New country artist, Kelsea Ballerini, hit the scene a couple years ago with her debut album First Time. She has toured with other country artists, but is currently headlining her own tour titled the name of her album. Her tour began Nov. 11, 2016, in Knoxville, Tenn. and will end Dec. 14, 2016, in Houston.
I had the privilege of attending her concert in NYC at Irving Plaza on Dec. 2 presented by Nash FM 94.7. Like all experienced concert-goers, I prepared all day by listening to her album on repeat so I would know everything she was singing and attempt to sing along. This venue is only general admission tickets, which means no seats. With this in mind, arriving at the location before doors opening is a must for a good spot.
After attending Ballerini’s concert, I am thrilled to say that her first headlining tour is a success in my eyes. It has certainly earned a place among my top concerts. Even after the concert ended, I was ready to continue singing and dancing the night away. My only wish would have been a longer show.
Ballerini was quite lively and upbeat clearly showing she was having just as much fun as the crowd was. Whether she was singing or talking to the crowd, she knew how to interact and connect with the crowd. This is typically a trait of a seasoned artist that Ballerini exhibits so early in her career. Her fiery, fun personality lit up the stage all night long.
She entertained the crowd with many songs from her album, including radio hits “Dibs”, “Love Me Like You Mean It” and her most recent “Peter Pan”. She also sang “Sirens”, “Xo”, “First Time”, “Underage” and more. Along with her own songs, she covered other artists such as, Justin Bieber, Adele and Chis Stapleton. By singing her own songs and peppering in other artists’, she created a fun, dynamic show for the entire audience.
In fact, the show was so alive that the fire alarm went off in the middle of Ballerini debuting a new song for those in attendance. No announcement to leave the building was ever made, but Ballerini and her band were escorted off the stage. She even tweeted from backstage to let her fans know that she would return to the stage shortly. The alarm eventually turned off, but no official cause was ever announced.
Ballerini eventually took the stage again, and started up the show with just as much energy like nothing had happened. Asking the crowd if they were still with her, the cheers answered her question with just as much energy. Ballerini even brought a group of fans sporting Christmas sweaters with her picture on stage for a number. She also performed her title track with her guitar among the audience saying that is how she pictured performing when she first started her career.
These two examples are only part of her amazing audience interaction. Even when she was on stage simply speaking out to the crowd, Ballerini connected to the audience as if she was having a personal conversation. She talked of her hometown roots in Tennessee and songwriting on her own at the age of 12. Eventually, she took to collaborating with others.
“There are so many incredible people like that in Nashville, so naturally I just wanted to get in the room with anyone that I could so I can learn how to be a better songwriter and I can just get better,” said Ballerini.
As much experience as she gained from working with other great artists, she missed the days of writings songs on her own.
“In doing that I forgot how to write songs about myself because I just wanted to get better from everyone else,” said Ballerini
Once her album was finished, she took to writing her own songs again. Inspiration struck, as she quickly wrote another song, but unfortunately it was too late to add to the album. That did not stop her from putting it out in the world.
Along with songwriting, Ballerini also spoke of her experience with her first heartbreak, which was the theme of song “Peter Pan”. Even before asking the crowd if they had experience heartbreak too, it was clearly a very relatable topic.
“I learned a lot from it, and looking back I’m glad for it. One of the things I learned from my first heartbreak is it takes forever to let it go,” said Ballerini.
From here, she continued to describe the ordeal through a compilation of songs, including James Bay’s “Let it Go”, Justin Bieber’s “Sorry” and One Republic’s “Apologize”. This led to her performing her most recent hit “Peter Pan”.
While I have mainly focused on Ballerini, I have to acknowledge her opening act too. One of the things I love about country concerts is, for the most part, it is easy to enjoy and be pumped up by opening acts. This goes for Ballerini’s opening act Jacob Davis. While I had not heard of him before, his set made me dance around like I had. He, like Ballerini, knew how to get the crowd involved and pump up all in attendance.
I congratulate Ballerini on a job very well done. I was beyond excited to attend her concert, and so did not disappoint my expectations. I loved every second of the entire show, and would see her again in a heartbeat. Next time, I might even consider a VIP ticket.
