Guest posts from blog contributors
Well sorry it’s been a while, I’ve been out gathering information and going to events trying to figure out which way this post should go. I can attend events and brief y’all on what happened or I can give you a heads up about what’s about to happen in Nashville. Let me know what you’d like to see in the comment section below!
Hello Country Heartbeat readers! This week has been packed with events from the NHL® All-Star weekend where Dierks Bentley, Eli Young Band and Kelsea Ballerini preformed on a packed street in front of the Country Music Hall of Fame on Sunday. The Sunday show was the last of the daily concerts that were being preformed in downtown Nashville starting on Thursday. Other great musicians such as Big and Rich, Lo Cash, Lee Brice, Chris Young, Clare Bowen, Charles Esten and Russell Dickerson were part of the IntelliCentrics Honda NHL® All-Star Festivities Outdoor Concert Series presented by Bridgestone.
Unfortunately I was not able to attend these shows because I was up in Cincinnati, Ohio at the Kip Moore Wild Ones Tour concert at Bogarts. Kip Moore and The Slow Hearts put on a great show as always, full of energy playing some classic Kip songs and new songs off the long awaited Wild Ones Album.
To end the weekend, on Tuesday I attended a benefit for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation at the High Watt on Cannery Row, hosted by Chris Cavanaugh and sponsored by Galena Garlic Company. Chris has been throwing this benefit for the past three years. Though Chris was the main performer, there were guest/friends who also performed. Chris invited some fellow songwriters who have written hits for many artists. Matt Rogers (“We Went” for Randy Houser), Jody Stevens ( “Lemme See Ya Girl” for Cole Swindell and “Home Alone Tonight” for Luke Bryan), Doug Johnson (“Love Like Crazy” for Lee Brice and “3 Wooden Crosses” for Randy Travis), and Scott Stepakoff (“Looking At Stars” and “Underage” on the new Kelsea Ballerini album) also came out to help raise money. Chris Cavanaugh is a touring Nashville based musician from Missouri; he just released his new EP Footprints on My Windshield, which is available now on iTunes, Google Play, Amazon MP3 and Spotify. The benefit ended up raising over $3,000 for the CCFA even with the horrible weather and tornado warnings. Congrats to Chris for a successful night!
I’ll be posting in the next day events going on in Nashville for the week that people might want to attend…
~CK
I would like to start by introducing myself, I am a female living in Nashville enjoying the city and engulfing myself within the music industry that this city has to offer. I have lived in Nashville for almost 3 years now. I go to live shows, writers rounds and other fun events that go on here. I also attend other shows and events that are destination venues from Nashville based company’s.
A little about what I’ve been doing… I have been working with artists of all genres for about 6 years. I use to work in the North East booking, and promoting small bands that people never heard of, trying to get their name out. I have had a passion for music since I was a kid, but since I am no good at playing and I can’t sing for crap, I go by the rule if you can’t do it, promote and manage it. 🙂
So what I am going to be doing on here? Well I’m going to be showing, giving, introducing the Nashville life to the readers of Country Heartbeat, I’m going to get interviews with artists, let you know what’s happening in this amazing city and let you know what artists you might want to start checking out and events that have happened and are going to happen.
Well that’s a little about me. If y’all have any questions or want me to look into something or if you have any requests please comment and I will do my best to get you answers.
~CK
It’s no secret that I have some serious love for Frankie Ballard and all that he does. I mean I even went back to college (at least for one night) just for him. He knows how to tear it up on stage no matter what type of venue it is.
My most recent Frankie adventure brought me to Saint Anselm College in Manchester, NH. There were two opening acts; Ryan Sandford, a current student of Saint Anselm, and Alec MacGillivray, both of which were amazing. You could tell they both had a solid fan base at the show.
The last time I saw Frankie he was still recovering from a shoulder injury but since then he’s been able to pick up his guitar and resume his “face melting” skills on stage. This is what I was most excited for.
He started the night off with I Came to Git Down and rattled all these new comers with his guitar moves. I think the majority of the students knew him by Sunshine and Whiskey, Helluva Life and from his recent single Young and Crazy, so when he started to sing those songs, things got a little crazy. Witnessing the smile on his face when people are singing his songs back to him is just an unbelievable moment.
A Dan and Shay concert = insane energy. These boys rocked the rock out of the Paradise Rock Club Sunday night and when you add Canaan Smith into the mix, you’re in for the ride of your life.
I’m sure most of you have heard “Love You Like That” on the radio, well that’s Canaan Smith. He recently released his new EP and is winning the hearts of many girls while opening for Dan and Shay. He won my heart over when he opened for Sam Hunt in September 2014 at the Hard Rock Café.
After doing some songs from his EP, he covered Nick Jonas, Jealous and this got the crowd going. There’s no going back after you ask Bostonians if they’re Boston Strong, because it’s going to get rowdy. The passion that just pours out of Canaan is incredible. If you need someone to get the crowd going, it would be Canaan.
He is currently working on his first studio album that will be named “Bronco” in dedication to his late brother who owned a Ford Bronco.
After a short intermission Dan and Shay were ready to take the stage. They played song after song, barely stopping to take a breather. You could tell they really loved what they did and performing on stage is where they had to be. From all the jumping and dancing you would like think these boys would be worn out, but nothing stopped them.
Every song they sang from Parking Break to their current single; Nothing Like You, every single person sang along. When they covered songs like Ed Sheeran, Thinking Out Loud and Def Leppard, Pour Some Sugar On Me, it got even louder. I mean I saw a security guard in front of the stage singing and dancing along, that’s how contagious they were. At one point of the night they stripped it down and did an acoustic version of Can’t Say No, which sent chills down everyone’s spine. We even got a hear a new song, Partner In Crime and it definitely did not disappoint!
These boys fed off the energy from the crowd and the crowd was definitely fueling the fire. They had some serious love for Boston and well; Boston felt the same way. I wish I had more than two thumbs because this concert deserves a hundred thumbs up!
Until next time boys.
The Where It All Began Tour is Dan and Shay’s first headlining tour. Visit www.danandshay.com to see if they will be performing at a venue near you!
P.S. If you’re one of the first 60 give or take (and ultimately depending on the venue) people to purchase either a shirt or CD from the merchandise table, you will receive a wristband for a post show meet and greet! 🙂
Florida Georgia Line is starting to become one of country music’s most popular duos, so when the Anything Goes tour with Frankie Ballard and Thomas Rhett was announced, people got really excited to say the least.
I’ve seen FGL once before, during the taping of Good Morning America and that was a totally different atmosphere. I figured this concert was going to just be one giant party and it most certainly was!
Frankie started the night off and unfortunately due to a stage mishap a few weeks prior; his shoulder was out of commission, so there was no guitar playing for him. But that didn’t stop him from getting the crowd warmed up. Some fans may not have known Drinky Drink, but when Sunshine and Whiskey came on; everyone was up dancing and singing along. He then paid tribute to a fellow “Michigander” and did a cover of Bob Seger’s Old Time Rock and Roll and if you weren’t already up and dancing, you most definitely were now. So after doing 4 songs, it was time for Thomas Rhett to take the stage. He was working the crowd, jumping around all over the place, taking phones to take pictures and going into the crowd. His energy just kept escalating as the night went on. I’m pretty sure he won some hearts over when he sang Uptown Funk. The crowd was getting rowdy.
Not sure how many of you have seen Frankie Ballard live but if you haven’t, you need to do so now! When I found out Frankie was scheduled to perform with Native Run and David Nail on 11/8/14 at the House of Blues in Boston and I knew I could not miss the opportunity to see this guy again!
I had purchased the VIP experience for Frankie and for anyone who loves Frankie, this is a must. After a little bit of waiting and being ushered into the lobby, Frankie and Eddie (his lead guitarist) entered the room, guitars in hand and smiles on faces. To break the ice Frankie asked if we all felt important since this was a VIP experience, and with everyone in laughter Frankie started the night off with a little acoustic rendition of his latest single and current #1 hit, Sunshine and Whiskey. As he was working his way to the chorus people started joining in and before you knew it the whole room was singing along with him. Judging by the smile on his face, you could tell he was never going to get tired of that.
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