Hannah Ellis Opens Up for Gavin DeGraw at the Paramount
One of our favorite independent artists and Swag Sessions alum, Hannah Ellis opened for Gavin DeGraw last night at The Paramount on Long Island, New York. She brought her charming and sassy personality and killer vocals to the stage, warming up the crowd for DeGraw, all while garnering many new fans.
Accompanied by her talented guitarist, Ellis performed for a sold-out crowd of over 1000 people. She exploded onto the stage with, “ILYSoWhat,” a catchy song about admitting your feelings to a loved one. Following the upbeat jam, the singer-songwriter shared that she was “so excited to be here,” with the crowd, before introducing her next song, “Your Woman”, which she released back when she was on the CMT Next Women of Country Tour.
The songstress gave the intimate details behind the story of the next song she played, entitled “Never in Love”. Ellis shared, “I love that someone decided to pay me to go in a room and talk about my feelings. That’s really nice. One day I walked in the room with my boyfriend and one of our best friends to write a song. My friend was going through a really bad break up at the time and even though I wasn’t, I still remembered that feeling of when the bottom drops out. Will I ever be happy again? Will I ever feel love again? And this song was born. It’s one of my favorites to perform.” The song was definitely a special moment for Ellis.
Continuing to shake things up, the Kentucky native performed a cover of the popular R&B song “No Diggity.” Of course, fans sang and danced along the whole time to the infectious tune. Her country twang really gave the song a new, but enticing feel – proving that she can sing just about anything.
With her set quickly coming to a close, Ellis had time for two more songs. First she sang her incredible ballad, “Home And A Hometown”, adding “It’s a song that kind of created its own life. It’s one that constantly reminds me that I if go in a room and write my truth, somebody’s going to find theirs in this.” The track reached Top 100 on the mediabase country radio charts, which the songstress proudly shared with the audience. Ellis finished her entertaining set with her most recently released song, “Friends Like These”.
Ellis truly gave her all to her performance and it was clear that by the end everyone in the room was in awe of her talent.
Shortly after Ellis’ impressive set, headliner Gavin DeGraw hit the stage, accompanied by applause and screaming fans. DeGraw sang songs spanning his entire career, and even mentioned that this was the 8th time he has played at this venue. Throughout his long-standing career, this singer-songwriter has released many hits, including “Chariot,” “Not Over You,” and “I Don’t Want to Be,” the One Tree Hill theme song. The former he played for the crowd in the middle of his set, while the other two he saved to close out his show.
DeGraw kept the crowd entertained the whole night, mashing his songs together like with “You Make My Heart Sing Louder” and “In Love With a Girl,” as well as, delivering impactful slower songs, such as “Soldier” and “Free.” The singer-songwriter took the audience on a ride through every emotion, which made for a unique, innovative, and impressive musical experience.
Although DeGraw may not be considered a country artist, his talent blurs genre lines effortlessly and his voice lends itself well to the genre. Most recently, the singer collaborated with Brett Young on his song “Chapters” off his sophomore album, Ticket to L.A. The entertainer also performed at CMA Fest this year, which makes us wonder what he has in the works.
You can catch Ellis on tour with DeGraw through August. For tickets and more information, head to hannahellismusic.com
To keep up with Ellis, follow her on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
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