Back 2 Back Entertainment presented the first show (with a hope of others to possibly follow) at Lancaster National Speedway this past Saturday with Columbia Recording artist Case Rice and local musician Eric Van Houten. The show attracted a couple thousand folks who were prime to get their country on.
Taking the stage first was local country musician Eric Van Houten. Van Houten and his band revved up the crowd for an hour set that contained about half original songs and half covers. He appeared on stage with an electric guitar in one hand and a whiskey bottle in the other. He poured shots down some of the attendees’ mouths who were close enough to the stage. His set included covers of “Seven Bridges” with his bassist and guitarist joining in to sing the opening verse. Van Houten did a cover of one of his favorite songs, the Gin Blossoms “Hey Jealousy.” The highlight of his set was a song he just wrote a few days prior called “”Get into my Arms” as it was just Van Houten and his acoustic guitar as he sang the heartfelt song. With more polishing, Van Houten can be the next big thing in country music.
The star of the show was Rice as he and his big production showed why he is one of the rising stars in country music. In case you weren’t familiar with Rice, his debut album “Ignite the Night” debuted at number 3 on Billboard and number 1 on Billboard Country. Rice’s look is a cross between hip hop and pop country. He and his band were all about giving the fans what they wanted. It was a show that made the audience want to participate by singing along and dancing too. Rice, along with his band, didn’t stay in one area too long as they worked every inch of that stage covering side to side and slapping each hand along the way.
Rice did a medley of ’80s songs including Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer” and Def Leppard’s “Pour Some Sugar on Me.” Rice had the crowd participate in singing along the verse to Tom Petty and the Heartbreaker’s “Free Falling.” Of course he played the hit he co-wrote with Florida Georgia Line in “Cruise.” Rice ended the set with his biggest hit “Ready Set Roll.”
It’s been two years since Rice has come out with new material so the next one can lead him into super stardom. Its seems like Back 2 Back always books shows of country artists who turn into major country artists (Eric Church and The Band Perry are two prime examples). Maybe Rice will be the next one in that trajectory!
Setlist:
How She Rolls
Do It Like This
50 Shades
I Like Drinking, Cause Its Fun
We Goin’ Out
Smoke a Little Smoke (Eric Church cover)/Pour Some sugar (Def Leppard cover)/Livin’ on a Prayer (Bon Jovi cover)/Free Falling (Tom petty cover) medley
Everyone We Know Does
Gonna Wanna Tonight
Jack Daniels & Jesus
Ride
Cruise (Florida Georgia Line cover)
Encore:
Ready Set Roll
We would like to thank Ross Catalino from Back 2 Back Entertainment for the credentials to review the show.
