Scotty McCreery Concert Review

Okay I have to start this with a disclaimer: There is a 99% chance that this review will be highly biased and probably not very objective. I have to put that out there, especially for those of you reading who don't personally know me. Why, you might ask? Well I am a HUGE fan and supporter of Scotty McCreery and just adore him not only as an artist, but also as a PERSON. I just think it's so refreshing to see a (very) young man who is so grounded, smart, talented as well as open about his faith, and his love and dedication to his family. I think young men like Scotty are a dying breed (or at least aren't all over the public/media sphere), so I really appreciate how honest and open he's been about his life. So it's hard for me to be completely objective when I'm reviewing his work. Because I just think he's so great. And yeah I would date someone just like him. (Or just him specifically. That would work for me. If anyone wants to make that happen, that'd be great! :)

Anyway, I had the chance to see Scotty perform at our state fair with some of my best friends from college, and had an absolute blast! Minus the fact that it was 107 degrees and literally the hottest I've ever been... That part sucked. But getting to see Scotty perform live, on his own (not part of the American Idol tour) was so great! And by "so great" I mean amazing, wonderful, incredible, couldn't-stop-smiling, felt-my-heart-beating-so-fast type great. Just to clarify. :)

Yep, he's looking for me :)

In my not-so-professional opinion, Scotty has what it takes to be a big name in this industry... some day. Right now, he's young! He has one album under his belt, and really barely over a year of country music "fame." He's spent the past few months opening up for Brad Paisley on his Virtual Reality Tour. Out of all the headliners Scotty could open for, I really think Brad is the perfect option. Brad has been around the tour circuit a time or two, and is basically an old pro at it now. He creates a bond with his whole tour that is unlike many other headliners. He has fun with them and lets them in to his inner circle. Even more so, Brad loves encouraging and "teaching" country's newest talents. From tweets and interviews (etc) that I've read of Brad, he sees a lot in Scotty and has really enjoyed having him on tour. I mean have any of you seen any of their back-and-forth prank war?? Absolutely hilarious!

That stupid pink-poster-girl blocking my view made me so mad!!!

Scotty's sound and style of country is different from the sound you hear from the other under-25 males today. He has a deep, soulful voice and an extremely traditional sound. Not to criticize some of the other new acts (because I do love their music!), but Scotty is more than just an artist with a slight twang who wants to make it big so they try country. No-- he is undeniably country in his sound. There is no mistaking him for a "pop" singer. (I mean, seriously... It's so hard to believe that he's only eighteen when you hear that voice!)

In addition to his undeniable talent, his desire to truly learn from and study the sucess of the country greats who've come before him, another reason why I think he'll make it in the long run is that he is very normal and grounded. He has the love and support of two great parents who will help him along this journey. So many people come unraveled with fame because they get caught up in it. I truly believe being connected to a regular family and having seemingly "normal" parents helps (i.e. Taylor Swift). So far, it seems like Scotty really has no desire to do the whole Hollywood-famous thing. He just wants to be a normal kid who goes to school and hangs out with his friends, and yeah, on the side is a budding country music star.


Normally when I go to shows, I enter all the songs they perform into my phone's notepad so I can share highlights with you all on my blog. Well, I was a tad bit excited to be seeing Scotty and kind of forgot the whole "blogger" part of my being there. Oops! He performed his upbeat fun songs from his album, "Write My Number on Your Hand, "You Make That Look Good," and "Better Than That" as well as his radio singles "I Love You This Big," "Trouble with Girls" and current single "Water Tower Town."

He also tackled some major country covers. He did Garth Brooks' "The River" (which he performed on American Idol), as well as John Michael Montgomery's "Letters from Home." I haven't heard "Letters from Home" since I was very young, but instantly all the words came flooding back to me. To me, he gave a very heartfelt performance of this song, and the combination of how much I adore Scotty mixed with the fact that my little brother just announced he is enlisting in the Army made me get very teary during this song. (And for anyone who knows me, it takes a LOT to make me cry. So it says a lot about how much I felt what he was singing.)

I Love You This Big! (Hey, me too!)

Scotty's set was short (only about an hour), but that was expected as he only has one album out and obviously he wasn't going to perform every single song live! He did a one-song encore of Montgomery Gentry's "Gone," which even impressed my non-country best friend. (That's a major breakthrough! I'm working on her!) Throughout the show, Scotty was very energetic and was great at interacting with the crowd. He was so adorable with his in-between song banter, really letting his Southern side show with phrases like "dagum" (a classic Scotty expression) and "Lord have mercy!" He's just so adorable! His stage presence has improved GREATLY since American Idol, which I was VERY happy to see. I think a lot of this probably comes from watching Brad while out on tour. His voice sounded great-- something that isn't a guarantee when going from an album recording to a live performance. You can tell that he's still new to this though, but I think the more time he spends on tour and with his band the better he'll get. (Which by the way, he said his band is named "Dry County." If it was possible for me to adore him more, that did it for me.)

All in all I was very impressed (as I expected to be) and it just made me THAT much more excited for his next album. Rumor has it that he is in the studio working on a Christmas album, so I'm interested in checking that out. Scotty has been more than open about his deep commitment to his Christian faith, so I imagine the album will include classic Christmas songs, but also some religious-centered ones as well. That's just my guess though!

It will be interesting to see how he handles this next year as he finishes up his opening gig with Brad, and looks to start college at North Carolina State University in a few weeks. It's very well known that he wants to keep his life as "normal" as possible, but it's going to be interesting to see how he handles his increasing fame and popularity with college classes etc. I think he could definitely learn a thing or two from Taylor Swift who juggled the "exiting high school" years with increasing fame and success, and is still doing pretty dang well for herself.

Regardless of how his career progresses, I will continue to be a fan of Scotty. As I said before, I'm not only a huge fan of his music (I LOVE THAT VOICE!!!), I'm also a huge fan of him as an individual. His parents should be very proud of what a class-act young man they have raised and what a great example he is setting!

That's all for now Twangers! More concert and album reviews to come! As well as another episode in Mentionable Music Mondays, and my first post of "Country Lite" suggestions! So make sure you've got Turn Up The Twang bookmarked! Oh and, if you're feeling generous, share this page with your friends! Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest! And you can always e-mail me suggestions/comments/etc at turnupthetwang@gmail.com! Please do! I'd love your feedback!