Cole Swindell Brought Lauren Alaina and Chris Janson Along To Invade The Corbin Arena
Cole Swindell brought his “Reason To Drink” tour To Corbin Kentucky and judging from the amount of beer I saw being consumed, there were plenty of reasons to drink!!
Most people that know me would consider me a rock n roll guy and I am but I’m also a fan of live music. So when the opportunity presented itself to cover this show I jumped at it. One thing I’ve learned about these big country tours is they put on one helluva show! Big stages, big productions, big video screens and some serious lights! All that makes for great photo opportunities and Cole Swindell, Chris Janson, Lauren Alaina took full advantage of all that was provided to them!
Lauren Alaina was the first to put this big stage and lights to use on this night. If you are an American Idol fan her name may be familiar as the runner-up on season 10 of the show. She’s isn’t just known for that though, she has established herself as a rising country artist. With #1 singles and several awards under her belt, the latest award coming just a few days after the Corbin show – ACM’s New Female Vocalist Of The Year. She started he set with her first single “Georgia Peaches” from her depute album Wildflower then straight into a very cool cover of Guns N Roses “Paradise City”. For her song “Next Boyfriend” she brought two guys from the audience to dance with her. Closing her set with her two #1 singles “What Ifs” and “Road Less Traveled”
Fresh off being inducted as an official member of the Grand Ole Opry Chris Janson was next on the Corbin arena stage. That induction happened just a few days before this show on the 20th of March to be exact. He started his set off with “Redneck Life” a song from his latest album Everybody. Chris’s set was high energy to say the least, he never stops moving and his harmonica seems like it’s always in his hands. He threw in a couple of covers like “Piano Man” and a song he wrote for Tim McGraw “Truck Yeah”, sprinkle in some #1 hits like “Drunk Girl” and the sets closing song” Buy Me A Boat” and you’ve got a complete show!
As good as the first two acts were, things were about to get kicked into high gear! After a short break for the changeover, Mr. Swindell took the stage and for the next couple hours or so put out a 21 song set! He said this was his first headlining tour but I didn’t see anything to make me think that. He and his band were spot-on with everything I saw. He started the night off with a top 5 hit “Let Me See Ya Girl” followed soon by a #1 hit “Hope You Get Lonely Tonight” both from his self-titled depute album Cole Swindell. That album produced 2 more #1 hits “Chillin’ It” and “Aint Worth The Whiskey” both of which were included in his set list. His next album You Should Be Here also produced 2 #1 hits, the title track “You Should Be Here” and “Middle of a Memory” that he and Lauren Alaina performed for the big Corbin crowd. Lauren stayed on stage to help with a super cover of Prince’s “Purple Rain”. The next few songs were all acoustic, most were covers of songs he had written for other artists like Thomas Rhett’s “Get Me Some Of that” and Luke Bryan’s “ Roller Coaster” he brought Chris Janson back out to help with a cover of Alan Jackson’s “Chattahoochee” to close out the acoustic section of his show. He did have one more cover Ed Sheeran’s “Shape Of You”. Couple more songs finished off his set, but he came back out for a three-song encore!
These three artists covered a lot of music, something for everyone in attendance to enjoy.
The Corbin Arena is a great place to see a show. I have been to several shows now since the one they have caught so much grief over last year. They seem to have fixed all those issues, everyone got in the doors on time. Give them another chance; I think you’ll be pleased with what they have done!
Get out and support live music, wherever you are!
