Faux-Chella: My Perfect Country Music Festival

April 15, 2016April 21, 2016 countryheartbeat Uncategorized Brett Eldredge, Chase Rice, Coachella, Cole Swindell, Country Music, Dierks Bentley, Faux-Chella, Festival Season, Florida Georgia Line, Frankie Ballard, Jake Owen, Kelsea Ballerini, Kip Moore, Luke Bryan, Old Dominion, Sam Hunt, Thomas Rhett

Country Heartbeat Day1 Fixed

With Coachella just around the corner, TickPick and I have teamed up to present with Country Heartbeat readers my ideal country music festival! I have so many favorites that they had to divide the festival between two days! If you’ve been following this blog for a while now, it’s pretty obvious who my favorite country artists are. Whenever someone asks who my favorite artist is, I ask them if I can give them a top-5 or top-10 list instead, because it’s entirely way too hard to narrow down. I then proceed to list the above 10 artists, and a few others… depending on whose show I may have seen recently and re-fell in love with.

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For All Those Underappreciated Supporting Musicians Out There!

February 16, 2016February 16, 2016 countryheartbeat Open Letters Black Mike, Chase Rice, Cole Swindell, Florida Georgia Line, Frankie Ballard, Kent Slucher, Kip Moore, Luke Bryan, Manny Medina, Michael Carter, Sam Hunt, Tom Beaupre, Tyler Chiarelli

I’ve always felt that the band members never get as much credit as the artists themselves. They can go out in public without being recognized (for the most part), and they rarely get to attend awards shows or join the main singers on stage when they win. Half of the time, they don’t even get to record their instruments on the record (there are of course exceptions to this rule!). After following certain bands for several years, I’ve noticed a lot of changes. It seems like just after I’ve finally located all of the band members on twitter and/or instagram, next show I go to, they’ve already been replaced! I guess the supporting musicians aren’t as set in stone as the singers, but I still feel like they play a very important role. I highly respect artists like Kip Moore who make it a point to include his band members in all that he does, and publicly recognizes “The Slow Hearts” as part of his success. We need more artists like him that truly believe in their band, and who know that it’s the support of the guys behind them on stage that make the live shows an amazing experience.

TO ALL OF THE BAND MEMBERS: Thanks for all that you do! Your efforts and kick ass performances do not go unnoticed by the true fans!

I think I will start with Kip Moore & The Slow Hearts, because I have so much friggin’ respect for those guys! Besides, who else’s band has their own name? With the exception of a change in drummer, Kip has stuck with his original crew that he started off with.

IMG_9021a — Manny Medina, my favorite Scorpio & Kip’s amazing bass player!

Adam and the Kip Chicks — Adam Browder and some loyal #kipchicks!

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Young and Crazy with Frankie Ballard

May 5, 2015 Cassi Jane Concert Reviews, Contributors concert, Country Music, Frankie Ballard, Helluva Life, St. Anslem College, Sunshine & Whiskey, Young and Crazy

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.

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Anything Goes On A Monday Night

March 15, 2015March 30, 2015 Cassi Jane Concert Reviews, Contributors Anything Goes Tour, FGL, Florida Georgia Line, Frankie Ballard, Manchester, Thomas Rhett, Verizon Wireless

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.

TR 3/23/15 — Thomas Rhett has some killer dance moves!

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A Little Country Rock and Roll With Frankie Ballard

November 18, 2014November 18, 2014 Cassi Jane Concert Reviews, Contributors, Country Chatter David Nail, Eddie Robinson, Frankie Ballard, Helluva Life, Native Run, Sunshine & Whiskey, VIP, VIP Experience, Young and Crazy

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.