Justin Aharoni (@jaharoni) for NYCountry Swag
This past Friday, the CMT Next Women Of Country Tour rolled around to New York City to play one of their 11-dates here at the Gramercy Theatre in lower Manhattan. Luckily for us New Yorkers, we got to experience this sold-out show with three extremely talented women Hannah Ellis, Clare Dunn, and Cassadee Pope.
Kicking off the night Hannah Ellis opened up the show with just her and her guitarist going straight into her upbeat debut single, “ILY So What,” getting everyone pumped up for the night ahead. Right off the bat, the crowd was already singing along, leaving Ellis mind blown she mentioned, “Someone should tell you, I can see you, and I am feeling it! Here for it! My name is Hannah Ellis and I am so excited to be here in New York hanging out with you guys on the CMT Next Women Of Country Tour!… This next one is my current single that I just put out about two weeks ago, it’s called “Your Woman.”
Justin Aharoni (@jaharoni) for NYCountry Swag
In between each song, the singer-songwriter took the time to chat with the crowd about what was coming up next. Before going into her next song she said, “So I’m a full-time singer-songwriter out in Nashville and the fact that someone pays me dollars every day to go in a room and talk about my emotions is kinda incredible. I’m not going to lie, but this next song is one that I wrote with two people that I love very much.” Slowing it down for a song, she sang “Never In Love,” before bringing it back up to cover a song we all know and love, “No Diggity” by Blackstreet. Showcasing her talent she drifted away from country to show off her R&B side, getting the crowd fired up singing and dancing along to her rendition.
As her set was coming to an end she had one more song left, she began by getting personal saying, “Sometimes it’s hard for me to know exactly what to say about this next song because as a songwriter you write so many songs and you never know what is going to happen with them, if your going to be the only person to ever hear them or if they go out there and create their own life and I released this song last July. It’s just a song about how much I love where I come from and the people that raised me but I also love where I ended up and I think a lot of New Yorkers get that…This song has been really amazing to watch it create its own life…and it’s just really special for me.” Closing out her set with her hit single, “Home and A Hometown.” Ellis had the entire crowd singing back the words, getting everyone ready for what was to come next.
Justin Aharoni (@jaharoni) for NYCountry Swag
Next up was Clare Dunn, kicking off her set with her song “Ferrari” the country rocker switched it up a bit from Ellis’ set playing guitar alongside a full band. From the very start, she was showcasing her insane guitar skills shredding it like a true rockstar. Before going any further into the night, Dunn put her guitar down and took the time to speak with the crowd making the night extra special by saying, “New York! We’re going to do something very special here tonight. We are going to film a live music video so we hope you’re okay with that. So be sure and cheer really loud for it, this is my brand new single that just came out called “My Love” and you’re going to be in the video!” The crowd was ready, dancing along to the tune while cheering as she gave her all for the music video. After the shot was done, everyone was fired up and ready for the rest of the night ahead.
As the night went on Dunn picked her guitar back up to continue her set, playing a mix of singles as well as covers, hitting all her bases she sang her singles, “Cowboy Side of You,” and “More,” as well as her song “Go To It.” That wasn’t all, she did a variety of covers starting with “Her Strut” by Bob Seger, mentioning how she had to perform this song because she had the honor and privilege of a lifetime to tour with him. Touching base with the audience of all ages, she then covered a song everyone knows “Rolling In The Deep” by Adele. The entire crowd erupted in cheers, singing back the lyrics to the popular song.
Justin Aharoni (@jaharoni) for NYCountry Swag
With Dunn’s set coming to an end, she couldn’t leave the stage without singing her most popular song yet mentioning to the crowd, “I’d like to talk to you a little bit about this next song and just say thank you for changing my life, you guys set a bunch of records with this song…this was just a personal little love song for me and I never dreamed that it would be the success that it was so thank you…Thank you for all the love that you have shown me so passionately on this song if you know it sing along it’s called “Tuxedo.” Belting out the lyrics, the crowd sang back every word making it a moment to never forget. Before ending her set she had one more cover, closing out with no other than “Rock and Roll” by Led Zeppelin once again showing off her master guitar skills.
Justin Aharoni (@jaharoni) for NYCountry Swag
Last up was the headliner herself, Cassadee Pope kicking off her set performing her past uptempo single “Take You Home.” Not stopping there she continued playing her songs “I Wish I Could Break Your Heart,” and “How I Feel Right Now,” before taking a moment to chat with the crowd saying, “I love New York City so much, this is one of my favorite places to visit in general but oh my gosh to play a show here forget about it! So my name’s Cassadee Pope and this is the CMT Next Women Of Country Tour!… This has been such an amazing tour because not only do I get to go out on tour with my friends but I’m sharing these new stories that I just released on my new album Stages…I would love to play you this song it’s my single, Hannah Ellis co-wrote it, its called “If My Heart Had A Heart.” Singing her emotional ballad the crowd sang along softly.
Justin Aharoni (@jaharoni) for NYCountry Swag
Pope kept the crowd on their toes waiting to hear what song was up next, covering the one and only Third Eye Blind singing their hit single “Never Let You Go.” The crowd erupted in cheers shouting out the lyrics as the singer-songwriter sang her rendition of the tune. After the rap part of the song, she was so amazed by the crowd she stopped midway saying, “Oh my gosh you guys know the most lyrics than any tour date on this tour so far. I couldn’t help myself, I referenced Third Eye Blind in another song of mine and I just had to add a little bit of Third Eye Blind during my set. So we got two chorus’s left, your already singing along so just continue to do that!” Finishing out the song strong, everyone was screaming out the lyrics, ending the jam on the right note.
Justin Aharoni (@jaharoni) for NYCountry Swag
Throughout her set she performed her songs “11,” “I’ve Been Good,” “Distracted,” “Gavi,” “Champagne,” and her duet with Chris Young “Think Of You.” Pope put her beautiful vocals on full display, showcasing her raw talent to the crowd while they sang along to every song. She couldn’t end her set without bringing Hannah and Clare back to the stage to perform one last time. Mentioning to the crowd, “I mean after all this is the Next Women Of Country Tour so you didn’t think we’re not going to sing together and I wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to sing with you guys. So this was actually my finale song on The Voice! Thank you by the way for anybody who voted for me you changed my life. One of my biggest influences is Faith Hill so I figured we would sing this together, this one is called “Cry.” Combining their talents they brought the song to life as their voices intertwined flawlessly.
As the night was coming to an end Pope mentioned how excited she was to be back in New York City performing for a sold-out crowd, thanking everyone once again for coming out before performing her single “One More Red Light.” Before leaving the stage for good she had two more songs left to perform as part of her encore. Taking it back to the old days she said, “Okay I’ll play a few more, I know I mentioned this earlier but I used to be in a band called Hey Monday and NYC was a second home to me because of that band so I couldn’t come here and headline a show in NYC and not play a Hey Monday song so we are going to take it back to 2008, here we go!” The entire crowd erupted in screams while everyone rushed the stage to get as close as possible. Pope transported the 2019 crowd back to 2008 as she performed Hey Monday’s popular song “Homecoming.” Performing the ultimate jamming out song everyone sang back the words as if no time had passed. Ending the night on a high note she continued the hype by performing her debut single “Wasting All These Tears” from her first album Frame By Frame.
To keep up with Cassadee Pope follow them on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
To keep up with Clare Dunn follow them on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
To keep up with Hannah Ellis follow them on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
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