Fans of Scotty McCreery enjoyed an evening of “Idol” worship Friday night at the Rapids Theatre in Niagara Falls, NY. Fans of the tenth season winner of the famed television show “American Idol” were able to worship the young country singer up close. McCreery engaged in his own tribute to the artists he idolizes as he performed songs by Travis Tritt, Garth Brooks and Elvis Presley.
The baby-faced McCreery has one of the best voices in country music, and in a live setting, one gets to experience it in a way that a television show cannot match. McCreery surrounded himself with a potent backing band that gave his solo material some good old fashioned country muscle, and plowed through a great selection of country music covers.
McCreery was backed by a huge LED screen that coordinated images with the songs and on occasion flashed lyrics like a karaoke machine. The visual element was distracting at times, but ultimately the highlight of the show was listening to McCreery sing, and he sounded fantastic.
In addition to performing near perfect renditions of two Garth Brooks songs, he was joined by opener Sara Darling for “The Dance,” where they shared the stage for a beautiful duet. McCreery debuted some new material including two songs that may wind up being hits, “Rock This Night” and “Out of Summertime.”
McCreery’s fans should not have left disappointed, and the crowd included all ages from as young as six or seven and up. (One note to parents who bring young kids to shows, please make sure you provide hearing protection for them.) Even though McCreery is still in college, his music has not suffered and it appears he is well on his way to a long and prosperous career in music.
Set List:
Rock This Night
Water Tower Town
Walk in the Country
Love You This Big
Yes or No
Write My Number
Papa Loved Mama (Garth Brooks cover)
Suntan
Out of Summertime
Man of Constant Sorrows (traditional)
Better than That
See You Tonight
The Dance (Garth Brooks cover)
You Make That Look Good
I Like it, I Love it (Tim McGraw cover)
In Color
Celebrity (Brad Paisley cover)
Medley: Hey Good Lookin’/ Folsom Prison Blues/ That’s Alright Mama (Hank Williams/Johnny Cash/Elvis Presley covers)
T-R-O-U-B-L-E (Travis Tritt cover)
Encore
Gone
All Photos by J. Ritz.
We would like to thank Leigh Morrison from Universal Music for the credentials for BackstageAxxess to cover the show.
