Tag Archives: Chris Janson

The Unofficial Kick Off to Summer With Chris Young!

Memorial Day may be the unofficial kick-off to summer but Chris Young’s Raised on Country tour with Chris Janson and Dylan Scott just kicked off the summer of country concerts at Xfinity Center in Mansfield this past Friday night. We’re not sure if we could have asked for a better day besides maybe the show being on a Saturday but we’ll let that one go.  The sun was shining, tailgates were down and the country music was blasting!

Dylan Scott started the night with ‘Hooked,’ ‘Ball Cap’ and ‘Nothing to Do Town’ which got the crowd going. He slowed it down a bit with ‘Nobody’ and then honored his 90s country artists with Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s ‘Fishin In the Dark,’ ‘I Like it, I love it’ by Tim McGraw, David Lee Murphy’s ‘Dust on the Bottle,’ and George Strait’s infamous ‘Check Yes or No.’  Rounding out with what would soon become the theme song of the night, he played a favorite of his, Keith Whitley’s ‘When You say Nothing At All.’ He wrapped his set with the single that put him on the map and the song that he wrote about his high school sweetheart who is now his wife, ‘My Girl.’

The crowd continued to fill in as Chris Janson took the stage.  Let us just say, if you haven’t seen Chris Janson live before, we highly recommend adding him to your concert lineup!  Janson won our very own NECM Laurel over as a fan when she saw him open for Sam Hunt.

The entertainer he is, opened with ‘Redneck Life’ and ran around the stage showing off his harmonica skills.  Followed by ‘Everybody’ and his second #1, ‘Fix a Drink!’ He followed those up with his new single ‘Good Vibes’ and then slowed it down. He introed ‘Holdin’ Her’ by explaining how he may be portrayed as a wild man on stage but regardless of his image, he is a Christian man who loves the Lord, his wife and his kids.

Referencing his recent Rolling Stone article, Janson proudly claimed the title of the most open minded redneck stating ”I was raised to not care what others think about me.”  And that he doesn’t. Soon after, he was making pterodactyl and bald eagle movements on stage asking the crowd to join him. Janson’s stage presence isn’t something you’ll get every show and we loved every minute of it!

Wrapping up his set, he killed another harmonica solo which transitioned into Billy Joel’s ‘Piano Man’ where Janson had a harmonica headset and just a keyboard. It was only right that he played his ACM award winning ‘Drunk Girl,’ as Boston was very first place he played it live.

He joked with the crowd as he stepped up to the drum set, “bet you’d never seen a country boy play the drums like Tommy Lee from his time in Motley Cru.” A jack of all trades, Janson killed the drums and then ended his set with his first #1, ‘Buy Me a Boat.’

As the crowd waited for Chris Young to take the stage, the Chris Young Dance Cam panned over the crowd catching those who were blessed with happy feet. Happy feet quickly turned into finding those with full beers and a chugging contest.

Finally, it was time for the main act. The baritone started the crowd off on a slow set, making the girls swoon with a run of “Hangin’ On,’ ‘Getting You Home,’ ‘Lonely Eyes,’ ‘Losing Sleep,’ and ‘Who I Am With You.’  And just like that, a better man dropped to his knee and we had a front row proposal!! Wishing you the best Brittany and Justin wherever you are! Taking a brief detour from the set list, Young covered the theme song of the night singing Dylan’s Scott’s favorite again, Keith Whitley’s ‘When You Say Nothing At All.’

The stage design and graphics definitely kept the crowd hooked as ‘I Can Take It From There’ and ‘Hold My Beer’ rolled on through.

A video montage of artists including Brad Paisley and Florida Georgia Line came on, all sharing a tid bit of how they were raised on country music ending with Chris explaining his love for country and how he was raised on country music! The montage was a perfect transition into Chris addressing the crowd recognizing this was his first amphitheater tour on his own, he couldn’t thank the crowd enough. “This song did it. It’s almost like a graduation for me to be on this tour.” The crowd began to sing along with ‘I’m Comin’ Over!’

Chris introed his next song by sharing the story of one of the first concerts he attended. His mom had won tickets to a show at the Starwood Amphitheater in Nashville. They sat on the grass, watched Vince Gil and he thought how great it would be to do exactly that.  Little did he know, he would work with Vince himself on one of his very own songs. ‘Sober Saturday Night’ led into ‘Life of the Party’ as Cassadee Pope sang along behind him on the big screen. Fans started slow dancing in aisle as ‘Good Man’ started and the security lit their way with his flashlight.  Country music is something special that’s for sure.

Chris was all smiles from the second he took the stage until he closed out with the exception of playing his new song. He shared how it was about a friend of his who passed away unexpectedly in a car accident.  With just some keys and guitar, the lyrics were relatable to anyone who has lost someone. ‘Today’ was REAL.

As the night started to come to an end, Chris jokingly asked how he was supposed to transition to the next song after that one and decided that he needed to cover Garth Brook’s ‘Papa Loves Mama’ instead. Followed by his own ‘You,’ ‘Save Water, Drink Beer’ and introed his band. The lights dimmed and ‘Tomorrow’ started. A perfect way to close out the night and kick off the weekend, Chris ended with ‘Aw Naw’ singing about buying a shot of patron and how we’ve all gotta be up early.

We are so happy to say that summer of country concerts is back. There’s nothing like the country community, from tailgates to chugging contests and dancing in the aisles at shows, we all share our love for country music!

What shows will you be attending this summer!?

Much Respect for Chris Janson’s ‘Drunk Girl.’

Some of the top themes in country music today include pick-up trucks, love, break-ups, and drinking. These are the songs that we all know and love. However, the subjects of these songs may subtly influence our decisions on the simple things like what brand of beer we should drink or whether we buy the F-150 or the Silverado. The theme of all songs in not so simple. ‘Drunk Girl’ tackles one of those more difficult subjects and it has the potential to impact how we start treating each other. As more people listen to ‘Drunk Girl,’ it is conceivable that we’ll see Chris Janson’s message in this song become the new normal.

Chris Janson debuted his powerful song ‘Drunk Girl’ on January 5th 2018. Despite the song title, which could leave one to believe otherwise, this piece was written about the respect that men should have for women. The lyrics leave a strong message: Take a drunk girl home. Let her sleep all alone. Leave her keys on the counter your number by her phone. Pick up her life she threw on the floor. Leave the hall lights on walk out and lock the door. That’s how she knows the difference between a boy and man. Take a drunk girl home. This could be one example of a more modern way of showing respect and caring for one another. Janson told PEOPLE that his new song is written “From a guy’s perspective, I think it’s a good message for any age man to treat women with respect.” The message isn’t lost among us females either. There are always ways that we can treat one another with respect and kindness.” Respecting one another is mutual. This is a song than not only men should listen to, but women should listen to as well. Women should expect a man to treat them this way.

‘Drunk Girl’ conveys a message of morality. Janson went on to tell PEOPLE “Do the right thing. Doing the right thing always ends up with a perfect outcome, and I would say that goes for guys and girls alike…You do the right thing; the right outcome always comes from it. You can always bet on that.” Such good advice and a good reminder to all of us. We should think before long and hard before we act. And even if the outcome doesn’t turn out as we planned, at least we know that the decision was the right one.

This song is a good reminder of how difficult it can be to make the right choices in life. Janson reported to Billboard Magazine that the song is “drawing tears from people’s eyes, and pulling stories from men and women alike who might not have had a voice or a platform to talk about it. It’s amazing. It’s cool to see songs bring emotions out in people.” It’s refreshing to see us open up and start to talk about our life situations because of this song. Kudos to Janson for taking a leap and broaching such a sensitive topic with this song.

Janson, Tom Douglas, and Scooter Carusoe penned ‘Drunk Girl.’ All three are fathers of daughters. As parents, we want to raise well-mannered, respectful, kind children. We can all strive to be more compassionate, better listeners, and better helpers. Let’s continue to do our best as parents to make the next generation polite and respectful people.

Chris Janson will be joining Cole Swindell and Lauren Alaina on the Reason to Drink tour.

You can purchase ‘Drunk Girl’ on iTunes here.