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[GUEST POST] Kenny Chesney Knocks Socks Off in No Shoes Nation Tour

Kenny Chesney is back on the road again, and this year’s No Shoes Nation tour is sure to knock your socks off. Starting with the Southern states, Kenny and tour mate Eric Church will rock across America this summer with a show packed full of new tunes, old favorites and maybe even a couple surprise duets. But this isn’t your average summer concert series. After attending the concert this past weekend in Columbia, I can assure you that this is an experience you won’t want to miss.

The No Shoes Nation Tour invites concert goers to kick off their shoes and party in true Kenny style. Kenny just wrapped up his performance at Williams Brice Stadium in Columbia, SC, and the festivities started hours before the show. With good old Southern hospitality, fans lined the parking lot to tailgate for the big event at Kenny’s Signature Beach Party. No shoes? No shirt? No problem! Complete with pickup trucks, cowboy hats and skull bearing flags, it was a full-scale pirate party. If you have tickets for another stop on the tour list, take my advice and get there early. You won’t want to miss the pre-performance bash.

On stage, Kenny caters to his loyal longtime fans. Some artists have a tendency to play more of their new music if they are touring after the release of a new album. Not Kenny. You’ll hear old favorites like ‘Keg in the Closet’, ‘Out Last Night’, and of course ‘Summertime’. He did a few new spins on some of the old classics too, playing acoustic intros and adding some Caribbean beats to a chorus here and there.

Plus, he’s playing a good selection of tunes from the new album Life on a Rock. His new hit single Pirate Flag reviewed in an earlier post was a fan favorite at the Columbia show – with several fans sporting some vintage pirate hats and waving pirate flags to the beat. He also played some other new songs from his new album, which features duets with Willie Nelson, and The Wailers. Another collaboration with Tim McGraw earned Kenny one of his three nominations to the upcoming 2013 CMT Awards, set to air in June on the Country Music Television channel available on DirecTVDeal. Kenny’s toured with Tim before, but played the solo version of the new hit at his most recent show.

Overall, Kenny fans won’t want to miss this tour. The island cowboy delivers a unique country music experience that is best served warm – during the summer months. So kickoff your shoes, sit back, relax and enjoy a No Shoes Nation show this summer.

Eddie is a writer and blogger and loves country music. Eddie spends most of his time writing and researching different topics to create great content.

Thunder on the Mountain Google+ Hangout – Rose Falcon!

Hey everyone, recently there was a Google+ Hangout for the upcoming Thunder on the Mountain festival, featuring country artist Rose Falcon. As well as interviewing the songstress, you get to hear more about the festival. Check it out here, and don’t forget this week is a JT Hodges hangout, so look out for me posting that here soon!

New article! (that review that Blake tweeted about)

Ooops. Have I been naughty again? It seems I have.

I appear to have written a negative review about Blake Shelton’s new promotional song ‘Ten Times Crazier’. He read it and tweeted about it and the fans are coming out the woodwork.

I would say that actually the Blake fans are a hell of a lot nicer when pissed than other fan groups I’ve come across in that situation, so I guess that’s a testament to both them and Blake.

Anyway, go read the review and let me know what you think, good or bad! As it stands there are nearly 2000 shares on it. So you know.

Why we need more hell on heels

From last.fm

So since Pistol Annies released their debut album ‘Hell On Heels’ last August, I’ve been lapping up their music. As you may have realised, I’ve been a big fan of Miranda Lambert for years so naturally jumped on the PA bandwagon. The album is certainly different to Miranda’s musical standpoint although obviously shows elements of her, and in my view is kind of a modern tribute to Honky-Tonk. The album sounds a fair bit rougher than Miranda’s more clean cut songs, and is decidedly ‘more country’ (if that makes any sense) than half of what is played on the radio in the current scene. It definitely is in line with Miranda’s Texas roots as it pays homage to the Western ‘cowboy’ sound of the 1940s all the way through to the 1970s (not that I’m saying the whole thing is Miranda I just don’t know as much about the other two).

These girls are a modern incarnation of Honky-Tonk Angels and I love it. You only have to look at their latest video for ‘Takin’ Pills’ (released today) to note the cowboy boots, cigarettes, truck driving and truck stops, guitars, liquor and the glaring desert sunshine to see they’re driving this image with full force. No matter what your taste in clothes I think every girl would want to dress like them, and no matter what your taste in women I think every man would want them. Why do I love it? It’s different. A lot of today’s current country music continues in the same vein, and while I have no issue with Nashville’s poppy sound, sometimes the songs romanticise country working class life far too much, it’s all too sweet and pretty and nostalgic. Hell On Heels covers subjects such as divorce, men, women’s struggles, drinking, smoking, unwanted pregnancy, hard times and economic struggle and family feuds. They seem to be far more in touch with real people than most of country today and they do so with a wry smile as they sing about the characters that really inhabit the small towns in America.

Most of all it’s nice to see women singing about more than love and heartbreak. There have always been strong women in country music but it seems like lately the feisty ones are few and far between. I believe the last ones we had were the Dixie Chicks and a lot of their music was still quite Nashville-esque… unfortunately it seems that there is still sexism in country music because if someone like Eric Church had said what they did most people wouldn’t have cared. Having said that, that was nine years ago and I hope that following the silence that arrived in their wake the Pistol Annies are opening up an avenue for more feisty opinionated women to be successful in the industry. Sure, country music in general will never be able to say or sing about the things that pop and rock stars do, but that’s part of the origins of the genre. There is definitely more room for equality between men and women in country and I believe the Pistol Annies can begin to make that change again. When Honky-Tonk and Western styles originally came around there was little acceptance of ‘loose’ women, but in this modern age I think people are much more comfortable with the idea and hopefully PA will use their position to voice some issues and equal the score a little.

It’d be nice to see someone push the boundaries again, if only for a little while.

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