There's nothing I love more than stumbling upon a new artist that I absolutely love. I LIVE for new music. I spend hours every week just researching new artists, studying their music, etc. That probably makes it sound like I have no life, but I seriously LOVE doing it.
One artist that I have been listening to quite frequently in the past couple of weeks is a band by the name of Adam Craig Band. You may be familiar with them. They used to go by the name of TelluRide, until a lawsuit arose regarding their name. They then changed their name to the Adam Craig Band (Adam is the lead singer). You may also know Adam, as he co-wrote the third track on Jason Aldean's latest CD, "Church Pew or Bar Stool". It just so happens to be my favorite song on Jason's new album.
I guess that's kinda how I discovered these guys. I'm obsessed with songwriters (not in a creepy way, but I mean that I absolutely love and respect them, because I have no idea how they do it). Whenever I buy a CD, the first thing I do is open the CD pamphlet and see who wrote each song. Songwriters don't get much credit these days, and I think that's sad. They're what keeps music alive, I think.
Anyways, when I saw who wrote "Church Pew or Bar Stool", I immediately went and looked up the songwriters on the internet (of course I already knew who Josh Thompson was... he's one of my favorite new artists on the rise!). At first listen of the Adam Craig Band's music, I was hooked. Their music is filled with great songwriting (there's that s word again), catchy beats, and Adam has an absolutely beautiful voice. Mix their out-of-this-world harmonies into the mix, and WOO WEEE! We've got a talented group of guys on our hands here!
They are currently working on their new album (You can buy their album Four Square Miles, which is under the name TelluRide, on iTunes!). Their new single, "Nothing Wrong", is out at radio now! Make sure you go take a listen to these talented guys. I have a feeling they are going to be a major force in the music industry sooner rather than later. You can find them at www.adamcraigband.com
You can also follow them on twitter at @adamcraigband
If you decide to check these guys out (and you should!) be sure to check out their songs "I Fell for Memphis" and "Waitin' on Me." They're two of my favorites!
I'm hoping to catch Adam Craig Band live at show soon! If you get to see them live, please let me know what you think!
Enjoy the new, rockin' music!!
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Columbus, Birmingham, Duluth... OH MY!
Just last weekend, my Canadian buddy, Dayna, and I headed to Alabama and Georgia for the final 3 shows on Jason Aldean's Wide Open Tour. I was the official blogger for the Gwinnett Center in Duluth, GA, where Jason's final show of the year was held. Here's my blog from that:
Crazy. Insane. Dedicated.
Those are some of the words that were being thrown out at me and my partner in crime, Dayna, for driving all the way from Canada and Ohio for her 30th and my 47th Jason Aldean show. We may be all of those things, but one thing is for certain: Aldean’s show keeps getting better and better each and every time I see him, and he’s the ONLY artist I would travel that far for.
We started our day by heading over to the venue, the lovely Gwinnett Center, at around 12 in the afternoon, where the waiting began. We had pit seats, which was completely general admission, so we wanted to make sure that we got a good spot. During our 6 ½ hour wait in line, we met some new friends and met up with a few awesome girls we have already had the pleasure of meeting at previous shows. Including Dayna and myself, there were girls from Canada, Ohio, Virginia, Florida, North Carolina, Kentucky and New Mexico all there to see Jason! Oddly enough, we didn’t meet anybody from Georgia! Ha!
The Gwinnett Center staff was extremely helpful the entire night by telling us where to go to stand in line, how to get to the pit, and how the paperless ticketing worked. I have been to many venues to see Jason, and this was one of the most helpful staff I have ever encountered!
Once inside, the final show of Jason’s “Wide Open Tour” began! Thompson Square kicked things off with a five-song set, including their current top-40 single, “Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not?” I felt as though they did an excellent job getting the crowd ready for Luke and Jason, even throwing in the name of one of Jason’s songs into their song, “One of Those Days.”
Next up was Luke Bryan! He is quite the performer! Not only does he have an amazing voice and great songs, but he keeps the audience entertained throughout his entire set. He loves to crack jokes, and his booty shaking keeps the ladies’ attention easily. On this particular night, Luke even threw in a brand new song that will be on his new album, out in a couple of months. It was a song by the name of “You Don’t Know Jack” and it brought the audience to tears. The acoustic element of it really added some additional emphasis as well. He ended his set with his first single, “All My Friends Say,” which had a little bit of Metallica thrown in there as well. The whole audience was head banging and really enjoying themselves.
Finally, it was time for the main act! Jason entered the stage behind a white curtain, which showed only his shadow when the lights hit it. The crowd immediately erupted into screams when the curtain dropped and his Top 5 single, “Crazy Town” began rocking the entire venue. From there on out, it was non-stop energy and excitement. Jason played a 17-song set, including hits such as “Amarillo Sky,” “Hicktown,” and a crowd favorite, “She’s Country.” Luke even joined Jason on stage to sing Jason’s current single, “My Kinda Party,” and Jason’s favorite Luke song, “We Rode in Trucks.” Also in the setlist were two songs off the new album called “Tattoos on This Town” and “Dirt Road Anthem.” The crowd responded incredibly well to the both of them.
As I have said earlier, I have seen Jason numerous times and his energy level at this particular show was off of the radar! He gave the crowd their money’s worth and then some. I think this show just proved what an excellent entertainer Jason is.
I am so sad to see the Wide Open tour come to an end, but there was no place I would have rather seen it wrap up than in Jason’s home state of Georgia! I can’t wait to see what he has in store for us fans on his 2011 “My Kinda Party Tour!”
Saturday, November 27, 2010
2010 CMA Awards
Ok, I'll start with my first concert review... though this wasn't really a concert, per say. But it was definitely one of the coolest things I have ever done!
Back in August, my best friend, Annie, won two tickets to the CMA Awards from the CMA, and she asked me if I wanted to come. Um... duh! Do I even need to THINK about an answer to that question?! I've always wanted to attend an awards show but I've never been able to, mainly because they are always on weekdays AND the tickets are so expensive. However, I got the time off of work and my ticket was FREE, so nothing was keeping me behind this time around.
Our plane left bright and early on Tuesday morning, November 9th. It was my first time flying, and though it wasn't nearly as scary as I thought it was going to be, I found it to be quite the pain in the ass. With my complaining aside, we landed in Nashville safely around 11:00, where we were greeted by a woman holding a sign saying, "CMA Awards Winners"...just like you see on TV! We were kinda a big deal... ;)
We were taken by bus to our hotel, the Courtyard Vanderbilt. Beautiful hotel and awesome neighborhood! Plus there was a Wendy's right across the street (that may not seem like anything exciting to most, but Wendy's is our best friend)! After checking in real quick, we headed downtown.
Downtown Nashville is one of my absolute favorite places to be. Ever. I just love everything about it, and today was even greater because there were tons of stars downtown doing radio interviews, rehearsals for the awards, etc. We got to see/meet many of our favorite stars, including the boys of Love and Theft, and Jason Aldean! It was a fun day, but a tiring one, so we ended up heading back to the hotel early and crashing... but not before we took a ride with one of the craziest taxi drivers I have ever met (Oh, and by the way, I flagged down my first ever taxi! I'm cool like that...).
Ok, let's skip to the good stuff... the AWARDS! Annie and I thought our seats were going to suck, but they were freaking INCREDIBLE! When we walked inside the beautiful Bridgestone Arena in downtown Nashville and saw where we would be sitting, we were all smiles! Lower level, in the section right by the stage. We could see everything great, and we even got a kick out of watching the prompter! It's the stuff you never get to see on TV, so we were excited. We were like two kids in a candy store... and I LOVE candy.
Mmm... skittles.
Wait. What was I saying? Oh yeah... the awards. I'm sure you know what happened by now, as the awards were almost a month ago, but I'll do a recap of my favorite things. I thought Rascal Flatts did a wonderful job. I heard that some people thought they sounded pitchy, but from where we were sitting, they rocked the house! Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson's duet was absolutely beautiful. It's one of the best songs on the album (and that's saying a lot, since that whole album is the SHIZZ!!), and they performed it beautifully. Lady Antebellum did a wonderful job as well. I think that they sound kinda pitchy at most award shows, but they really did well, and "Hello World" is one of my favorite songs out on country radio right now. It's such a well-written song that speaks to me.
Seeing the CMA Awards in person was definitely one of the highlights of my whole year. Getting to see how everything works (the stuff they don't show on TV) was fascinating! I hope I get to go to another award show someday, but if I never do, I'll have some amazing memories from this one that will last me a lifetime.
I'm baaaack!
I've always loved blogging, and I'm not quite sure why I ever stopped; however, I'm back and better than ever! Hope you didn't miss me too much. I like to blog more for myself, but if other people can relate to what I'm saying and enjoy reading it, then I think that's great, too! This blog will be focused on music and nothing but music (ok, well, maybe I'll throw in a little something, something every now and then). I'll post reviews from concerts I go to, new artists I think you should check out, my favorite songs at the moment, album reviews, etc. Hopefully you'll like what you read, and if you ever have any suggestions for me on what you'd like to hear more about, let me know!
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