Category Archives: Show Review

Doug Stone At The Grape Festival

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Doug Stone Headlines Thursday Night at the Tontitown Grape Festival. This year marked the 113th annual Tontitown Grape Festival in Tontitown, AR. The festival was 5 days long, Tuesday August 9 – Saturday August 13th, with free entertainment each day. The headliners were: Tuesday Jamie O’neal, Wednesday Chuck Wicks, Thursday Doug Stone, Friday Studio B featuring Patrick Hall, and Saturday Andy Griggs. Thursday I decided to partake in the small town’s festivities, convincing myself I couldn’t miss the legendary Doug Stone. The weather couldn’t have been better, a breezy 75 degrees with the smell of carefully prepared food filling the air! I sampled some grapes, a cup of local wine, and purchased my grandpa a leather keychain with “Thomas” imprinted on it! Focusing on what I came for, I strategically placed my lawn chair at the perfect position among the crowd gathered on the asphalt, not too close, yet not too far. Not in the middle, but not too much on the side where all I got was a view of the sound system. When I was comfy, I sat and watched the artists do their thing. Western Justice, a close to the area Oklahoma band, was first up. Even with one band member down, the guys had a great show! They never once dropped their momentum. Sammy Sadler was next to take the “Gold Medal” stage. Known by many for an awful tragedy that occurred when he was a young man in 1989, “Murder On Music Row” has only made Sadler the strong, capable, and talented artist he is today. His album, Heart Shaped Like Texas, is available now and includes “I Wanna Be Loved By You“, “I’ll Always Have Denver“, “Thank God“, “If This Ain’t Heaven“, the title track “Heart Shaped Like Texas“, plus 6 others. Sadler sang his heart out and impressed a slew of people! Unfortunately when Stone took the stage, I almost regretted my decision of coming. I had such high hopes for the man who gave us numerous top ten hits including “In A Different Light“, “Why Didn’t I Think Of That“, “I’d Be Better Off (In A Pinebox)”, “Jukebox With A Country Song“, “Fourteen Minutes Old“, and “Made For Lovin’ You“. The crowd really seemed to enjoy his performance and easy-going attitude, but I knew he could have done so much better. It was a very “comical” show, full of jokes and laughter. The members of the band were very talented and did their best to keep their front man on his toes. Stone seemed to be having a great time, so much that he forgot his own lyrics on several occasions. I believe his favorite part of the evening was pointing out random fans who decided to leave early and talking to them (once during a song). Sticking it out until he was done performing proved to be my biggest task this week (possibly this month). Tonight is the last night the festival will take place, so don’t miss your chance to Continue reading Doug Stone At The Grape Festival→

Tim McGraw Emotional Traffic In OKC

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Tim McGraw, Luke Bryan, And Edens Edge At The Zoo Amphitheater In OKC. This Tuesday (August 2) I took on the extreme heat to watch some of country music’s finest in Oklahoma City. Tim McGraw’s Emotional Traffic Tour included a couple Amen’s, some well executed dance moves, and a broken foot…it was awesome! Edens Edge were the first to take the stage at the Zoo Amphitheater and did a great job of getting the crowd pumped up. They sang their latest single “Amen” and also a mixture of all their favorite summer songs including Miley Cyrus’ “Party In The USA“. Once they were finished there was about a 45 minute wait for the next artist. Luke Bryan took the stage and the fans took notice! He had an excellent show with an abundance of energy that was very nicely exuded to the crowd. Noting that it was a Tuesday night and that the majority of the audience had to work the next morning, Bryan gave everyone some sound advice. “You need to take four Advil, not two, you’re gonna need four, a bunch of water, and eat two pieces of white bread.” With this mental note stored away for safe keeping, the partying fans tried their best to keep up with the country boy from Georgia, as he shook “it” up and down the stage. He sang “Country Man“, “Someone Else Calling You Baby“, “Drinkin’ Beer And Wastin’ Bullets“, “If You Ain’t Here To Party“, “Drunk On You“, “We Rode In Trucks“, “Do I“, “Rain Is A Good Thing”, “Country Girl (Shake It For Me)“, and “All My Friends Say”. He thanked everyone again for braving the heat, then sadly disappeared back stage. Tim McGraw was the main event of the night and let me tell you, he was well worth the wait! Even with a broken foot, this veteran of the industry did his thing and proved he was the real deal! With each song he sang, I realized how much I’ve truly grown up on his music. McGraw took me down memory lane with “Something Like That“, “Where The Green Grass Grows“, “Down On The Farm“, “Last Dollar (Fly Away)“, “Just To See You Smile“, “Please Remember Me“, “For A Little While“, “Red Ragtop“, “Unbroken“, “Do You Want Fries With That“, “Back When” (where Luke Bryan joined him and added a special surprise to a few lyrics), “Better Than I Use To Be” (a new song), “The Cowboy In Me“, “Southern Voice“, “Felt Good On My Lips“, “Real Good Man“, “Live Like You Were Dying“, “Indian Outlaw“, and “I Like It, I Love It“. Like I said, the temperature was very high, but with a couple of (over-priced) drinks and two of country music’s best looking men on the stage in front of me, it ended up being one of the best nights of the summer! I’m putting it out there, find a show near you and get tickets, even if you have to eat Ramen for two Continue reading Tim McGraw Emotional Traffic In OKC→

Kenny Chesney Goin’ Coastal 2011

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Goin’ Coastal 2011 Tour Featuring Uncle Kracker, Billy Currington, Zac Brown Band, and Kenny Chesney! I was very fortunate to be in the audience during the Goin’ Coastal 2011 Tour this past Saturday in Kansas City, Mo at the Arrowhead Stadium. My main reason for my 5 1/2 hour drive was to review Billy Currington’s show, but due to a miscommunication with a publicist I was unable catch his performance (along with the other artists excluding Chesney). After a short melt-down and pouting session, I decided to make the best of it and enjoy what was left of the show. I have always liked Kenny Chesney’s songs, but never thought of myself as a diehard fan. I have to say after walking out of that stadium that night I was a Chesney fan. He had non-stop energy, sang his heart out, and had a huge smile on his face the entire time. There was great interaction between the artist and his loyal fans. What impressed me the most, and has impressed me by all artists I have seen this summer, is their commitment through the scorching heat! During his sweaty performance he sang “Summertime“, “When The Sun Goes Down“, “I Go Back“, “Big Star“, “Don’t Happen Twice“, “There Goes My Life“, “Somewhere With You“, “No Shoes No Shirt No Problems“, “Boys Of Fall“, “Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven“, “We Went Out Last Night“, “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy“, his latest single “You And Tequila“, plus many, many more! That night happened to be Zac Brown’s birthday and turned out to be a special treat for us. Just when the crowd thought Kenny was done for the night, he came back out and not alone. He presented Zac with a proper sized birthday drink and led the thousands of fans in a Happy Birthday tune. The two, along with both their bands proceeded to entertain us for another thirty minutes. They sang a couple Alabama songs which included an out of this world performance by the two fiddle players (obviously my favorite part of the entire evening), “Knee Deep“, and “The Joker” by the Steve Miller Band. It was a fantastic show that I only wish I could have seen more of. Billy Currington was truly missed by me and more of Zac Brown Band would have been a cherry on top of the phenomenal show! The tour still has plenty of stops to go, so get your tickets now!

No Justice At The Rib Room

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No Justice Rocks The Rib Room On Garrison Avenue! I had the great opportunity to have a sit down with the talented and humble band from Oklahoma, No Justice. Last Wednesday Steve Rice, lead vocals and guitar, Jerry Payne, electric guitar, Cody Patton, lead guitar and vocals, Joey Trevino, bass and vocals, and Armando Lopez, drums and myself all sat down for some good eatin’ at Neumeiers’ Rib Room in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Ribs, pulled pork, beans, slaw, and potatoes filled the table as we discussed music. They shared with me some of their favorite bands including Led Zeppelin; each member admitted they had some very eclectic and interesting playlists on their iPods. They told me quite a few stories from the road, all hilarious! One in particular included Lopez chasing a tire from their tour bus, something I would probably pay to see. The group of guys were all very easy going and made me feel right at home, which made the interview go very smoothly. Later that night, the show was kicked off with opener Willie Stradlin. When No Justice took the stage, fans ignored the heat and let loose! Everyone had an amazing time, singing and dancing along nonstop! Songs from their latest album, 2nd Avenue, were the focus of their show. “5 More Minutes“, “Going Nowhere“, “Just Get Goin“, “2nd Avenue“, and “Gone Ain’t Far Enough” were a few, but the best song of the night was the last one performed, “The Toast“. The song may not be new, but was shouted out many times by fans, leaving me to believe it is their most popular to date. Prior to the show and interview at the venue, I spoke with Rice over the phone. During this time he told me of an event that they were very passionate about, The Dwight Boeckman Music Festival. The 12th annual event will feature No Justice, along with Jason Boland and The Stragglers, Johnny Cooper, Red Dirt Rangers, Chad Sullins and The Last Call Coalition and the Jake Moffat Band with other acoustic performances as well. The festival will take place in Okeene, Ok on Saturday August, 8 at 3pm. Payne, who was a longtime friend to Boeckman, successfully organizes the festival every year. If you don’t already have it, pick up 2nd Avenue the next chance you get. Also be looking for some new music at the beginning of the year! The band is off this week, but will be hitting Texas strong starting July 20! Get out and watch one of their shows, you won’t be sorry!

Eli Young Band At The Rib Room

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Eli Young Band At Neumeier’s Rib Room in Fort Smith, AR! This past Thursday (June 9) the Eli Young Band headlined a sold out show at Neumeier’s Rib Room in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Downtown Garrison Avenue was a non-stop party with doors opening at 6:00pm. Guests had a few drinks and ate a few ribs while waiting for the show to begin at 8:00 pm. 2 Steps Back were the openers and did a spectacular job of warming up the crowd. I’m almost sure the beer garden shook with excitement as EYB took the stage. The first song they played was their hit “When It Rains” and the last song they played was another enormously local hit “Oklahoma Girl“. In between was “Jet Black & Jealous“, “Radio Waves“, “So Close Now“, “Enough Is Enough“, “Always The Love Songs“, “Crazy Girl“, “Highways And Broken Hearts“, “Small Town Kid“, Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Gimme Three Steps“, Tom Petty’s “American Girl“, along with others. I have seen these boys numerous times at numerous venues, as the opener or headline act, let me tell you I have not been disappointed once! They interact with the crowd and enjoy their time on the stage. They are currently on a jam-packed touring schedule, tonight and tomorrow playing in Texas and Sunday in Nashville at the CMA Music Fest. Their songs are very relatable, in fact I dare you to not relate to one in some way, I promise it’s impossible. If you are into the “red dirt” type music they play then I strongly advise you to take a look at their schedule to find a show near you!