Chase Bryant and William Michael Morgan are still what we call ‘new artists’ or ‘up-and-coming’ country artists. Both have had some good songs on the radio, and from what we saw on Friday night, both of them love performing. But, whenever we go to a show with two artists taking the stage, we always think of one of them as ‘the opener’. Not this time. As far as we (and the entire audience were concerned), these two were both headliners. I wonder if there was a coin-flip backstage to see who would come out first. These artists both gave top-notch, A+ performances that any country music fan would be thrilled to see.
This was the first time I had seen Chase Bryant on stage. I can almost promise you it will not be my last. We arrived very early, and got to see him on stage for his sound check. Chase was doing what an artist and his musicians do during sound check – he was working on the sound, tweaking what needed tweaked, and working all the bugs out. But, he was doing more than that. His soundcheck wasn’t eight bars of this song, and three chords from the next one…it was full songs, nicely performed, for his then audience of six. And, yes, we applauded his show for our little group.
His show included “Jet Black Pontiac” from his self-titled EP, and of course we heard, “Take It On Back”, which had the whole audience singing. I loved that audience folks were familiar with “Wayfarer Weather”. He started singing that, and a girl behind me yelled, “I love that one!”. It’s good to know folks are still buying and downloading music.
He shared the stage with Brad Shapiro on bass and Jeff Meloen on drums. Just Chase and two other musicians. These three produced an amazing sound. Very talented, and a group that obviously enjoyed playing for the appreciative audience. We’ll include a few photos of these guys below.
Chase didn’t come out to his merch tent to sign autographs after the show. We understand that he usually does, but we also understand that there are times when an artist needs to be other places doing other things. He was more than cordial, friendly, and available to anyone who approached him at any time during the evening. We caught up with him after the show, when he was heading back from dinner to feed his dogs. He gave us a lot of time, signing autographs, posing for pictures, talking, and was so nice to all of us. Most fans never take that for granted. When an artist is nice to them, they really appreciate his going out of his way.
We have to mention Steve Johnson and the fine folks at Bristol’s Pinnacle, for their part in bringing this great concert to country music fans. And, as always, our thanks to WXBQ. If it’s a concert in Northeast Tennessee or Southwest Virginia, you can count on WXBQ being a part of it.
To keep up with all the news about Chase, visit his website and Facebook. Chase has a lot of social media links on his website, so be sure to check those out as well. And, follow him on Twitter @chasebryant. If you aren’t already following Country’s Chatter on Twitter, we’d love to have you. You will find us @countryschatter.
Going to close this out with a few more pictures from Friday night’s show, and a little recommendation to each of you…if you haven’t seen Chase on stage, get out there and do it. You will not be sorry. A great show, from a great artist. (The photos with the hat were during sound check.) 
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William Michael Morgan turns up the heat on a frosty Fall evening in Bristol, Tenn.