Sometimes events combine to give a fan one of the best nights ever and Cole Swindell's Down Home Tour was just that special. The opening acts for this years tourare Cole Taylor and Travis Dennning. Both are relatively new artists with some pretty stellar songwriting credits to their names.
This makes the third year for this tour and each year Swindell releases a Down Home Sessions EP to serve as a sort of soundtrack. When the tour was announced, I discovered not only was it coming to Oklahoma, but the opening stop was here in Tulsa on October 26th at my favorite concert venue, Cain's Ballroom. Swindell was one of the three remaining artists on my 'See Before I Can't See' list and finally getting to see Cole Taylor live was an amazing bonus. You can read his Artist 411 article here. Needless to say things were aligning to be a great concert and I had yet to hear Travis Denning's music before.
Cole Taylor - Cain's Ballroom
Cole Taylor was the first artist to take the stage and I was not disappointed. Sometimes opening acts have not fully developed their craft for live shows, but that was not the case with Taylor. He played several songs from both his self titled EP and his Step 2 EP including "Drop Top" and "Part Of This Town." He also played his newest single "Cold Beer." A wonderfully written, opposites attract song that I highly recommend. After a small intermission, Travis Denning took the stage and he sounded incredible. We got to to hear several of his songs including "Here's To The Home Town" and "Southern Rock." Not to mention some of his awesome songwriting credits like "Everybody We Know Does." The latest single by Chase Rice. On top of having incredible sets, both Cole Taylor and Travis Denning came out to the merch table to meet their fans. You can listen to Cole Taylor's music on Spotify and Travis Denning's on the Reverbnation Discover app.
Travis Denning - Cain's Ballroom
When Cole Swindell, the 2016 NSAI Songwriter of the Year, took the stage, the energy level was incredible. He has to be one of the most humble and sweet artists I have ever come across and had the pleasure of meeting. I swear his entire time on stage he never stopped smiling! Swindell told the crowd he loves the Down Home Tour. Because it is when he gets to reconnect and give back to the fans that helped him get to where he is today. Swindell's set list was absolutely AMAZING. The songs ranged from the one that started it all, "Chillin It," to the heartwarming tribute pinned about his father, number one hit, "You Should Be Here" to Down Home Sessions 3 songs "You've Got My Number" and "Chevrolet DJ." In fact, we were treated to all Swindell's singles including a favorite of mine "Let me See Ya Girl" and his newest one "Middle Of A Memory." After the Down Home Tour raps up Cole Swindell will be hitting the road with none other than Dierks Bentley. He told us about the pending tour before he sang "Flatliner." A song he sang with Bentley on his You Should Be Here album.
Cole Swindell - Cain's Ballroom
The amount of love and respect Swindell showed his opening acts was like nothing I have ever seen before. He told the crowd to remember their names. Because they were going places in the music industry. At different times, Swindell brought both artists back on stage with him. Cole Taylor performed "Stay Down Town" with him. One of Taylor's songwriting credits from Swindell's album You Should Be Here. When Travis Denning came back out, Swindell let him perform one of his songwriting credits for the crowd. A song several people around me were pleasantly surprised to hear. I heard,"Wait, he wrote this?" several times as he started playing "All Outta Beer." A song recently cut by Jason Aldean. Every artist in the Down Home Tour lineup is proof keeping up with songwriters is definitely a great idea.
Sometimes a photo truly is worth a thousand words. This one in particular shows just how appreciative Cole Swindell is of his musical journey and the fans that got him there. A journey that he is now actively using to help newer artists. To me, Cole Swindell is one of those artists you can't help, but respect.The third anniversary of the Down Home Tour certainly started out with an incredible bang and is packed full of some extremely talented Georgia natives. I highly recommend picking up tickets if you get the chance.
Eric Paslay is in the midst of his Angels In This Town tour. The song of the same name tells a story of believing in angels. According to Paslay's website, each stop on the tour he will be conducting "Angel Visits." He'll visit local "angels" in their organizations, including hospitals, fire houses, police stations, Girls and Boys Clubs, Habitat for Humanity builds, and more. When an artist goes above and beyond, it deserves mentioning.
On October 19th, Paslay brought Angels In This Town to Cain's Ballroom in Tulsa Oklahoma. He had some rather amazing talent opening up for him too. The stunning Lindsay Ell is no stranger to the Cain's Ballroom stage and she just keeps getting better and better. Her set list included some of her regular hits like "By The Way" and "Criminal," as well as, her newest single "All Alright." A song that was immediately purchased after the show, I may add. Ell came out to the merch table after her set to meet and take an Ellfie, the Lindsay Ell version of a selfie, with any and all the fans that wanted to.
This was my first time seeing Eric Paslay live and he had no trouble carrying on and increasing the energy level the talented Ell created. Paslay owned that stage. I mean his ability to work the stage, interact with his band and the fans was amazing. His set list included a wonderful combination of his song writer credits like "Angel Eyes," "Even If It Breaks Your Heart," and "Barefoot Blue Jean Night" to songs released like "She Don't Love You," his up beat and fun to watch performed single "High Class," and tour name sake "Angels In This Town."
Sometimes there is a show were the singer is not only immensely impressive, but the band sharing the stage with them is as well. That definitely happens on the Angels In This Town tour with Tyler Tomlinson (guitar), Chris Roach (Bass), Marcus Hill (Drummer) and Luke Moller (utility). A super cool part was watching Lindsay Ell come back out and lend her exceptional guitar skills to this amazing band during a song from Paslay's set. My parting advice, don't pass up the Angels In This Town tour!
I've told you all about the talented David Fanning in a prior #Artist411 article, but let me recap just a little. Fanning is a talented triple threat poised to do amazing things in country music. He is one-fourth of the production team, New Voice Entertainment and a songwriter with some pretty amazing cuts under his belt including Parmalee's "Musta Had A Good Time" and Scotty McCreary's "I Don't Want To Be Your Friend." That is not all though, he is extremely vocally talented. His loyal Fanndom has been enjoying original hits via his original YouTube videos for some time now, but as of September 23rd they've had his debut EP First playing on repeat.
The EP begins with the title track "First" and immediately Fanning has you on an instant trip of future possibilities with such lyrics as "I wanna go where you’ve never gone, see what you’ve never seen. I wanna do what you’ve never done, baby just you and me." As you drift along to smooth vocals and fantastic instrumental ability you can't help, but be hooked. In track 2 "Break Us," the story continues with tales of how the couple has "that never tear apart, nothing can break us" love. In track 3 "Complicated," the lyrics tell a story of how sometimes too good to be true doesn't always apply. Because "It is what it is, you get what you give… it ain't complicated." A beautiful ballad to remind you not to overthink the good things. I believe everyone should pay close attention to the lyrics in track 4, "Breathtaker," especially females. Music that not only tells a story, but has the ability to inspire is beautiful and rare. "Breathtaker" is just that kind of song with lyrics like "Don't ever let nobody go and steal your star. You're that one and a million just the way you are." Track 5, "Where Are You Now," tells you about the flip side of falling in love. The lyrics take you down memory lane of the things that were promised in a relationship, but now "they're no where to be found."
This amazing EP is a five track sampling of just how talented Fanning is and the great things to come. In fact, Fanning contributed to the writing on all five tracks of his debut EP. Along with friends, Ben Stennis and Curt Gibbs, he also served as music producer as well. You can download First from iTunes, Google Play, and Amazon as well as stream it on Spotify.
Last Friday, the 16th of September, a few friends
and I met up in Oklahoma City to catch Michael Ray at the fair. The last time we saw Ray was his stop in Oklahoma City during Brantley Gilbert’s
blackout tour (Show Review and Band Review) and we were all excited to see what
he could do as the headlining act. It was like mother nature herself knew there
was great music coming. Because the rain we were expecting never showed. I had
the pleasure of getting to meet Ray before the show and he as usual was a total sweetheart.
He started out the show with his up tempo song "Another Girl" and I am pretty sure I did not sit back down til the show was over. We also got to hear the song he co-wrote for Big & Rich, "Runaway With You," as well as "Look Like This," and his newest single "Think a Lil Less." A truly fun part of the show was when the iPod Shuffle began. Ray and the band played a fun selection of songs from Toby Keith's "Should Have Been a Cowboy" to Tom Petty's "Mary Jane's Last Dance." Though a special mention goes to his cover of Bruno Mars' "Just The Way You Are." Before Ray began singing, he addressed the females in the crowd saying they were beautiful just the way they were. That they should never change for anyone, but rather they are amazing just the way they are.
We also heard "Everything In Between," "Drivin' All Night," "This Love," "Real Men Love Jesus," and the number one hit "Kiss You In The Morning." Michael Ray is an amazing singer and has a very talented band backing him up. Kurt Ozan (utility player), Jonathan Sepulveda (bassist), and Lucas Chamberlain (guitarist) are just as amazing to listen to and watch perform as Michael Ray. Everyone always looks like they are having the time of their lives while performing. Their cover of "Dust On The Bottle" was perhaps one of the funnest covers I have seen. It was such a fun night and definitely not the last time I'll see Michael Ray.
You can see Michael Ray on his Think A Lil Less tour, which is his first as headliner, starting Oct. 14th in Phoenix, AZ. Tickets are on sale now.
If there's one station that knows how to put together a phenomenal group of talented artists for an acoustic show, it would be one of the oldest country stations in Tulsa OK, 98.5 KVOO. The station's annual 5 Man Jam took place on May 24th and it was packed full of some incredible talent. Chris Janson, Drake White, Brandy Clark, Jordan Rager, and Drew Baldridge were all on the stage together at the River Spirit Casino with Janson acting as the host for the evening. Something each artist on the stage had in common that night is they are not only incredibly talented artists, but songwriters as well. Though the artists played in a round robin fashion, it was the host Chris Janson who kicked things off.
Janson started out the night with "Truck Yeah" a song he helped pen that Tim McGraw released. When he told us about the story behind "Holdin' Her," his current single, and sang it for us, it was clear he absolutely adores his wife and family. If you think genuinely kindhearted people no longer exist, I suggest you meet Chris Janson to be pleasantly proven wrong. Janson sang a few versus of a couple of songs before his hit "Buy Me A Boat" including a bit of LoCash's song "I Love This Life." A song that Janson, himself, helped pen. A truly awesome part of the night came when he discovered two young boys in the audience had made signs for him. Janson invited the little boys on stage. It was easy to tell this family man knows how special little creations like those are.
The country Johnny Depp was up next. Those were Janson's words not mine for the very talented Drake White. Their back and forth banter through out the show never failed. The first song White sang was "It Feels Good," the title track from his EP released last year. His current single "Livin' The Dream" certainly got the entire crowd singing along. Because honestly we all need to remember the first step in loving our life is loving what we already have. The next time White took his turn on the mic he pointed to this little boy who was enjoying the concert from his dad's shoulders and told us it was times like that we need to remember, the simpler ones. He than sang us "Back To Free." Another great song that can be found on his It Feels Good EP.
Four time GRAMMY Award nominee and the only female performer, Brandy Clark, was up next. Like some of the others on the stage, Clark is relatively new to the artist side of country music, but she is a well established songwriter. Her first song of the night was her, tell it how it is, single, "Girl Next Door." The sassy lyrics continued when she sang us a song from her pending album Big Day in a Small Town (out 6/10) titled "Daughter." After playing two songs she helped write, Clark played a song that she says always inspires her by Buck Owen called "Together Again." Knowing that Clark contributed to the writing of every song on her upcoming album has me very excited to hear Big Day in a Small Town on June 10th. "Southern Boy" singer Jordan Rager took his turn on the mic next.
The homemade Jordan Rager t-shirt was the first clue he had a few fans in the crowd and the volume increase when he started singing was definitely the second. All things considered both were and are completely deserved. Because I don't think we've even scratched the surface of what this talented newcomer will bring to country music, both as a singer and as a songwriter. Something that was totally evident when he mixed his first song "Whatever" with a bit of Eminem's "Lose Yourself." His current single, "Southern Boy," a song he recorded with Jason Aldean, totally inspired an impressive sing-a-long with the crowd. Before he sang his final song "All Outta Beer," he told us it was his first official cut as a songwriter. Let me just say I'm intrigued to hear Jason Aldean's version of "All Outta Beer" and more from Rager the songwriter. Because I loved the song.
The ever energetic Illinois native Drew Baldridge played "Train" for his first song. I'll attach the just released official video below. I waited till Baldridge wasn't singing to take his photo. Because when he is performing he is up and always moving. To love what you do and always put a 100% forward is never a bad thing though. Blurry concert photos are a sure sign you had a great time. Everyone else was definitely up and dancing themselves when Baldridge played his first single "Dance With Ya." His final song was the title track of his debut album (out 6\10) "Dirt On Us." Given the caliber of the track, this is one album I am extremely excited for.
After singing Happy Birthday to one very happy 8 year old in the front row, Janson ended the evening in an impressive and out right hilarious ad-libbed montage of Oklahoma songs ranging from Merle Haggard's "Okie From Muskogee" to Garth Brooks' "Friends In Low Places." I say ad-libbed because Janson had actually started making up his own lyrics for the songs. Everyone helped finish it out with Hank Williams, Jr.'s "Family Tradition." Then with an 'I'm going to sign autographs' declaration these stunningly talented artists shocked, surprised, and simply delighted the crowd when every one of them came to the floor to sign autographs and take photos with fans. I actually heard Jordan Rager say to the crowd "Please don't push, I'm staying right here til I get to meet every single one of you."
The KVOO crew was right when they said these were the best kinds of concerts because you get "up close and personal" with the artists. I walked away not only loving each of them artistically, but also feeling like I knew them. It will definitely be interesting to see if next years 5 Man Jam can touch the success of this years.
