When Cole Swindell announced that his tour would come through New England on the weekend of December 10th, fans circled the dates and scooped up tickets for both the show at Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel in Providence, Rhode Island and the show at the House of Blues in Boston, Massachusetts. Both shows sold-out very quickly. But Cole may have also circled the weekend on his calendar as he seemed to make quite the weekend of it.
After playing for a capacity crowd in the Ocean State and another capacity crowd in Boston, Cole along with his band and his supporting acts, Cole Taylor and Travis Denning, made their way over to Boston hotspot, Loretta’s Last Call. Now if you’ve never been to Loretta’s, you’re missing out. If you love good Southern cooking, incredible drinks and a real honky tonk feel in the heart of Boston, Loretta’s Last Call is your place. Just last year, Cole stepped off his bus parked outside the venue and walked down the street to Loretta’s after playing the Country 102.5 Holiday Jam and quietly sat in a booth in the corner, enjoyed some libations and good music. Very few noticed. But this year was different. Not only did Cole bring his entire crew and openers but as the night was winding down, he took the stage after the Houston Bernard Band played and treated the lucky crowd to a few of his songs. Fans crowded the small stage and sang along with Cole. This was the smallest stage that Cole had undoubtedly played in years after playing megastages like Gillette Stadium and CMA Fest. But the Boston fans made him feel welcome and showed the country star appreciation for his mere presence in the Boston bar. Thanks to our friend, Houston Bernard, we got the video footage from Cole’s performance. Check it out.
Now after a late night at Loretta’s Last Call and a good night’s sleep, Cole was looking for some stuff to do. He took to Twitter for suggestions and even hit up Patriots icon, Rob Gronkowski! Who wouldn’t want to party with Gronk!?
Boston.. day off. What do I need to see?
— Cole Swindell (@coleswindell) December 11, 2016
@RobGronkowski where ya at brotha?! We in town
— Cole Swindell (@coleswindell) December 11, 2016
Cole actually headed back to Loretta’s for brunch- one of the best in the city with an incredible menu and Bloody Mary bar. After a good meal, Cole headed out for a bit but he actually returned later in the night to join Renee Castle of Country 102.5 for Sunday Sunday which featured acoustic sets from a number of local artists.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BN5GCWbjYyt/?taken-by=reneecastle1025
And when local singer-songwriter, Kevin Herchen, began singing Cole’s hit number one song, ‘You Should Be Here,’ Cole jumped on stage and sang along with Kevin.
While we don’t know what Cole was up to on Monday morning, we do know what he was doing on Monday evening! He headed down I-95 to Foxborough to a place that he’s actually played at multiples times… Gillette Stadium! And fun fact, Cole wrote ‘You Should Be Here’ in the Gillette Stadium parking lot! But he wasn’t there for the concert- he was there for Monday Night Football between the New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens.
Heading to @GilletteStadium where I wrote "You Should Be Here" for the MNF game! @Patriots @Ravens
— Cole Swindell (@coleswindell) December 12, 2016
Now we know there are multiple artists who have a special sort of relationship with Boston- Kenny Chesney, Kip Moore, David Nail. Do we have another blossoming love between a country star and the city of Boston? Sure appears that way. Cole could’ve easily skipped town after his shows in the Northeast and headed back down south to better weather- he is from Georgia. But no. He stuck around in the cold, and in a snowstorm, and supported a local business, treated local fans to a spur of the moment performance and even made dreams come true for local artists by sharing the stage with them. So Cole, thank you for coming to Boston and spending time in our city. You’re welcome to come back anytime. Heck, you can stay at our place if you want to.