Micky & The Motorcars @ Joe's

After seeing Micky & The Motorcars for the first time in Steamboat at the Musicfest but only listening to their music occasionally before that i was looking forward to seeing them in Chicago because i think their "Live at Billy Bob's" CD is one of the best live albums i have heard. It may not have energy in it on an obvious level (on the recording mix) because the sound of the crowd isn't very evident (until the end of each song) and even on the DVD (which is included in the packaging) the crowd seems restrained but only because at Billy Bob's everyone near the stage is seated at tables and not right up at the stage only a foot away from the band like they are at Joe's. If you listen to some of the older "Live at Billy Bob's" recordings the sound is often not quite as good as recordings done at other venues and Micky & The Motorcars were aware of this and were able to get around this by bringing in their own crew to record and film this special occasion. Micky & The Motorcars (if you are not familiar with them) consist of Micky Braun on lead vocals and Gary Braun on rhythm guitar and vocals along with playing mandolin and harmonica (you maybe more familiar with two more of the Braun brothers, who are founders of the band Reckless Kelly) and Kris Farrow who studied at the Berklee college of Music and also is a very talented Sax player and lead guitarist. Shane Vannerson on drums and Mark McCoy on bass round out the rest of the band.
The band writes their own songs and they also carefully choose songs from their favorite songwriters and their versions fit their style so well that you would have a hard time figuring out who wrote what. Songs by fellow Idaho songwriter and musician Pinto Bennett (Carolina Morning) Austin's own John Dee Graham (Twilight) and co writes with Kevin Welch's son Dustin (Bloodshot) which is one of my favorite songs and Kevin's daughter Savannah who is part of the Trishas also co wrote one (Amber) with Micky. There are also some other covers that they have done live but have not recorded like The Faces "Stay With Me" and Warren Zevon's "Lawyers, Guns and Money" and Todd Snider's "Looking For a Job" help to round out the recording which has 25 songs in total on two discs along with the complete show included on DVD. My only wish is to have the band come back and play a longer headlining show but as openers for Stoney LaRue the crowd was ready for him to take the stage.

Jason Boland "High in the Rockies"

Jason Boland & the Stragglers recorded a new live CD entitled "High in the Rockies" over the course of four scheduled tour dates in the west including Laramie Wyoming at the Cowboy bar, Ft. Collins at the Aggie theater, The Musicfest in Steamboat and the last show at the BlueBird theater in Denver.
I was at the Musicfest but i didn't make that show because i didn't want to leave the show at the Grand Ballroom but i did make the show at the Bluebird and had all access to photograph the show. The Bluebird theater is a very small old theater off Colfax and seems like it will only hold about a hundred people but they have a very impressive and steady list of bands that roll through.
I talked with Roger Ray about the shows and he said that
all of them have gone very smoothly, no songs had to be stopped and re started and if any mistakes were there they haven't heard them yet and they can be corrected later. The first single to be released to radio which Jason stated that "Its not like it matters, they wont play it anyway" will be their cover of the old Danny Flowers song "Tulsa Time" which was made famous by Oklahoma's gentle giant, Don Williams. Each show had the band playing some different songs each night so i cant say that the songs they played in Denver will all make it onto the new CD but i know they were pulling out some good old tunes as well as some songs off the latest "Comal County Blue" disc. Cowboys in Laramie Wyoming was mentioned as their favorite place they visited out of the four stops and they mentioned how good the crowd was and the energy they returned to the stage. Click here to view a video of "Proud Souls" shot that night and my You tube channel has a few more videos from that night too.http://secondaryamp.blogspot.com/

Friday the finale of the Musicfest

Friday came way too quick, i could have easily stayed for another week in Steamboat, i didn't feel like i met everyone i wanted to meet although i did meet most of the people i have been talking with for the last two years on Facebook but have never actually met in person. I also met plenty of new people that shared the same passion for this music as i have and made quite a few business contacts that may pan out later on down the road.After Jack Ingram played his outdoor show, i rushed over to the big tent to check out a band that all my friends in the Carolina's and the rest of the Southeast have been talking about called Sons of Bill and their manager contacted me to ask if i was able to catch their show and maybe get a few photos. I was impressed with their tight harmonies, musicality and versatility, playing many styles of music ranging from Americana to good ole southern rock & roll. Sons of Bill recently started to venture into the state of Texas and are receiving positive press from Texas media outlets and from music fans. Sons of Bill are from Charlottesville, Virginia and are five guys of which three are brothers hence the name Sons of Bill. Hayes Carll was scheduled to open the day in the tent but had to leave the Musicfest because of the flu which unfortunately also put Billy Joe Shaver out of commission earlier in the festival so Sons of Bill got things started.
Johnathan Tyler & the Northern Lights took the stage after them and i missed their shows in other venues during the week so seeing them on the big stage in the tent was something i was looking forward too, they too are another group i have heard great things about but have not seen yet. A few minutes into the first song i realized that these guys just plain rock, big time seventies southern rock and blues influences with a slight jam band feel. I saw Jonathan walking around in Steamboat at some of the venues and you could not help but notice him with his white fur coat and long hair.


These guys can do a power ballad, a blues standard or a straight up rock and roll song with with attitude and mojo. Reckless Kelly was up next, i had to leave to go back to our condo to get my laptop because i was out of space on my cards. I thought i could quickly take the shuttle up to Storm Meadows Christie Base, get it and head back but the shuttles were pretty slow and not at all on schedule like they claimed, one driver said that another one would be by in five minutes and 20 minutes later i was still waiting. When i got to the condo ambulances and fire trucks were still there after just responding to a fire in our complex and the alarms were still going off. I decided to just unload my cards then so that i didn't have to do it in the tent but i still brought the laptop back so i could do it again.
I made it back just in time for Katie Key and her Best in Texas and the Texas Music Chart awards presentation with Chicago Cubs baseball player Randy Wells. Randy is a recent convert to Texas and Red Dirt music and thanks to Stoney LaRue he has discovered many other bands in the genre. Randy is a frequent concert goer at Joe's bar in Chicago and i got to talk with him after they handed out awards to Cross Canadian Ragweed (twice) and Jack Ingram and also John Dickson of Dickson Productions who's company spends all year prepairing and working to put on the Musicfest as well as many other festivals in various parts of the country such as the Big Music Cruise.Cross Canadian Ragweed then took the stage rocking out crowd favorites like Ray Wylie Hubbard's "Wanna Rock & Roll" who later joined them on stage ith his son Lucas on guitar along with Stoney LaRue, Willy and Cody Braun, Micky Braun, Adam Oder, Jonathan Tyler & The Northern Lights. Lee Ann Womack joined Ragweed on stage too and later Cody and the band played an all star version of "Boys from Oklahoma" with various guests including KNBT, New Braunfels Texas radio's Mattson Ranier making up words to the song on the spot.After the finale in the big tent i made it to see Wade Bowen and his band do their finale in the Grand Ballroom, Lee Ann Womack joined Wade on stage for a song and Sean McConnell also sang along on his song "Somewhere Beautiful" and later an all star line up gathered together on stage to sing "Hey Jude" as the final closing song to what many have said was the best Steamboat Musicfest yet. Dont forget to check out all the videos i have taken everyday too by clicking here.

The outdoor concert with Jack Ingram.

Friday was the last day of the Musicfest and part of the festivities always include an outdoor concert and Jack Ingram performed the show again. I wanted to see this show because i think Jack is a great entertainer and because it was outdoors whereas all the other shows during the week are indoors, so it makes for some different photos.


Doug Moreland started the show off and i didn't make it on time for that but i did manage to catch most of Jack's set before i had to run to the big tent to get some shots for a band called Sons of Bill. Everytime i see Jack i have been treated to a high energy show sometimes filled with surprises and this time i wasn't let down, some may think he's crazy but Jack was barefoot and Crazy on the outdoor stage where it was below 10 degrees, maybe less. Before starting the song he removed his ski boots and his socks and performed his hit "Barefoot and Crazy" in bare feet and a t-shirt claiming that "this is about as good as i am gonna get my guitar tuned" in such a cold environment. The outdoor concert is always free for everyone, not just Musicfest attendees and walking up to the base and hearing the music reverberate off the mountain was a great way to start my day.

Click here to see my video of Jack singing "Barbie Doll"

Thursday (day three) at the Musicfest in Steamboat.

Well i tried to keep updates going everyday when i could, about what was going on but because of another horrible Internet connection (time to get a broadband card) i had to give up and wait until i got home. So going through all the shots i took, i realized just how many shows i did miss that i wanted to see. It is nearly impossible to make every show, even if you only stay for a few songs just to get some photos, by the time you get to another venue and wait in line its just not worth it. So i went to the shows i was interested in as much as i could, i still missed a lot and what photos i did take did not turn out as good as i had hoped, here are a few that i like.Thursday the 7th was a tough day to decide which shows to see, i was out till the early morning the night before and really didn't get around to anything until the afternoon, so that made the decisions a bit easier since i had already missed some good shows. I ended up going to the Grand and staying there. The line up there was full of bands and musicians that i either really like or haven't seen before like Walt Wilkins and later that night Chris Knight but Ray Wylie Hubbard, Wade Bowen, Lee Ann Womack, Dean Dillon, Randy Rogers, Cody Canada and Stoney LaRue were also on hand. So i felt pretty confident about my decision and after a song or two i knew there was no second guessing.
Walt Wilkins, Ray Wylie and Wade sharing the stage together was a great start. Ray Wylie Hubbard released a new CD at the Musicfest called "A: Enlightenment B: Endarkenment Hint there is no C" and i just love that guys deep dark gritty blues mixed in with his great sense of humor. The Wylie Lama played "Drunken Poet's Dream" which is a Hayes Carll song that is now on Ray's new release. Wade played a new song that i have heard he has played elsewhere but i had yet to hear it called "Matches" and i finally got hear Walt Wilkins perform "Trains i Missed" which is one of my favorite songs.
After a short break Chris Knight, Stoney LaRue, Randy Rogers, Cody Canada, Dean Dillon and Lee Ann Womack stepped onto the stage. Stoney started things off with the song "Straight Faced Clown" and Chris Knight did "Heart of Stone" and "Crooked Road" and Dean Dillon, who has written over 50 songs for George Strait alone performed "The Chair" and "Set em up Joe" which nearly brought down the house but it was Cody Canada and his son Dierks singing "Bluebonnets" complete with Dierks introducing the song and then singing it along with his dad for the first time ever that had everyone talking, smiling or crying. I also tried to take a lot of videos of some of the performances and you can view video i took of this and some of the other songs played at this show here on my other site i have set up for this just click here:
http://secondaryamp.blogspot.com/ Lee Ann Womack performed "Last Call" and "I May Hate Myself in the Morning" and "I Hope You Dance" with Stoney Larue and Randy Rogers singing harmony that sounded absolutely beautiful. Randy Rogers performed the bands new song "Interstate" and "Don't Tell Me the Truth" one he wrote with Dean Dillon. Stoney also sang "Empty Glass" by Gary Stewart with everyone playing guitar at the same time. Cody Canada also performed "Brooklyn Kid" before Bruce Robinson and his band took the stage and i went out to talk with friends and meet some new ones. Texas music fans are some of the most passionate music fans i have ever met, and i think i made a lot of new friends.I ran into Stoney probably at least twice a day going in and out of condo's and venues and he is such a phenomenal talent and such a nice guy, always willing to stop and say hi.
Seeing Walt Wilkins and especially Chris Knight perform for the first time was also one of the highlights of the festival for me, Walt is one of the nicest people i have met and Chris is just as intimidating as the dark themes running through his songs.
I also really liked how Dean Dillon explained to the crowd that the real country music was there with him on stage and coming from places like Texas and not Nashville.

Day Two of the Steamboat Musicfest

Well i tried to get to Bear River to see Jonathan Tyler but by the time i got ready to go i figured i wouldn't make it on time but i did want to see the Band of Heathens
so i was able to catch that show. I have never seen them before and i have heard so many great things. I like their energy and how they take turns on vocals. Later Roger Ray (Jason Boland's band) and i walked over to the big tent as Brandon Rhyder was nearing the end of his set. The sound in the big tent is so good, Brandon sounded great with his strong voice and great harmonies. Shiner Beer hooked me and my group up with free Shiner beers in the big tent so after a few Shiner Bocks Seth James and his band took the stage, Seth 's guitar playing is effortless and guitarist Geoff Queen is one of the best around plus Sean McConnell joined him for one song. Stoney LaRue then took the stage and by then the crowd was feeling good enough to dance. Stoney's music and attitude is just infectious, and even though we've all heard the songs plenty of times, it never gets old.
Randy Rogers closed the night down in the tent, i talked with Brady Black earlier in the day and he said that their new single will be released in May and they




performed a few of the new songs like "Interstate" and announced the title of the new CD but right now i can't recall it, maybe later it will come to me.
After Randy's show we went to the Steamboat Grand to see Micky & The Motorcars, who i have really been listening too a lot since their new "Live at Billy Bob's" disc came out, it was packed in there so i just took a few photos and walked around, Wade Bowen handed me almost a half cup of Jager so by that time, my memory was pretty much shot.
So i walked over to Chaps which is a bar in the Grand where everyone seems to hang out at and i talked with Ray Wylie Hubbard along the way after i had just bo ught his new CD " A. Enlightenment, B. Endarkenment, There is no C" that he released this week here at the Musicfest.

Eventually we went up to the seventh floor for the private party that goes on everynight after Chaps closes and i got to talk with Gary Wooten and Roger Creager for a while. We finally made it home after a long cold walk at about 5am.

Photos from day one of music at the Musicfest

Taking every show in here at the Musicfest in Steamboat Springs Colorado is nearly impossible, actually it is impossible. But that's ok, you just decide where you want to go and then enjoy the fabulous music. The first day here is just for checking in, meeting your roomates and getting situated and maybe socializing. The second day is when the music starts with the "First Note" in the Steamboat Grand ballroom and in the new Dung Beetle saloon inside the general store which is also inside the Grand. The first show in the Grand was an incredible way to kick things off. Starting off with an all female acoustic line up of vocal powerhouses, and guitar players who also have great songwriting skills to match. Members of the groups The Trishas, Kelly Mickwee, Liz Foster and Jaime Wilson joined with one of my favorite female vocalists in any genre of music, Bonnie Bishop and Kathleen Braun too. Walt Wilkins also provided guitar and some harmony vocals and later Tina Wilkins also joined in once her flight arrived. I gotta say that i became a fan of Liz Foster, that girl can sing! Tina Wilkins debuted a song she wrote as a female response inspired by the Johnny Cash song "Ive Been Everywhere" that had the crowd going with laughter as her lyrics rattled off a theme of trying to find a good man who could be in one of any number of occupations mentioned in song just as Johnny Cash named cities and states in his song. After the women were done, the men took the stage. Billy Joe Shaver was scheduled to be one of the artists on stage but was unable to make it because of the flu so Willy Braun joined Cody Canada, Charlie Robison and Robert Earl Keen trading turns playing acoustic crowd favorites and songs they felt like doing often trading jokes between songs.

Steamboat Musicfest updates

Well, day one (actually the second day, first one has no shows) is done and i have been so busy trying to take it all in that i have not found time to write or post photos here, hoping that i can do some work later today. Its been a magical experience so far, the 5500 plus fans here are the best fans any band or musician could hope for, met so many great people and so many musicians that i have either already met or just met for the first time.

No Sleep till Steamboat

Finally i am going to attend the 25th annual Steamboat Musicfest in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. January 4th to the 10th, the line up is amazing and the fans are too!


Featuring...Robert Earl Keen, Randy Rogers Band, Band of Heathens, Reckless Kelly, Charlie Robison, Kevin Welch, Cross Canadian Ragweed, Lee Ann Womack*, Jamie Wilson, Todd Snider, Jason Eady and The Wayward Apostles, Billy Joe Shaver, Jack Ingram, Chris Knight, Walt Wilkins, Midnight River Choir, Jonathan Tyler and The Northern Lights, Kevin Fowler, Modern Day Drifters, Hayes Carll, Ben Smith, Jason Boland and The Stragglers, Josh Abbott, Cory Morrow, Ray Wylie Hubbard, The Trishas, Wade Bowen, The Doug Moreland Show, Stoney LaRue, Tina Wilkins, Roger Creager, Lucas Hubbard, Sean McConnell, Johnny and The Footlights+
...and NEW ARTISTS, George Devore, Kyle Park, Lee Brice, Seth James, Bobby Duncan, Granger Smith, Bart Crow, Bruce Robison, Brandon Rhyder, Sons of Bill, Great American Taxi, Dustin Welch, Brandon Jenkins, and Rich O'Toole...............

Cross Canadian Ragweed @ The Intersection

One of the best live acts around came back to Grand Rapids Michigan to an appreciative crowd of loyal fans who were treated to a fantastic show clocking in at over two hours. Now i have to admit that sometimes i can be a bit of a name dropper and maybe i am still coming off the high of it all still, but i am taking this opportunity to do it again. So sometimes what i do gets shown some appreciation and this time i got a taste of the rock star treatment, at least that's what it felt like to me anyway.
I was backstage to shoot a few photos of the band with my friend who wanted a photo of of the them with his Cross Canadian Ragweed logo guitar that he purchased off the bands web site which i brought down to Oklahoma back in June to the Country Fever music festival to have autographed as a wedding present from his wife. After getting a couple shots for him i was left in the dressing room with the guys who were about to rock the stage again since the last time they were in Grand Rapids back in June of 2008. Cody closed the door and asked if i would like to join them in prayer as they do before every show, which of course i accepted and Cody proceeded to recite a sincere honest prayer for family, safe travels and another great show. The guys have been having a great run recently with their show last week at Joe's bar in Chicago and for a few weeks before that drawing good crowds in a tough economy. Cody Canada and the band continued to rock out some older material that doesn't always get played very often like "Suicide Blues" and another favorite of mine "Lighthouse Keeper" and they surprised us all with the personal song "The Years" from the album "Mission California" as well as some great choices in covers like Robert Earl Keen's "Merry Christmas from the Family" and "It Ain't Easy Being Me" from Chris Knight and "Crazy Eddie's Last Hurrah" by Reckless Kelly. Many songs from their latest release "Happiness and all the Other Things" were included too like "Overtable" leading through the Overture and into "Pretty Lady" and i was happy to hear them perform "Bluebonnets" which is a heartfelt song inspired by Cody's son Dierks.After the show we invited the guys out to my friend's brothers bar where we had a private room reserved for us and a few friends of the band. Cody and Jeremy decided to join us and i got to talk with both of them for about an hour before they had to leave for bus call and the next show in New York. I confirmed what i heard earlier this summer about the band releasing another album that will fulfill their contract with Universal South and will be comprised of covers of fellow musicians from Oklahoma like Bob Childers, Tom Skinner, Mike McClure and the Medicine Show's Scott Evans who wrote "Soul Agent" the first song to be sung by bass player Jeremy Plato. So far they will be going into the studio to work on that next March. Cody also included a new song in his acoustic set that was written about their family's dog that unfortunately passed on last summer and even though he thought that maybe the second verse was "a little cheesy" as a dog owner i really thought it was a great song. I got to meet Vinny the Shark and he also joined us upstairs, you may have heard the band mention him before saying "He does really exist" and you can read what he writes about on the Wormy Dog Saloon's website by clicking on the "Shark Tank" link. Click here for more photos.

Ha Ha Tonka @ The Intersection

Springfield Missouri's own Ha Ha Tonka has been on the road opening a few shows for Cross Canadian Ragweed and The Intersection in Grand Rapids Michigan was one of the stops. November 29Th the band played about a forty minute set. Formerly called Amsterband they changed their name to Ha Ha Tonka which is a state park near the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri. They are signed to Bloodshot records and have a sound that has influences of Indie rock with a percentage of Americana thrown in and their album "Buckle in the Bible Belt" gained them notice from a few prominent media outlets such as Paste and Spin magazines and it was named as one of the best albums of 2007 by Pop Matters magazine.
Having toured in the past with bands like the old 97's and the Meat Puppets, they were also part of the 2008 Lollapalooza line up. Ha Ha Tonka is on the road with Ragweed through December 11Th. This year saw the release of their second album "Novel Sounds of the Nouveau South" which has garnered them further acclaim citing them as a potent mix of Country and Indie rock with comparisons to the Kings of Leon. Check out Ha Ha Tonka's You Tube channel.

Cross Canadian Ragweed @ Joe's bar.

After Seth James was done with his set, Cross Canadian Ragweed came out to a packed in and sold out Joe's bar in Chicago and again had ole blue eyes, Frank Sinatra's "My Kind of Town, Chicago is" playing over the house sound system before taking the stage and ripping into "Don't Need You" from their self titled CD known as the "Purple" album. They played about half of the songs on their latest release "Happiness and all the Other Things" including "Drag" and bass player Jeremy Plato's version of the Stephen Bruton song "To Find My Love" that Jeremy sings. They also did the songs "Overtable" and the Overture also called "Blackrose" and then went into their tribute to Betty Page with the song "Pretty Lady" before going back to some old songs. After playing older favorites like "42 Miles" and "Brooklyn Kid" inspired by their friend Robert Hanson, they played quite a few older songs and there were the usual obnoxious guys in the crowd that seem to be at every show yelling out to the band to play "Carney Man" and "Boys from Oklahoma" and usually they will not play it unless they feel like it but this time they did. I was quick to judge the guys that were so insistent on getting them to play those two songs but sometimes you learn that maybe you should not be so quick to do that because later i talked to them outside and they told me they were heading to Iraq two days later.

Cody Canada, Cross Canadian Ragweed's lead singer and guitarist split the set up by doing a short acoustic set with the songs "Carry Me Home" and a surprising cover of "It Ain't Easy Being Me" by Chris Knight, plus a few more. The show went on with some more older material like "Late Last Night" by Todd Snider and "Wanna Rock & Roll" by Ray Wylie Hubbard. Seth James and Geoff Queen came out and joined them for the last song before the night was over and Seth and Cody had to catch a plane to perform an acoustic show in New Braunfels the next day. I am writing this one day before seeing Cross Canadian Ragweed again tomorrow night at the Intersection in Grand Rapids, Michigan so look for a write up on that soon too. More color photos. More black & white photos.

Seth James @ Joe's

Texas guitarist and singer songwriter extraordinaire Seth James has been touring off and on with his friends Cross Canadian Ragweed and opened for them at Joe's bar in Chicago Saturday November 21st. Seth has a firm grasp of the blues mixed in with his Texas style country and rock. Raised just North of Abilene in a musical family he began by learning piano and trumpet but was drawn to the guitar in high school. Honing his skills while working part time in a local music store, he soon moved to Austin and has since released three albums full of rock and blues riffs set to his introspective song lyrics. With a sound comparable to Doyle Bramhall and a very adept backing band that although has changed over the years are always are right there to back up his explosive expressions he creates on the guitar. Seth's latest release is "That Kind of Man" which is earning him critical acclaim and an ever expanding fan base and thanks to exposure from opening guys like Cross Canadian Ragweed that fan base is growing much faster. Over the Summer Seth sat in with Ray Wylie Hubbard as his lead guitarist and it was the first time i had seen him although i had heard about him before then, i was very impressed with his natural blues playing ability. His latest album has a great variety of material that stays with the rock and country genres but not many artists have the underlying base of the blues in their music the way that Seth does. The crowd at Joe's bar was very receptive to him and the show was sold out. Seth took the stage playing the perfect choice of song to open a Ragweed show with "Two for Tuesday in America" off his current album. The songs lyrics have the line "I'm in love with this road, i'm in love with this car, I'm in love with the radio station that's playing me some CCR" which i have to think is a shout out to KNBT in New Braunfels Texas and Cross Canadian Ragweed (not Creedence) that station plays a lot of CCR as well as a non stop variety of Americana music (including Seth) from bands and musicians around the country. Seth also played two of my favorites from "That Kind of Man" like "Slow Roll" and "Again" that unfortunately were missing the beautiful harmonies of his wife Jessica Murray who did not make the trip up out of Texas. He included material from his past two albums also and later sat in with Ragweed at the end of their set. View more photos of the show by clicking here. Photos

Justin Moore @ The Intersection

Thursday night November 19th The Intersection played host to its second sold out country music show for the second Thursday in a row with Justin Moore headlining a concert openend by two local bands, Small Town Son and Gunnar Nyland with a regional act from Louisiana, Williams-Riley. Justin Moore took the stage with a Jack Daniels bottle in hand to a fired up crowd ready to party. Justin is from Poyen Arkansas and has seemed to just appear on the Nashville country music scene from out of no where but has actually been working at it for a few years. He is signed to Valory records which is an off shoot of Big Machine Records, the independent Nashville label run by Scott Borchetta who signed Taylor Swift. Justin's self titled debut album which had his songs chosen by fans via social networking sites such as Myspace and iLike has had one single chart in 2008 and two more this year including the Randy Houser penned song "Back That Thing Up"and with uptempo songs about breaking out and then returning to where he's from with "Small Town Son" and how he likes to party in the "Backwoods" which is his latest single making him seem to run in the same style of song writing and the same crowd of fans to me as say Eric Church, which makes for good rowdy music in concert but doesn't offer much as far as serious substance is concerned. The novelty of the digitally released song "I Could Kick Your Ass" further brings the whole country boy posuer style into play. His songs are anthematic fodder for the light beer drinking college crowd but i have to admit he does know how to entertain and show everyone a good time. His band is solid and his flamboyant lead guitarist knows how to bust out a rockstar pose with a rockstar solo to go with it. I could have done without the twenty minute guitar solos at the end and thought the show was entirely to loud but i walked away neither disliking him or his music but feeling entertained at least. There is no denying that Justin's songs are resonating with fans and also the media, garnering some positive reviews from outlets such as the Washington Post but also some mixed reviews from others. Justin has been invited to join the "American Saturday Night" tour beginning next year with Brad Paisley.  View more photos.

Luke Bryan @ The Intersection

West Michigan country radio station WBCT B93 and the Intersection teamed up as usual to bring Luke Bryan to the stage with a sold out show in Grand Rapids. Luke released his latest album "Doin My Thing" on October 6th of this year with the lead off single "Do I" which was written with Lady Antebellum members Dave Haywood and Charles Kelly and features Hillary Scott on backing vocals. Luke has a solid band to back him up and i have to say that Kristy Jo is one of my favorite fiddle and mandolin players. Luke played a few songs off his new album like "Welcome to the Farm" and "Drinkin Beer and Wastin Bullets" which is fast becoming a new fan favorite. A surprising cover of One Republic's "Apologize" and also Billy Currington's hit "Good Directions" which was actually written by Luke were included as well as all his hits from his debut album too. The Leesburg Georgia native had a hand in writing 8 of the 11 songs on "Doin My Thing" which is on Capitol records. Opening the show were The Clayton Anderson band and Fast Ryde as well as Frankie Ballard featured below.      Want to see more just   Click here to see more photos.