Highway Finds Tour Hits NYC’s Gramercy Theatre

Part of Sirius XM The Highway’s charm is their ability to seek out and spin tracks from brand new country artists.  Their feature, Highway Finds, takes on a new life during the tour they have dedicated to these rising stars. Featuring three new artists to hit the scene, The tour lineup includes Adam Doleac, Ashley McBryde, and High Valley.  Each of the acts made their way to the big apple to play New York City’s Gramercy Theatre.

Straight from our Pop-Up at Refinery Rooftop, Adam Doleac was first to take the stage Saturday night.  Opening his set with “Some Girls”, which Doleac says “I tell everyone this is my mating call to the world, where is my future wife at?…I’ve gotta find her at some point.” He filled his opening set with songs off his latest self-titled EP including “Bigger Than Us” and “Refill”.

His voice is gritty, yet smooth and the Mississippi native injects a bluesy vibe into his country twang.  He sang a cover of “Let Her Cry”, Doleac credits Darius Rucker as an influence in his career and was thrilled to sing a song that the country artist just released that he wrote.  ” I grew up singing this guy’s songs and now he’s singing one of mine,” he says before singing “Don’t” which can be found on Rucker’s latest album When Was the Last Time.  Currently sitting in the #3 spot on the Highway’s Top 30 Countdown, Doleac’s debut single, “Whiskey’s Fine” had the entire crowd singing along.

Next up to take the stage was Ashley McBryde, who is one of our 5 Rising Country Stars You Should Be Listening To. Three of her singles have made their way to Sirius XM The Highway including “Girl Goin’ Nowhere” and ” Tired of Being Happy”.  McBryde’s powerful voice, commanding stage presence, and overall badass attitude captivated the crowd. “I was four or five years old when I told my parents this is what I wanted to do for a living, so now we are doing it and I am in New York City for the first time.”

The crowd joined McBryde for her single “Little Dive Bar in Dahlonega”, her performance honest and raw, proves she is definitely a rising star in this industry.  She closed her set with a cover of The Eagles’ “Heartache Tonight” stating, we only do covers if it means something to us and this cover, it matters to us.”

Headlining the second Highway Finds Tour is brothers from Alberta, Canada, High Valley. Brad and Curtis took the stage singing the title track to their latest album “Dear Life”. “This is obviously our first time playing in New York City and I don’t know how often y’all see banjos but we’re about to break one out right now.” they laughed.  Their high energy set was filled with songs from the album as well as covers including John Michael Montgomery’s “Be My Baby Tonight” to which they organized a full-on dance contest between members in the crowd.  “Let’s crank it up to 11, who’s ready to party tonight? they asked the loyal crowd.

A highlight of the night is when the duo slowed things down to thank their father for believing in them and for helping them get to where they are right now.  Singing “The Only Way He Knew How” from their 2010 debut album, the crowd hushed to listen to the incredible lyrics. Closing out the night with a giant sing-a-long the duo performed their latest single “She’s With Me” from the middle of the crowd only and then took the stage to perform the upbeat “Make You Mine”.

Check out our Instagram for more photos and videos of the great night of country music in New York City.