"You like the way that sounds?"

I'm finally getting around to writing my review for the Jason Aldean/Eric Church concert in Columbus, OH, on February 26th! Better late than never, I suppose. 

This was my 50th Jason show (yes, it's unhealthy how much I like him and his music...), and I was so excited that I got to spend it in Columbus. It's a city full of memories for me! It's where I met Jason for the first time back in 2007, where I first met Rascal Flatts, where I met Keith Urban, where I got a stage picture with Jason in 2009, and now, where I got to talk in Jason's microphone!

This show was extra special because there were Aldean Army members from all over coming to see the show, and we got to spend some time together before the doors opened. There were girls from Canada, Indiana, West Virginia, Virginia, Michigan, North Carolina, Kentucky, New Mexico, and of course Ohio. It was great to catch up with people I hadn't met before and people I hadn't seen in a while. Christine from New Mexico ended up surprising me with a hand-made shirt for my 50th show! I had no idea that she was going to do that! You could tell that she worked really hard on it and it was so sweet of her to do that for me. Little did I know, Christine also made a sign for me that said, "Holly's 50th show". She went all out for me! :)

 Annie, Christine, Me

Once again, the show was nothing short of spectacular. This was my third show of the My Kinda Party tour, and I swear it just gets more and more incredible every time that I see it. 

I have mentioned previously that I wasn't crazy about the JaneDear Girls, but their live show is growing on me. The more that I see their show, the more that I like their music. They are good performers and I can see them improving from the very first time that I saw them in concert. Their backing band is incredibly talented as well. It's always fun to watch them just to see what they're going to do next!

 Eric Church rocked the place, as usual! He had all 16,000+ people in the venue on their feet with his rockin' set! He is definitely one of the most enthusiastic and passionate live performers that I have ever seen. His shows are so much fun to watch and they leave you wanting more. This show was also great because it was the first time that I got to hear Eric sing his newest single, "Homeboy", live. I think this song sounds nothing like anything that he has ever done before, but it's an amazing song and they did a great job with the live arrangement. This song has a wonderful message behind it and it's cool to hear Eric sing about something so different. If you haven't been able to catch a live Eric Church show yet, I strongly encourage you to find one ASAP! It's a show like nothing you have ever seen before!

 It was finally time for Jason! It's still crazy to me seeing him play to sold-out crowds of more than 16,000 people! I've seen Jason play in bars/clubs that held less than 1,000 people, so it's definitely cool to see how far he has come over the years! He is so deserving of all of his success! Jason took the time almost immediately after hitting the stage to thank the audience for coming out to the show.

I've wrote reviews for Jason shows before, and I'm pretty sure it's obvious how I feel about him, so I won't go into too much detail about the show. Point blank, he brought the house down! His energy level was off of the charts and his voice was on point in every way possible. The crowd was loving him and he was really feeding off of their energy. It was the third show in a row for Jason and his band, but you never would have been able to tell. His performance was top notch. 

What made the night even more special for me was that Jason stopped his show to acknowledge me for coming to 50 of his shows. It was something that I never would have expected, nor would it have ever happened if Christine wouldn't have taken the time to surprise me with a shirt and a sign! Jason basically thanked me for supporting him since 2005 and coming out to so many shows, saying "Now THAT'S a fan!" He also threw in that I have a thing for bald guys. HAHA! I was in love with Mike, Jason's old guitar player and, you guessed it, a bald guy, and Jason hasn't been able to let me live it down yet! It was hilarious though! My evening was topped off by him letting me say, "You like the way that sounds?" in his microphone in front of the 16,000+ crowd! I sounded incredibly stupid, but it's a moment that I will never forget as long as I live! Jason didn't have to take the time to acknowledge me, but it means the world to me that he did! Jason is such a fan-oriented artist, always putting his fans and their wishes at the top of his list, and I think that's the greatest thing in the world! He may be one of the most talented people EVER, but his kind heart and sense of humor are what make him my favorite singer.

Once again, another great memory is made in the beautiful town of Columbus, OH!

New Artist Alert/Concert Review: Kip Moore

If you watch a lot of television, you may have stumbled across a recent commercial on GAC introducing you to a fresh face in country music by the name of Kip Moore. That's how I was introduced to this talented rising star! About four months ago, while watching GAC, I saw the commercial and immediately went on the internet to find out more about him. I must admit, what first caught my attention about Kip is that he is extremely good looking (and trust me, I do mean EXTREMELY good looking), but I fell head over heels in love with his voice and his songwriting as well.

Being the big Jason Aldean fan that I am, I couldn't help but notice that Kip also has a connection to the man himself. Well, kinda. Kip has a publishing deal with Stage 3 Publishing and Brett James Corman Music. Brett James is a talented songwriter himself, co-writing Aldean's four week number one song "The Truth". I got really excited when I found out that Kip and Brett worked together, because Brett is probably one of my favorite songwriters. I knew that Kip was going to be an incredible artist that I was going to fall in love with.

And that's exactly what happened! I listened to pretty much nothing but Kip's music on my computer for about a week straight, getting a feel for his style and his songs. I fell in love with his song, "Faith When I Fall". It's probably one of my top five favorite songs at the moment. His voice sounds so pure on the song, and I think it's flawlessly written. After listening to Kip's music and getting to know more about him, I realized just why it is that I like him so much.

He's different.

I probably say that a lot about artists, but I REALLY mean that about Kip. His voice sounds nothing like any other male country singer currently out at radio. It's not a traditional country sounding voice, but it has an almost raspy feel to it. It makes you want to stop and listen, and it literally brings you to your knees. There's a sincere honesty in his voice, which helps tremendously when it comes to his songwriting, because it makes listeners believe every word that he is singing. His voice is so good that I just never want to stop listening to him. In fact, I'm listening to him as I type this blog.

If you've read my blog posts before, you probably know how much I love a good songwriter. Kip is just that! As great as his voice is, songwriting is where he shines. He writes all of his songs, and he writes about topics that you don't hear a lot about in country songs. Sure, he has your love songs and your breakup songs, but he also has a song about going for a ride on his motorcycle, and one about staying true to his roots and not changing who he is to please those around him. Kip's first single, which hits radio this month, is an adorable song by the name of "Mary was the Marrying Kind". It's a song about all of the girls that he has known in his lifetime and how each one impacted him in some way, but Mary was the girl he wanted to spend the rest of his life was. According to Kip, it's a song he wrote after coming back into contact with a girl he knew in high school who wasn't the prettiest girl in the world, causing him to overlook her. When they meet again, she has grown up and is beautiful, smart and, you guessed it, the marrying kind. He kicks himself for ever ignoring her in the first place. It's a great song with a lot of honesty behind it, just like the rest of his songs.

I got the opportunity to see Kip in concert about a week ago when my local radio station, WQMX, had him out for a Rising Star Showcase. He sounded just as great live as he does on his recorded songs, and he is such a down-to-earth guy. He has a heart of gold and was so nice to all of his fans, really taking the time to get to know everybody in the room. 

I expect that we'll be hearing a lot more from Kip this year. He'll be going into the studio to finish up his album this month, and the album should be out late this year. Be sure to call your local radio stations and request "Mary was the Marrying Kind".

www.myspace.com/kipmooremusic