There are Tuesday nights, and then there are Tuesday nights in Nashville. And this past Tuesday, November 27, Nashville showed up and showed off! Even though the weather outside was frigid, the space inside Marathon Music Works was smokin’ hot! That’s because the largest streaming music provider in the US brought the fire by fueling a rare, up close and personal experience with one of country’s most explosive acts. And if you don’t believe us, ask “Any Ol’ Barstool!”
Although, in actuality, no one had any time to sit on a real barstool because it wasn’t a songwriter round by any means. Concert goers were too busy eating free Krystal burgers, playing games with Ashley Furniture reps, and carrying around free swag like Krystal cups and Pandora tote bags. But the best gift award goes to the Georgia based press company, Inkwell Designers, for their custom made leather coasters featuring everyone’s initials! Crazy right? Oh, but we did mention this was a concert, didn’t we? Because “when the lights go down”, everybody knows what to do and they did it when Jason Aldean took to the stage for the one of a kind Pandora Backroads event!
But not before Canadian rising star Steven Lee Olsen commanded the stage in a powerful performance of his own. Maybe you haven’t heard of him yet, but you will. He was recently just named one of Pandora’s “Country Artists to Watch for 2019”, a list that impressively includes Tyler Rich, Kassi Ashton, and Cale Dodds. And if you think he’s new to Nashville, think again because Music City isn’t called the “10 year town” for nothing. If you ever sit down with Olsen, he could probably tell you stories for days seeing as he moved to the town of dreamers in 2004 and has spent time honing his craft and writing with the best. And with number ones under his belt like Kip Moore’s “More Girls Like You” and Keith Urban’s 2017 Double Platinum hit, “Blue Ain’t Your Color”, Olsen is proving that “Timing is Everything” just like his new album title states. Full of sexy soul, fearless ambition, and smooth vocal vibrato, Olsen cast a magic spell over the already ecstatic crowd.
And after a quick reset of the stage, the lights dimmed and the silhouette of one of music’s most well respected drummers appeared at his stool. Rich Redmond’s sticks in the air cue paved the way for the rest of the longtime band and that was all the crowd needed to hear to know that an unforgettable night was upon them. Tully Kennedy’s unmistakably perfect hair glowed under the orange lights as he put his bass guitar around his neck. Jay Jackson proudly sat behind an instrument not used enough in country these days — a steel guitar. Jack Sizemore and Kurt Allison revved up their electric guitars, full of spunk and confidence as a pair of torn jeans and worn boots walked across the floor in true dramatic fashion.
Usually one to fill arenas and stadiums, the reigning ACM Entertainer of the Year sure didn’t mind taking a ride with the smaller audience, as he performed hit after hit for a solid hour and a half. After all, Mr. Aldean does have twenty one #1’s to choose from. Sporting his signature plaid shirt, hip chain, and cream colored cowboy hat, he worked every spot of the stage, captivating every enthusiast from front to back and left to right. Having gotten his start in bars as a teenager, Aldean told the crowd it was like coming home. The Georgia native “left his mark on us” like the “Amarillo Sky” he wholeheartedly sings about. We might have just stayed forever if we had “A Little More Summertime”. We listened to the sound of the “Night Train” and took a ride on the “Big, Green Tractor” right over those “Fly Over States.” “The Truth” is that we sang back every word of “When She Says Baby” like “Tattoos on this Town.”
And when he slowed things down with his two latest number ones, he made it easy to drown the whiskey with him. In fact, “You Make It Easy” and “Drown the Whiskey” are from his critically acclaimed album, Rearview Mirror, which hit #1 on the charts as soon as it was released this past April, spawning a highly successful High Noon Neon Tour.
Of course, we picked things right back up and were “Burnin’ It Down” with that “Dirt Road Anthem.” Only in this “Hicktown” can Aldean have “My Kinda Party” and your kinda party and Dustin Lynch’s kinda party, for he was on the side lines, wide eyes fixed on his label mate. Not only that, the top record label execs from BMG Nashville and Broken Bow Records (Jason’s label since 2005) were going crazy side stage when Aldean busted out with Bridgette Tatum’s smash, “She’s Country.” If you didn’t know any better, Kos Weaver and Jon Loba’s excitement would have you assuming it was their first Aldean show. After all, as convincing as Aldean is with just an acoustic guitar and one spotlight, it’s the band’s tight musicianship and organic energy that propels JA to a whole new level. As it should. Kennedy (bass), Redmond (drums and faces—Rich Redmond’s famous faces are a whole other performance factor), and Allison (electric) have all been with Aldean since 1999—tours, studio, videos—the whole shebang, which is almost unheard of. Sizemore (electric) and Jackson (steel) completed the entourage in 2010 for a stunning package of heart, soul, and no telling how many hours of hard work.
Which is why it made sense that Aldean ended with the crowd pumping, dream chasing, hardcore look at the music business reality of “Crazy Town” because a Nashville audience connects with that song in a way outsiders may never fully understand.
Pay your dues and you play for free,
And you pray for a honky tonk destiny,
You cut your teeth in the smoky bars,
And live off the tips from a pickle jar
’til you find a cool, new sound,
And you smile when the record man shoots you down
But since “we love it, we hate it, we’re all just trying to make it”, we are forever grateful for opportunities like the Pandora Backroads series sponsored by Advance Auto Parts! Because Pandora is focused on two kinds of people: the artists and the fans and the connection that binds them. That’s why Pandora goes to such detail to create personalized set lists tailored for each music listener. And then they throw free concerts on a Tuesday night! YES-we said FREE. This event was FREE if you RSVP’d ahead of time online!
So, if you didn’t make it to this one, keep up with Pandora and listen to Backroads Radio so you can be on the lookout for the next installment of the Backroads Series! But until then, it is . . .
“safe to say we laid a lot of memories down like tattoos on this town. . .“