The outdoor concert season came to a close this past Thursday evening in Charlotte as the Charlotte Metro Credit Union Ampitheatre played host to two of the hottest country acts around as Aaron Lewis and Blackberry Smoke made a stop in the Queen City on their “Sinners and Sanctified” Tour. It was a beautiful albeit chilly evening as fans began to stream into the venue in anticipation of a night that would never forget.
There was a strong contingent of Blackberry Smoke fans in the house ready to rock and boogie with their favorite country rock band. Everywhere you looked someone was sporting Blackberry Smoke merchandise of some kind. The crowd erupted as the lights dimmed and the band hit the stage with “Six Ways To Sunday.” Frontman Charlie Starr was on fire as he led the band through a set that included songs from their latest album “Like An Arrow” as well as some Blackberry Smoke classics. The band sounded tight and they had a fun country rock, boogie stomp kind of vibe. The crowd got involved early on making their presence known and singing along. Guitarist Paul Jackson was churning out the riffs as bassist Richard Turner and his brother, drummer Britt Turner kept a driving pace. Rounding out the sound was keyboardist Brandon Still. If you have never seen this band live, don’t miss your chance as they have a great stage presence and were thoroughly entertaining. They even threw in a surprise with an cool cover of “Come Together” by the Beatles. Fans had come to have a great time and that’s exactly what they got from Blackberry Smoke’s set.
After a short intermission, it was time for Aaron Lewis to wow the crowd. First known for being the frontman in the alternative rock group Staind, Lewis took a turn toward country with the 2011 release of his “Town Line” EP and hasn’t looked back since. His first full length album “The Road” followed in 2012 and he is currently out with his touring band promoting his latest release “The Sinner.”
The evening began with a patriotic moment as Aaron started things out with the “Pledge of Allegiance.” With his Trump for President baseball cap off and his hand over his heart, Lewis led the audience through the Pledge before segueing into his first country hit “Country Boy.” It was clear early on that Lewis’s voice is in top form as his raspy vocals resonated across the ampitheatre. He kept the chit chat to a minimum taking time between songs to light up a cigarette and instead let the music do most of the talking. He brought along a band of top notch musicians that played impeccably throughout the set which included songs from all his solo releases as well as a few Staind classics. He got a huge cheer from the women in the
audience as he dedicated “Tangled Up In You” to all the ladies in the house and had most of the men whooping and hollering for his cover of the Jamey Johnson tune “Keeping Up With The Jonesin’.” After a rousing version of “That Ain’t Country” aimed at a few of today’s country crossover artists that shall remain nameless, Lewis announced the final song of the set as something he wrote long before any of you ever heard of the band Staind. He then launched into what began as a poignant version of “It’s Been A While.” Midway through the song, Lewis went metal turning his vocal into a deep growl and somewhat of a “dirty” vocal. He paused for a moment after joking to the crowd and saying, ” You didn’t think the old man still had it in him, did you?” as a sea of metal horns went up across the venue. The stage went dark leaving the audience wanting more and Lewis happily obliged. Aaron returned to the stage without his band for a two song acoustic encore of the Staind tunes “Something To Remind You” and finishing the night off with an emotional performance of “Outside” with the crowd singing along.
No one was ready for the show to be over but as the saying goes all good things must come to an end. The crowd began to slowly file out to the parking lots chatting about the show and cherishing the moments until next time.
Aaron Lewis Set List:
Pledge of Allegiance
Country Boy
Sinner
State Lines
Mama
Right Here (Staind)
Vicious Circles
The Road
Tangled Up In You
Keeping Up With The Jonesin’ (Jamey Johnson cover)
That Ain’t Country
It’s Been A While (Staind)
Encore(Acoustic, Aaron Only):
Something To Remind You (Staind)
Outside (Staind)
Blackberry Smoke Set List:
Six Ways To Sunday
Good One Comin’ On
Ought To Know
Pretty Little Lie
Waiting For The Thunder
Let I Burn
Come Together (Beatles cover)
Shaking Hands With The Holy Ghost
Ain’t Got The Blues
One Horse Town
Up In Smoke
We would like to thank Lindsay White from Webster PR for the credentials to review the show.
