The scene was set for an amazing night of country music on March 5th at Lupo’s in Providence, Rhode Island. Our good friends at Cat Country 98.1 (WCTK) brought Eric Paslay along with special guest Dean Alexander to town for a sold-out show. This concert was historic in the fact that it was the first ever full country music concert at Lupo’s. Fans of all ages filled the balcony and floor below in anticipation of seeing one of the best singer-songwriter that country music has to offer.
Dean Alexander was up first on this night and arrived on-stage with just himself and an acoustic guitar. Seeing as how this is New England in Winter, Dean’s band had some travel issues getting into town due to bad weather. That didn’t stop Alexander from taking the stage to introduce his music to Providence. Right from the start of his set, you could tell how great a stage presence he has as he performed his song ‘Live A Little.’ The crowd was into Dean’s performance from the first verse and he wasn’t letting them go. He took a moment to address the crowd, “This is gonna be a fun night. Y’all are cold as hell but y’all are good looking!” Everyone was then treated to a great song called, ‘Let It Go,’ and we’re not talking about the Frozen version.
“We are the very first country concert in this place. I decided before the show I’ll do something different and try a few new things,” Alexander told the sold-out audience. He then proceeded to break out great cover versions of Imagine Dragons ‘Radioactive’ and ‘Crazy’ by Gnarls Barkley. Both of these songs had the crowd singing along and amping up th energy inside Lupo’s. Dean closed out his set with two damn good songs in ‘Heart Won’t Fix Itself’ and ‘Forget You.’ The latter being a great poignant song in which he mixed in a fantastic guitar solo. Anyone who came into the show not knowing who Dean Alexander was certainly left a fan of his music by the end of his performance. He has a bright future ahead of him and can’t wait until he visits New England again.
You could feel the buzz inside Lupo’s as the excitement to see the man of the hour was building by the minute. Right around 8:45pm, Eric Paslay and his band took the stage for what would be a non-stop parade of amazing songs. Paslay hit the ground running with two songs off of his self-titled debut album, ‘Like A Song’ and ‘Never Really Wanted.’ Eric has had great success not only as a perfomer but as a songwriter. This was on full display with his next song, ‘Barefoot Blue Jean Night.’ “Jake Owen recorded this and I want to thank all of you for making this my first #1 as a songwriter,” Paslay proudly told the crowd. The entire building was was singing along and got even louder when he changed the words in one chorus to, “Barefoot Providence night.” One of the many highlights of the evening was ‘Country Side of Heaven.’ This song slowed things down and showed off the incredible vocal and storytelling that has made Paslay such a fantastic artist. ‘Keep On Falling’ was next in line right after the crowd was given the chance to win a free pair of boots via text from Country Outfitter.
Eric and his band we’re just warming up when they broke out the current single, ‘She Don’t Love You.’ This song has been striking a chord with country music fans since it’s release and was easy to see why as the fans in attendance were swaying back and forth while singing along. ‘Song About A Girl’ cranked the energy up to 10 from the tall bearded guy in the front of the stage, all the way to the last row in the balcony. Paslay has such a collection of songs to pull from when her performs live, from songs off his own album to songs he wrote which found success for other artists. ‘Angel Eyes’ was yet another example of songwriting success as Love & Theft took it took it to #1 back in 2011. Everyone in the audience popped huge for this song and Eric allowed them to take over the chorus as he stood in appreciation.
Feeding off the energy inside Lupo’s, Paslay broke out a great cover of the Rolling Stones ‘Satisfaction.’ At this point, he broke out some serious dance moves and had some fun with the crowd as he took phones from the crowd to take photos. Eric then took the time to introduce everyone to his fantastic band who earn their paycheck and then some. ‘If the Fish Don’t Bite’ and ‘Good With Wine’ gave the fans a chance to hear some songs that the casual fan might not know but you love the first time you hear them. Paslay decided to reach into his songwriting bag of tricks and play another great song he wrote, ‘Rewind.’ This single has found great success for band that is well known in country music, Rascal Flatts. A great cover version of Tom Petty’s ‘American Girl’ had the crowd as loud as they had been all night while Paslay jammed in the middle of the stage with his band. This song was bookended by ‘Deep As It Is Wide’ and ‘Wild and Young.’
“I wrote this next song with a buddy in Nashville (Will Hoge),” Eric told the crowd before playing his next song. It was a simple introduction to a song that country fans know all too well… Eli Young Band’s ‘Even If It Breaks Your Heart.’ This was easily one of the best performances of the night as the song gives such a great message. There wasn’t a single fan not singing along and just shows how much country music joins people together. Eric took a moment to address his fans, “Thank y’all for being here as this is amazing and huge thanks to Cat Country!” The night was coming to an end as ‘Rain From Heaven’ and ‘Less Than Whole’ were both given great live versions. ‘Keep On Falling’ was setup to be the last song of the evening but we all know that a great show doesn’t end without an encore. Paslay left the stage as his band played a mix of ‘Beat It’, ‘Walk This Way’ and ‘Back In Black.’ It didn’t take long for him to return and close out one incredible concert with his first #1 song as a performer, ‘Friday Night.’ The crowd blew the roof off of Lupo’s from the first chord as fans of all different ages were singing along together. Eric and his band took this all in as he thanked the crowd again and left the stage.
Having the pleasure of seeing Paslay both as an opener and now as a headliner solidifies the fact that he is one of Nashville’s brightest rising stars. His songwriting skills are matched only by the ease in which he controls the stage, switching between his own songs and one’s that have found success with other artists. It’s truly a pleasure to see Eric perform live and can’t wait until he graces us here in New England again with his talents.
You can also check out the interview Eric Paslay did for New England Country Music a few months ago.
Huge thanks to our great friends at Cat Country 98.1 (WCTK) as they made this concert even more special with their hospitality.
This review was done by NECM contributing writer Mike Sullivan. You can follow me on Twitter.