REVIEW: Cole Swindell Concert
By Tarin McMorrow,
Bluedevilhub.com Staff–
Academy of Country Music Awards, New Artist of the Year: a title coveted by all striving country artists, with one dream to connect with people through their words and their
music. This year at the 50th annual awards show, country artist Cole Swindell took home the title and was fast at turning his dream into a reality, selling his first sold out show here in Sacramento on Thursday, April 30 at the Ace of Spades.
While waiting outside for the doors to open, you could feel the anticipation in the air, people of all ages smiling and anxious for the show to begin. Security walked down the line, marking hands with an “X” to say you are of age or “M” for minor, as Ace of Spades contains a restricted bar area.
Soon after, young and handsome Nashville born solo artist, and opening act, Tyler Rich, walks down the line meeting the fans, hugging and taking photos with all. He captivated the audience with his unique voice and relatable anecdotes.
Halfway through his mini-performance, Rich invites eight-year-old, Kiersten, also known as “the girl with the purple guitar,” on stage to sing his song “Radio” with him. Kiersten sends letters to budding country singers all across the country asking them, when she goes to their concert, if they will sign her purple guitar.
Following Rich were “Fine Lookin’ Country Girl” singers, the Brodie Stewart Band, who got the entire audience dancing with their upbeat music and electric energy. As you moved to the music you felt swarmed by the largeness of the crowd yet there were no issues. Everybody there wanted the same thing, and that was to have a memorable night and rock out to some good country music.
As the night went on, the room grew extremely hot, especially for a crowded all standing concert. However, free water was offered at all times and it still proved to be a fun venue.
After both opening acts had concluded their performances, the audience was then informed it was time for the Meet and Greet. When you buy tickets, all are offered a chance to put in their name for the Meet and Greet with Swindell, and from there people are chosen at random. Standing in line knowing that you were minutes from meeting Cole was thrilling.
Everyone in line was checking their hair and makeup, practicing their smiles and fanning themselves in an effort to ward off the early evening heat. It wasn’t long before you were next in line to stand with Swindell in front of his logo backdrop, and excited fans were shaking with anxiousness.
Swindell was able to sign any merchandise brought up with you and was even nice enough to sign frames to go with the photo that you took together. He was gracious for the support from the fans and thanked everyone for visiting him in Sacramento. It was fast and furious reaching the Meet and Greet line.
First, you would meet the country artist and then push your way back up to the stage, but security kept it moving smoothly and quickly so that the lucky Meet and Greet winners didn’t have to compensate by missing part of the show.
About two hours after the doors had opened, Swindell hopped in front of the crowd kicking off the concert with his happy hit “Hey Y’all.” The excited audience quickly lost their voices from singing so much, but that didn’t stop them from yelling and dancing to the very end.
For someone who is still considered a new artist, Swindell has an incredible stage presence and sense of the audience, making eye contact with fans and sending hearts back out to the crowd. The Ace of Spades came alive with his special gift of music. When the crowd started to sing along to his greatest hits, such as “You Ain’t Worth the Whiskey” and “Chillin’ it,” Swindell’s infectious smile refused to vanish as if he could not believe that he’d finally made it.
