Who Wouldn't Wanna Be Me?

On September 7th, 2014, Keith Urban brought his Raise Em Up Tour to the Sleep Train Amphitheatre in Wheatland, CA with supporting acts Jerrod Niemman and Brett Eldredge. We have never been to this amphitheatre before and had pit/general admission tickets. Dave and I made the two hour trip up to the Sacramento area because we missed the show in Mountain View, CA the night before. It was well worth the drive! Such an amazing show! 

As many of you know by now, Brett Eldredge is one of my favorite newer country artists and it was amazing to see him on Keith Urban's tour who is also one of my favorites! Brett certainly amped up the crowd by playing up beat favorites like "Don't Ya" and "Beat of the Music". He also showed his tender side by performing his current single "Mean To Me" and one of my favorite songs "One Mississippi". It was great to see Brett again but hopefully next time a longer set! Can't get enough of him! 

Jerrod Niemann was next and really go the audience going with hits like "Lover, Lover" and "Drink To That All Night". I was a big fan of Jerrod when he first came out but I'm not exactly sure if I really like his newer music. I really like a song he played from his newer album called "Beach Baby" but that's about it. It's just my opinion but Jerrod is an amazing artist and will hopefully continue to make great music. Hopefully music that is reminiscent of his first album! 

Keith!!! 

My absolute favorite picture of the night!! 

Keith was amazing as always! I've lost track of how many times I've seen him in concert but this was the first time I've ever been front row! I thought I would freak out a little but more because I was so close but in reality I didn't. Keith mostly played on the catwalk the majority of the show so I wasn't super close most of the time. There were a few times he came over to our side of the stage. He sang "Who Wouldn't Wanna Be Me" on our side of the stage and I got a short video of that:

Keith always has the most amazing lighting set up. This time there were huge screens and lights behind him along with this hanging light fixture that turned all sorts of colors. It was very neat! 

Towards the middle of the show, Brett and Jerrod came back out to join Keith in singing a Tim Mcgraw song. Since it was the last night of the tour they did another song, "Forever Young"! After this happened Keith made his way to the back of the amphitheatre to sing a couple songs on a smaller stage. He walked right in front of us to proceed back there and I touched his bicep. That was a fangirl moment for me! haha! 

The small stage way back by the lawn! 

Keith is one of the only artists I know that can play over two hours and still leave me wanting more! Keith has so many songs that he could not even play all of his hits. One of the songs he omitted was one of my favorites, "You'll Think Of Me". I guess I can forgive him this time for forgetting that one! It was an amazing show and can't wait to see Keith again! Probably again next year! 

"Sweet Home Chicago"

This next series of concerts I went to were back home where I grew up in Illinois. My parents and I went to the Windy City Smokeout two days and attempted to see Jerrod Niemman at the Stephenson county fair in Freeport, IL. Due to the elements that show got cancelled but we were fortunate enough to still see the opener Chris Cavanaugh.

On July 11th, 2014 my mom and I went to the opening day of the Windy City Smokeout to see Brett Eldredge, Josh Thompson and Shawn Lacy. Shawn Lacy opened this festival and I was very impressed with him. His music was pretty soulful and reminded me of the style of the Zac Brown Band.

The skies opened up during Shawn Lacy's set and in continued to rain until just about the time that Josh Thompson took the stage. 

I haven't seen Josh Thompson in a very long time and he played a lot of music from his new album that just came out. He was pretty entertaining but my mom and I were laughing the entire time because his bass player looked like he was on something if you know what I mean.....

 (<-----crazy bass player)

Josh Thompson singing "Way Out Here"

Josh Thompson singing his latest single "Wanted Me Gone"

It was a true home state moment for Brett Eldredge when he took the stage Friday night in Chicago. Brett was probably the most energetic than I've ever seen him! You can tell that he loves playing in Chicago and that the Chicago crowd loved him. I was so happy to see him play in my home state as well as his! 

"Put your hand on my hip 'cause you'll know that I'll lose it" 

Brett also taught me that night what the Chicago flag looked like....I was wondering why he changed his shirt and what the significance of it was. My mother told me later that it was the Chicago flag! More than twenty years living in Illinois and I didn't know that? I still feel like a moron. 

"Just A Taste" is a newer song that he's been playing in his shows and I finally got a video of it! 

There was also another new song he sang called "Illinois" about his home state. He closed the show by singing his hit "Don't Ya" then came back for an encore that included "Sweet Home Chicago". He completed the night by bouncing around singing the Blackhawks goal song! 

You Got The Soul And You Know How To Use It....

Brett Eldredge played to a very attentive audience at the Alameda County Fair in Pleasanton, CA on June 18th, 2014. I had the joy of attending this fair for the first time and also by myself. It was a pretty big fair with a lot of rides and vendors. I did not get there early enough to get a wristband for early entry into the amphitheater so I waited in the general admission line for three hours. It was well worth it because I scored a seat up front!

Brett came out singing a new song called "Can't Behave". He went on to perform most of his songs from his debut album "Bring You Back". Eldredge's interaction with the crowd was amazing as he moved from one end of the stage to the other, pointing and smiling at people. 

His current single "Beat Of The Music" just recently hit #1 on the Mediabase country charts and it was such a treat to see everyone singing along with him to this smash hit! Here's a video of it:

I'm a huge fan of Brett's and one of my favorite songs off his debut album is "Gotta Get There" and had to get a video of that too:

While Brett played a lot of his own songs, he also played quite a few covers. He sang a Frank Sinatra cover (which I love) called "Fly Me To The Moon". 

After playing his song "Mean To Me", he broke it down into some of my favorite pop songs like Bruno Mars' "Just The Way You Are" and Coldplay's "Fix You". 

Brett played his first #1 single "Don't Ya", which always gets the audience into a frenzy. 

I left after that because I did not know that he was going to do an encore. I could hear him play some Brooks and Dunn, Travis Tritt and a few other cover songs. Brett gave California quite a show and I really talk him up because he is one of my favorites. His voice and his songs really have a lot of potential for a lasting career in country music! If you ever get a chance to see him live do it!