Photo Credit: Jeff Johnson
Country music fans made their way to the PNC Bank Arts Center in New Jersey on Sunday night to celebrate Memorial Day weekend with Chris Young’s ‘Raised On Country Tour 2019.’
Dylan Scott kicked off the show, bringing the audience to their feet with a mash-up of his hit “Hooked” and The Black Eyed Peas song, “I Gotta Feeling.” He continued to keep the crowd entertained with his song “Ball Cap” and his newest single and the title track to his latest EP “Nothing To Do Town,”. The entertainer slyly added in “This ain’t no nothing to do town, am I right about that?!,” to which fans erupted into applause.
After he introduced himself to the crowd, Scott took time to express the sentiment behind the next song he went on to play, while playing the piano. He shared, “Well, I’ve been with my wife, since I was 15 years old, and we’ve been married three years now. We have a beautiful baby boy and a little girl that’s going to be here in September. And y’all I love doing what I do, I love getting on this stage, and I love performing and singing, and I love the fact that I see y’all smile and singing along. So thank you so much- I appreciate it. But this next song, I looked at my wife, and not in a cocky or an arrogant way, just the truth, and said, “nobody’s going to love you like I love you.” And when I said that, I said that’s a song, and I went and wrote that song. It’s one of my favorite songs that I wrote in the past year, so we’ll play it for you tonight, it’s brand new. It’s called “Nobody.”
Keeping the crowd entertained Scott, went on to sing a medley of 90’s country songs, including “Fishin’ In The Dark,” “Check Yes or No,” and “When You Say Nothing At All.” By the time he ended his set with his first number one song “My Girl,” Scott had won the crowd over and was sure to have garnered many new fans from his performance.
Continuing to get the audience ready for the headliner, Chris Janson took the stage next with an unbelievable amount of energy. From start to finish, Janson was jumping around on stage, playing the harmonica, and singing a mixture of songs he wrote, covers, and of course, his own hits. Underneath his namesake sign, utilizing an official Grand Ole Opry microphone, and with a full band there to support him, the singer-songwriter exploded on to the stage with his song, “Redneck Life,” immediately getting fans on their feet, singing and dancing along. Fans continued to match his energy throughout his entire set.
After signing, “Everybody,” Janson took some time to acknowledge the service men and women in the audience, while still continuing the party. “I really am thankful to wake up free in this country. If you have served, please be recognized- will you raise your hand, please be recognized. Thank you for your service. It is a privilege- we raise a toast to you tonight for the sacrifice you’ve made to our country and to us as Americans. I’ll also raise a toast to your health and happiness! […] So now let’s sing a number 1 song, and have a party. Here’s one called “Fix A Drink.”
At this point, every single person was on their feet, jamming along with the entertainer and holding their drinks in air, even during his newest song, “Good Vibes,” his track, “White Trash,” and the cover of a song he had written for LOCASH called “I Love This Life.” Afterward, Janson decided to slow it down a bit, singing a mesmerizing cover of Billy Joel’s “Piano Man,” and his impactful song, “Drunk Girl.” The sky was lit up by the fan’s flashlights on their phones, making it a moment that neither Janson or the audience will ever forget.
Janson ended his set on a high note, jamming to Tim McGraw’s “Truck Yeah,” and even playing some drums, just before singing one of the song’s that started it all for him, “Buy Me a Boat.”
Under a neon ‘CY’ sign and accompanied by a full band, Chris Young took the stage next, beginning with his latest number one hit “Hangin’ On.” Young went on to sing nineteen songs, including, “Gettin’ You Home (The Black Dress Song)” and “Lonely Eyes.” The former being his first number one song and the later making its way to number two on the charts.
After singing a crowd favorite, “Lonely Eyes,” Young interacted with the audience, sharing, “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been parked behind this building somewhere because I was opening for someone else. It’s my honor and my pleasure to be here tonight,” adding, “This is the ‘Raised On Country Tour.’ We’re going to be playing a whole bunch of random stuff for you guys tonight. We might play a couple of new things off the new record that’s getting ready to come out this year. We’ve been in the studio doing a lot of work on that. […] We’ve got a whole bunch of stuff we’re going to announce really soon, but most importantly, all of this was only possible because you guys care anything about me getting up here playing music, so we’re going to play some country music for you guys tonight.”
Young’s set included some of his biggest radio hits, including “Losing Sleep,” “Think of You,” “Tomorrow,” “You,” and “I’m Comin’ Over,” which all went number one on the country charts. The entertainer made sure to sing both fan favorite tracks, including, the rowdy, “Hold My Beer,” the heartfelt tracks, “Who I Am With You,” and “The Man I Want To Be.”
One of the highlights of the night was when Young sang his newest song to go to country radio, the lead single off his upcoming album, “Raised On Country.” The crowd screamed back the lyrics to each and every song, but were especially loud during the new song, giving their approval of the track to Young. He even shared on Twitter that the crowd “Broke the audience volume record” for his career. Right before singing the new track, Young got a little help from the country music family, as images and videos of fellow country musicians flashed before our eyes on the big screens as they shared some love for the country music that they were raised on. Artists included the men from Brothers Osborne, Brett Young, Kane Brown, Lauren Alaina, Morgan Evans, Cassadee Pope, and more talented artists.
Another awesome moment came when Young sang a cover of Garth Brooks iconic song, “Papa Loved Mama.” Guitar in hand, the recording artist jammed to the catchy song, as the audience danced and sang along. Young continued the momentum, singing his ode to beer and country music in, “Save Water, Drink Beer.”
Leaving it all out on the stage, Young closed out the night with the high-energy song, “Aw Naw.” The concert was the perfect kick-off to the unofficial start of summer and concert season. For those willing to travel, Young, Janson, and Scott will bring the ‘Raised On Country Tour’ to Connecticut’s Xfinity Theatre on June 14th. Head to chrisyoungcounty.com for tickets and more information.
For more summer concerts heading to this area, check out our calendar.
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