It’s been almost a decade since Lauren Alaina auditioned and made it to the finale of the tenth season of American Idol. Her bubbly personality, powerhouse voice, and true southern charm won over the nation and since then she has released two albums, written countless songs and connected with her growing fan base in an authentic way.

For the first time, Alaina has set out on a headlining tour and has sold out the first seven shows, including a show last night at Bowery Ballroom in New York City with direct support, Filmore.

Filmore, who hails from Missouri, brought his unique brand of country music to an already packed room playing some of the most recent songs he has released including “London”, “State I’m In”, and “Heart’s Having A Hard Time”. He exuded energy, and an undeniable swagger as he danced around the stage. Several times throughout the night, the singer-songwriter paused to explain how grateful he was to be back in New York, having opened for Dan + Shay and Carrie Underwood back in 2018.

One of the most energetic parts of the night was when he covered The Killers’ smash, “Mr. Brightside” asking the entire audience to jump along with him. We always see an incredible response when artists come up to the Big Apple and choose a cover song outside of the country genre and tonight was no different. He thoughtfully explained the songwriting and stories behind each song throughout his set, definitely garnering a ton of new fans that may not have seen his live show before. He closed the set with “Slower”, his breakout hit from 2018.

The ‘That Girl Was Me Tour’ truly took the fans on a journey of Lauren Alaina’s entire career and with the help of a giant screen that played behind her, the packed house at Bowery Ballroom were treated to home movies, music videos and beautiful visuals to accompany her throughout the night. Alaina took it back to her debut album, and her time on American Idol to start off the set with “Barefoot and Buckwild”, “Georgia Peaches”, and “Like My Mother Does”. Video clips with voiceovers helped flow each segment of the night, Alaina being encouraging about hard times and helping to show her growth as a human and a performer in Nashville.

She performed her current single, “Getting Good” which is another honest song about trying to slow time down and stay in the present without looking ahead to the next achievement as well as a brand new song that will be released on her next EP on March 6th, “Somebody Else’s Problem”. The most touching, and inspiring moment of the night came when Alaina paused her show to pay tribute to her late stepdad, Sam, telling the story of how he saw heaven moments before he passed away. Struggling to get through the song “The Other Side” without the emotion completely taking over, the songwriter performed with an indisputable grace.

She welcomed Filmore back to the stage to help her perform Hardy’s current single, one of NYCountry Swag’s favorite songs, “One Beer” which she is featured on along with Devin Dawson. Before performing “My Kinda People”, she took time to explain that although her dreams from when she was a young girl revolved around singing and traveling the world, that as she has garnered success over the past decade, she wanted to make sure to find a way to give back, and so she has started the ‘My Kinda People charity’. To find out more, head to laurenalainaofficial.com.

After a brief pause, she returned to the stage to sing an encore of “Three” and her very first number one single “Road Less Traveled”. The entire sold-out crowd lifted their flashlights in the air as they waved their hands and sang along, it became utterly apparent that every misstep, every tragedy, and every high point in her life has brought her to the beauty of hearing your powerful words sung back to you.

If the ‘That Girl Was Me Tour’ is coming to a city near you, run, don’t walk. You will feel every emotion, you will feel community alongside strangers and the power of music will surround you throughout the night.

For tour dates and tickets,  Click Here.

To keep up with Lauren Alaina, you can follow her on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

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