TK1 Blog Tracy Gamboe – Country Concert On The River
T-Time – Country Concert on the River
Music is a powerful thing, don’t you think? It can tell a story about your life or change your mood. It can bring friends together and it can change a life. Concerts give us the opportunity to see our favorite artists in action or introduce us to ones that we’ve never heard of before. I recently went to such a concert where Greg Bates, Chuck Wicks and James Otto were to take the stage. Having never seen them in concert, I was NOT disappointed! When Kelly and I were in Nashville a few weeks ago, we had planned to see James Otto at the Blue Bird Café but never made it. So I was excited to have the opportunity to see him right here in Michigan at an event that one of our local country stations was hosting and besides who doesn’t love a free concert?
Even though the New Country on the River event started earlier in the day, my friend, Judi, and I were not able to go until the evening shortly before Greg Bates went on stage at 5:30 pm. Now to be honest, I was there to see James Otto but I like good music and am always ready to listen to just about anyone. I’d been hearing Greg’s song “Did It for the Girl” a lot lately but wasn’t familiar with any of his other music. His song “Brothers” is touching and if you have a sibling, it brings back memories, hopefully ones that bring a smile to your face. His performance was great, the audience was entertained and were movin’ and groovin’. He’s fairly new but I think that he is definitely one that you will hear more music from in the future. Great warm up set! Remember his name.
One of the things that I love to do when I go to concerts or malls, actually any public place, is “people watch” and as we were waiting for Chuck Wicks’ show to start we noticed that there were a lot more young ladies arriving and heading right to the stage…front and center! There was a line dancing class and people were trying their hand at that so we were kept entertained in between the sets. Chuck is another one that I was not very familiar with but I had seen his video “Hold that Thought” which is one of the more sexy country videos from a few years ago which of course he sang that night. Other songs in the set were “Old School”, “All I Ever Wanted” and one that is not his but was fun…“I want To Be a Billionaire”. He’s got that “smooth sensual” sound to his voice that the ladies love and his interaction with the crowd was fantastic and very funny. I’ve definitely become a fan of his music!
Now for James Otto…what can I say…I love his music! Always have. James gave us “Just Got Started Lovin’ You”, “For You”, “Groovy Little Sumer Song”, “Night Moves”, a little Tom Petty and Commodores “Easy Like Sunday Morning”. His show was just awesome! He’s such a professional that even when his strings broke in the middle of a song, he made it work…just kept on singing. Amazing crew! He had the crowd on their feet, singing along and dancing. The variety of his songs kept everyone going and he wrapped up the evening with an encore. One of the gals that went with me was not a huge country fan, actually neither one of them are, BUT by the end of the evening, one gal became a fan of James and went out the next day to purchase a CD.
So my thoughts on the whole experience are very simple…I enjoyed the evening very much! Greg Bates, Chuck Wicks and James Otto did a wonderful job at entertaining everyone. Our local country station and 
the county parks department planned the evening well. If you aren’t familiar with these three artists, check them out! They each have their own style and they each approach the business in a different way but they ALL have talent! If you haven’t listened to Chuck and James’ music lately, revisit it. If you’re new 
to Greg check his music out. YouTube is wonderful for music and interviews. I would not hesitate in going to see any of these guys again! Next concert on my list is Brothers of the Sun Tour on the 18th! It will be the first time to see Kenny and Tim but the second for Jake. It’s gonna be FUN! Until next time…
Tags: Country Music, TK1 Blogs, Tony & Kris, Tony and Kris
August 12th, 2012 at 9:04 PM
Loved the blog!