + Shay and Morgan Evans and transformed the talented lineup into the country radio station’s first ever Nash Holiday Bash. New York country music fans filled up the arena at Nassau Coliseum, anxiously awaiting the show to begin.

Nash FM 94.7 DJs Katie Neal and Jesse Addy took the stage to welcome the crowd and to introduce Evans’ opening set. The rising country star entered the stage with nothing but his acoustic guitar and loop pedal. This is not out of the ordinary for Evans, as this is the way he always performs live to truly showcase his undeniable musical talents. Opening his set with his latest single “Day Drunk,” the playful upbeat jam began to warm the crowd up. Evans continued to play “American” from his debut album, Things That We Drink To, then explained that he wrote hundreds of songs for his the album but only 11 could make the cut.  He told the crowd that he was so proud when another artist recorded one of his songs and he proceeded to play his own rendition of Dylan Scott’s current radio hit “Hooked.” With the crowd on their feet, Evans began to play his final song of his set which was his first ever number one single “Kiss Somebody.” Fans screamed the lyrics back to the singer-songwriter, until Evans took a moment before the last chorus to speak to the crowd, letting them know that every person who purchased a copy of Things That We Drink To at the merchandise tables, would be meeting him after the show so he could thank each and every one of them personally.

Morgan Evans, Dan + Shay, Chris Young

Neal and Addy returned to the stage a few moments after Evans exited, to introduce super-duo Dan + Shay. The arena erupted into cheers and screams as Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney began their set with their debut single “19 You + Me.” The duo continued performing their hit singles, “Nothin’ Like You,” “From The Ground Up” and “How Not To.” Along with a few songs from their newest self-titled album including “All To Myself,” “Alone Together,” “Make or Break” and their fastest growing single “Speechless.” Asking the crowd if there were any Rascal Flatts fans in the audience, the two sang “I Like The Sound Of That,” which Mooney co-wrote. Smyers took a moment to speak to the crowd, “Before we get out of here, we gotta play the song that has changed our lives this year. Just this morning, we woke up in the parking lot and found out the damn song was nominated for two Grammy awards, thank you for that. This is our first time performing the song being nominated for a Grammy in our entire career and it would mean the world to us if we make this the loudest sing-along we’ve ever heard.” Fans did exactly that. Every person inside of the arena screamed the lyrics right back to Mooney and Smyers. Click here to watch the moment from on our Instagram. The crowd and the duo continuously fed off of each other’s energy, making their set a sincere highlight of the entire night.

Morgan Evans, Dan + Shay, Chris Young

The Nash Holiday Bash wouldn’t be complete without a headliner, country superstar Chris Young took the stage to perform his biggest hits.  Young who has had success with 11 singles hitting the number one spot on the charts chose to highlight songs from his of his albums, kicking the night off with “Losing Sleep” then throwing it back to some of his first singles, “Gettin’ You Home (The Black Dress Song)” and “Voices”.

Being that this was a holiday celebration, Young took the time to explain that he had learned requests when he was playing a Mexican restaurant in Nashville before getting his record deal and he learned this next song. “This is sort of an unknown Christmas song but it’s definitely a country Christmas song on Alan Jackson’s record that I listened to as a kid and I asked him to be a part of my record and sing it with me, and he did.” He then played “New Kid In Town” which is on his holiday album, It Must Be Christmas. 

Young recalled the last time he was in the venue, eight years ago,  he was opening for Luke Bryan who was opening for Rascal Flatts. “That shows you how long this has been, this has been my journey, and I was not kidding when I said I was going to say ‘Thank you’ a lot, I’ve got the microphone, you can’t stop me…” he laughed. “Thank you for an incredible year.” In between songs, the crowd gathered in a giant U.S.A chant, and overwhelmed with gratitude for our great country and his fans, the singer-songwriter stood at the microphone silent, allowing the chant to continue until it erupted into cheers. Closing out the night with an encore of “Man I Want to Be” and “I’m Comin’ Over” the audience sang along to every single word of Young’s entire set, making it one hell of a Friday night.

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Luke Bryan Plays His Last Show of 2018 in NYC

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Luke Bryan NYC

Last night, New York country fans kicked off the week at Hammerstein Ballroom with country superstar, Luke Bryan. Two years in a row, Bryan has played an exclusive New York City show during the first week of December. Last year was an intimate Pandora event in honor of the release of his sixth studio album, What Makes You Country. This year the event was presented by Citi/AAdvantage, releasing tickets exclusively for cardholders, along with Bryan’s Nut House fan club members.

As the music started, the band began to take their spots leaving Bryan to make a solo entrance on the catwalk saying, “How are we feeling tonight?! Where are the country girls at in downtown Manhattan? This is our last show of the year right here!,” before opening the show with his infectious hit, “Country Girl (Shake It For Me).” The superstar was not one to disappoint when it came to putting on the best show for his fans. The last time he was in our area was his Metlife Stadium show in June of this year. Just like then, he had a ton of energy on stage and tried to get as close to the crowd as possible. He was constantly on the catwalk, taking audience member’s phones to snap selfies, as well as signing people’s hats throughout the night.

It was a night to never forget, he sang all his hits and fan favorites like, “Sunrise, Sunburn, Sunset,” “What Makes You Country,” “Huntin’, Fishin’ And Lovin’ Every Day,” “I Don’t Want This Night To End,” “Crash My Party,” and “Rain Is A Good Thing.” As the night went on he stopped to talk to the crowd about the holidays, exercising, and football, while mentioning, “This is so fun!… It’s just amazing to get to play like 2,000 seaters, it’s been a few years since I’ve done that. Now don’t get carried away I do love playing Metlife now!”

Luke Bryan NYC

Even though it was a Monday night, it didn’t stop the crowd from coming out and having the time of their lives while singing back every lyric all night long. Right before the encore, Bryan sang “Play It Again,” but couldn’t leave the stage until he heard it sang back to him one last time in 2018. The crowd erupted in cheers while he led the sing-along, with every person in the crowd singing the lyrics right back to him as seen in the video below.

As the night was coming to an end, he sang his encore songs, “Move” and “That’s My Kind Of Night,” leaving everyone energized and wanting more. Before leaving the stage for good, he thanked the crowd once again for showing up and saying, “We will see you in 2019! Thank you Hammerstein Ballroom!”

 

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LANCO & Travis Denning Bring ‘Hallelujah Nights Tour’ to New York City

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New York country fans braced the cold weather Thursday (Nov. 29) to head to Irving Plaza for LANCO’s, ‘Hallelujah Nights Tour’. Country newcomer, Travis Denning, was tasked with warming up the crowd as the evenings opening act.

Just before his set, Denning joined NYCountry Swag for a LIVE Swag Session, performing two of his songs live on Facebook for our followers and taking the time to chat about what’s next for the rising artist. Check out the full performance in the video above. Kicking off the Irving Plaza show, Denning’s set did not disappoint. He had a packed room of fans entertained by his musical ability, catchy songs, and stage presence from the first note. After singing his unreleased track, “Heartbeat of a Small Town” potentially from his forthcoming debut album, the singer-songwriter energetically addressed the crowd. “New York City, how the hell are you?! My name is Travis, and it’s damn good to back here with you people,” the artist exclaimed as fans erupted into applause.

Denning went on to sing a few other songs, including another unreleased track, “Good Years” and a cover of Miranda Lambert’s “Kerosene”. Just before leading into his recently released song, “Red, White and Blue”, the singer shared his inspiration for the tune and showed his support for the military men and women, while also acknowledging his Georgia roots, where he shared that he was proud to live near an air force base.

Arguably one of the best moments from Denning’s set was his performance of his top 40 debut single, “David Ashley Parker from Powder Springs”. Fans seemed to know the track, as they sang back the words to the singer, throughout the entire song. This is always a memorable moment, where the artist makes a connection with the audience and turns the crowd into fans, if they weren’t already. Denning ended his opening gig showing much gratitude for the engaged crowd.

LANCO at Irving Plaza, NYC

LANCO at Irving Plaza, NYC / Photo via @lancomusic on Instagram

Shortly following Denning’s set, Katie Neal and Jesse Addy from Nash FM 94.7 gave the boys of LANCO a warm welcome to the stage. The group sang songs off their debut album, Hallelujah Nights, as well as performed an epic mashup of covers. Their approximately 90-minute performance began with songs like “We Do,” “Win You Over,” and “Pick You Up.” The crowd was soaking in every word, as lead singer, Brandon Lancaster poured his heart out on stage, even swaying their arms back and forth, during “So Long (I Do).”

LANCO really got the party going, when they covered The Killers’ “Mr. Brightside,” getting the audience involved, “There’s a lot of words in this one, so y’all help us sing ‘em.” The crowd obliged, singing along through the entire high energy song. Lancaster explained how the band ended up including this song in their setlist, talking about their humble beginnings, playing at college bars.

“Playing for free, honestly playing for free beer and that’s about it, but that means something though. It means your boys over hear play Mr. Brightside, but ya’ll we know how to honky tonk a little bit alright, so uh, so I know we’re in New York City, but you seem to like country music, so I thought it would be fun to… Can we turn Irving Plaza into a honky tonk for a second, alright?!.”

Immediately following, LANCO joined the crowd on the floor for some entertaining and chilling covers, including country superstar, Eric Church’s “Drink in My Hand” and “Springsteen,” as well as Tom Petty’s “Free Fallin’.” LANCO’s connection with the fans was truly evident in this moment, making it a highlight of the night as captured in our Instagram video seen below.

Finally, after playing a couple of other songs off their record, such as, “Middle of Night,” the group said goodnight to fans and left the stage, only to come back for an awesome encore performance of their greatest hits, “Born to Love You,” and “Greatest Love Story.” Lancaster made sure to share his inspiration for the former.

“I found no matter where you go, wherever you’re from, whatever you’re born into… A big city like New York, somewhere a few hours from here, maybe you drove in… No matter what country you’re born into, whatever circumstance you’re born into, it doesn’t matter. If you ever get to find someone to go through life with- to go through the good, the bad, the ugly, the ups, the downs, you’ll find no matter what you’re born into- you were born to love them, so this next song is called ‘Born to Love You’.”

Both LANCO and Travis Denning truly gave New Yorker’s an unforgettable night of music. They will continue playing shows on the ‘Hallelujah Nights Tour’ through the rest of the year and part of 2019. Head to lancomusic.com for more information.

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Garth Brooks Intimate Q&A and Performance for iHeart Radio

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Last night iHeart Radio presented an intimate, special event with Garth Brooks sponsored by Marathon in New York City which featured a live on YouTube Q&A with the country music superstar and then a special performance for the audience in the room.  Unlike Brooks’ recent world tour concerts, his quaint appearance last night for iHeart Radio was certainly a once in a lifetime opportunity for the lucky fans in the room.

iHeart Radio host Joe Levy took the stage first to quickly run through some of Brooks’ achievements before he introduced him, including being the number one selling solo artist in U.S history with over 148 million albums sold. With his brand new Anthology Part 3 Live available everywhere now and his CBS Notre Dame special airing in 2 weeks, Brooks’ answered questions for Levy and entertained the studio audience with his responses. Right off the bat, of course, they discussed the new book, which features stories and photos from the people who have worked closely with Brooks for his entire career including crew members, members of his band, management team and people who worked at the label. He told Levy that he was pretty hands-on with the decisions made for this book stating “If it’s going to end up in the people who allow you to be an artists hands, you want it to be the best that it can be because you want them to be proud to have it.”

The conversation continued and Brooks and Levy discussed his upcoming stadium tour that was announced a few weeks back. He explained that the demographics of his concerts show that 48% of the tickets were sold to fans who were 10 years old or not even born the last time he went on tour, deciding to make this next run a retro tour and bring back elements of the 90’s while also keeping up with new technologies and mixing the old with the new. He also talked about his wife, Trisha Yearwood hosting a giant tailgate party before each of his shows on this stadium run featuring great food, furniture, cookbooks, and even music stating graciously “Every day is the Super Bowl when you are married to Trisha Yearwood”.

Watch the rest of the Q&A below.

After the YouTube live cameras stopped rolling, Brooks performed acoustically for the in-studio audience a slew of his biggest hits and even obscure album cuts that only his longtime fans would know. He kicked off the night with “Callin’ Baton Rouge” but then kept the rest of the night to slow things down and address the audience members and sing some of his more poignant ballads, always taking the time to explain the writing process or the thoughts he had when recording the songs. Throughout his set, he performed “That Summer”, “Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)”, “Thunder Rolls” and “The River”.

He also took requests from the crowd, always asking their name and why that particular song was the one they wanted to hear.  He even answered our Managing Editor, Christina’s request to sing “Mom” which she asked him to play in honor of her newborn son, Jack. Take a listen to the touching conversation and a clip from the beautiful song below.

Brooks engaged with every member of the audience who wanted to talk with him, listening to their stories and giving genuine, honest answers.  One interesting question was if there was one artist he could perform with that he hasn’t yet, who would it be.  Without hesitation, he answered, “Adele”.  He explained how his daughter introduced him to her music and how much he loves her voice.

The special event certainly wouldn’t have been complete without a venue-wide sing-a-long of “Friends In Low Places” which quickly became a highlight of the evening. Throughout the night, Brooks was clearly emotional whether he was talking about his children, his wife or even the fans that have been there since the very beginning.  Closing the night with his inspirational song, “The Dance”, Brooks ended by saying “You guys are sincere every time I play for you.  Thank you, I’ve had the best time”.  As the world’s arguably biggest success and entertainer of our time, humbly tipped his ball cap and walked off the stage, you could feel the affection and true warmth that was spread throughout the room. There is certainly a reason that Garth Brooks continues to attract crowds of all ages with his musicianship, his personality and the way he truly cares for each and every fan that he comes in contact with.

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Riley Green Performs in Nashville for CMA After Party

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Riley Green Wildhorse

95.5 NASH ICON teamed up with Carl Black Chevrolet and Wrangler Western for a CMA Awards Party. They invited people to come in, sit down, and watch the CMA Awards followed by an after-party performance with Big Machine recording artist Riley Green at the Wildhorse Saloon in Downtown Nashville. Not to mention, it was a FREE show.

He had a set of six songs including a new one he’s been singing out on the road recently, called “Get That Man A Beer”. This song was written about a girl that left him for his friend and then the girl left his friend too. The new tune is catchy, country and cleverly written. He also sang some of his classics, “Atlantic City, “Georgia Time,” “Bury Me In Dixie,” and his unique cover of “In Color” by Jamey Johnson. Of course, he ended with his current radio single “There Was This Girl” that’s currently at No. 22 on the Billboard charts and is climbing quickly. Green’s casual and confident stage presence makes him a natural in the country music setting. Check out our Live Swag Session with the singer below.

Not only did Green have an audience engaging set, but he also represented Halo Waterfowl, an outdoor apparel company, by wearing their branded ball cap at the show. Green is a pro-staff at the company, meaning he gets to test their outdoor apparel while hunting. Green and the owner, Greg Camp, have a video series to show their adventures on the road and hunting.

If you happen to have the chance to see Green live, we highly suggest doing so. He has the sounds of old-traditional country music that’s bringing the crowds in for a treat. Make sure to check out his dates here and watch out for his new music coming out soon that he’s been teasing on social media.

 

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