Brett Young may have roots in California, but he is now firmly planted in Tennessee. And, his fans seem to agree that is where he belongs. When this energetic, talented country artist took to the main stage at the Appalachian Fair in Gray, Tenn., last night, it was immediately evident that he was where he needed to be. He loves what he does, and he does it for his audience.
This was just night two of our local fair. When I told you all about Monday night, I said something like: “This might only be the first night, but we may have just seen the best show we’re going to see all week”. I need to rethink that statement. We’ve often heard it said that one of the goals of any entertainer should be to always leave your audience wanting more. Brett certainly did that. His show might have been the standard 75-90 minute ‘fair set’, but it flew by. And, the crowd who stood, sat, danced, sang along, and obviously had a great time from the first note he sang to the last scream that came from them – I’m thinking they probably wanted a lot more.
I consider Brett a ‘new country artist’. I suppose part of the reasoning for that is that I grew up listening to artists like Ernest Tubb, Hank Snow, Patsy Cline, Sonny James, Kitty Wells, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Marty Robbins,Don Gibson,Buck, Owens, Connie Smith (that is obviously very partial) – the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s – clear through to today. With 60 years of country music listening behind me, I can sometimes be a little picky about what I want to hear these days. But, I didn’t have to think twice about Brett Young.
I discovered quickly that Brett is not just a singer, picker, songwriter. He is an entertainer. He talks, he tells stories, he looks at his audience. He seems to notice signs, even smiles in the crowd – something that can’t be easy under stage lights. He shared writing experiences, writing partners, and the stories behind the songs. He isn’t just a storyteller. He’s a good storyteller. By the time we got to the end of the show, I felt like I knew more about Brett’s ‘growing-up years’ than I remembered about my own.
Brett did some things during that show that really meant a lot to both the audience, and the folks who work to promote his music. For one thing, he took the time to thank radio. He thanked them for their support, and talked about how important radio is to artists. And, he played to his entire audience. The reserved seating was just about sold out. And the bleachers were packed full. Brett made sure everyone got to see and hear everything that was going on by taking advantage of our ‘cat walk’. (The Appalachian Fair has an awesome ramp setup from center stage to the end of the reserved seating section). He even took a stool to the end of the ramp to sing to the people way in the back, and up high. He walked the ramp, sat out there, talked out there – and while I will admit it meant I got to take a lot of pictures of his back – it was still really a great thing for him to do for the crowd.
We don’t have to talk much about his vocals. Everyone has heard him sing. And, once they do, they will remember him. From the first time you hear Brett, you immediately hear that uniqueness in his voice. The tone that makes him that voice you can pick out in an ever-growing field of country singers. We heard great music. Of course we got “In Case You Didn’t Know”, “Beautiful Believer” and “Kiss by Kiss”. And, we got to hear his new single, “Like I Loved You”. There was nothing not to like about this show.
In the past, I’ve seen artists lose control of their audience – That never happened with Brett. He knew when to pick things up, and when to slow things down. His brief intro or story before starting a song was enough to hold the full attention of the crowd and prepare them for what was coming next. I had planned on asking Brett, before the show, if he had “Hallelujah” in his set list for last night, but I forgot to ask. I was absolutely thrilled that he included it. (Those of you who read Country’s Chatter regularly may remember we had that vide o posted earlier this month. If you haven’t seen it, please check it our by clicking here.)
As most artists do, Brett introduced his band from the stge. And, as a lot of writers to – I don’t write fast enough to get them…so my thanks to Shy (the merch guy) for making time for me (between sales) to give me the names of these four extremely talented, fun to watch musicians who shared the stage with Brett. We had Matt on rhythm guitar; Kyle, keyboards; Sam, lead guitar; and Billy on drums.
In addition to Brett’s website, visit his Facebook page (and, remember to “Like and Follow while you are there. Check out all the great stuff he posts on his Instagram @brettyoungmusic, and follow him on Twitter the same way. .Ifi you aren’t already following Country’s Chatter on Twitter, we’d love to have you. You will find us @countryschatter.
I’m going to leave you with a few more photos from the show. And, of ocurse, our recommendation to each of you to make it a point to catch Brett Young on stage first opportunity you get.
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