[2/06/2015]
WMZQ // Stars and Guitars
Gloriana, Montgomery
Gentry, Maddie & Tae, and Austin Webb
When Gloriana,
Maddie & Tae, and Austin Webb get together with Montgomery Gentry, it is
bound to be one hell of a night.
Local D.C. radio
station, WMZQ, held a benefit concert in order to raise money for the American
Heart Association at The Fillmore in Silver Spring, MD on Friday night
[2/6/15].
The host for the
evening was Gloriana. For those of you who may
not know, Gloriana is made up of Rachel Reinert, and brothers, Tom and Mike
Gossin. The trio started the night off right by walking out and getting the
crowd hyped for the raw, powerful set they had in store for us.
If you’ve never been to a stars and
guitars, girls and guitars, guitars and stars, or any other show that has a
similar title, you might not be familiar with the format of the show.
Typically, benefit shows are acoustic and all the artists are on the stage at
once.
Austin Webb //
First off,
ladies, he has a slight resemblance to a young Luke Bryan. I was not sure what
to expect from this rising star when he first stepped out on stage, but I soon
realized that his talent was not limited to the recording studio. Because he is
a new artist, I was impressed with his stage presence and his confidence.
Two of the three
songs Webb performed were All Country on
You and Brings Him Back. Both of
these songs showcase his witty lyricism and raw emotion, respectively.
Maddie
& Tae //
When these two
firecrackers introduced themselves, they explained how they sit opposite of
their names on stage, so instead of Maddie & Tae, maybe it should be Tae
& Maddie. Something I’ve noticed over the years is that with newer artists,
especially females, there is a shake in their voice when they perform live. If
you have ever seen Maddie & Tae, you know that is not the case for these
ladies.
Also, if you
think these ladies bring the sass with Girl
in a Country Song, you should take a listen to Sierra [think Regina George from Mean Girls].
It is incredible
to finally see females represented in the country duo category, or even country
music in general! These ladies are going places.
Gloriana
//
Damn, these
three have talent. After seeing them perform a few times at larger shows
opening up for big names like Alan Jackson, it was nice to see them stripped
down in an acoustic performance.
They started the
night off by playing their first hit from 2009, Wild at Heart. They also showcased their new single, Trouble, and a few other tunes from a
new record they are releasing.
Montgomery
Gentry //
They may not be
as relevant as Gloriana or Maddie & Tae are currently, but damn, they
should be.
This show
provided a lot of firsts for me: Austin Webb, Maddie & Tae, but most
importantly, I finally fulfilled a dream of hearing Montgomery Gentry perform
live.
If you traveled
back in time fourteen years and told ten-year-old me that I would be feet away
from Montgomery Gentry someday, I would have never believed you.
The duo played
some of their best hits [Where I Come
From, If You Ever Stop Loving Me, and Gone]. They also played their new
single, Headlights.
What
I Wore //
Those of you who
know me, you know that I am all about graphic tanks and muscle tanks. For this
show, I paired my “Country Music has my Heart” tank from Free Your Heart
Apparel with a denim vest. I have two pairs of go-to jeans for any winter
concert, both some varying shade of black. Because I love showing off my boots,
I need these jeans to look good tucked in the sides. Speaking of my boots, I
wore my LTB [License to Boot] custom cowboy boots.
Interesting
Tidbits //
The highlight
from this show was seeing these artists perform on stage together in such a raw
environment. When the whole stage came together to perform a Waylon song [Luckenbach, Texas], the crowd went
crazy. Well, the members of the crowd who were cultured enough to know the
song.
If you are of
drinking age and you are a fan of beer and whiskey, next time you’re at a
concert you should buy yourself a beer and drop in a shot of jack honey.
For those of you
who live around the D.C. area and you listen to WMZQ, you already know this rad
station. If you have never heard of ‘em, I’d suggest adding them to your
iHeartRadio list. WMZQ is versatile and plays the new hits, classic jams, and
forever favorites. Oh yeah, and they have this one DJ with the coolest voice
[Michael J // @MichaelJonair].
xox
Megan
xox
Megan