All About Tonight w/ Blake Shelton!

Friday night was a busy one here at The Arena with reigning CMA Male Vocalist of the Year, Blake Shelton, in the house for a sold-out show.  For those of you who are big fans of Blake, you knew this was probably going to be one big party!  However, with this being only his second show since his father passed, I wasn't sure how difficult getting back on stage would be for him.  Well never fear, our Marketing team got the opportunity to greet him before the show, and I knew at that moment he was ready to give all of the fans in the crowd an awesome show...and that he did!

I've seen a lot of concerts (part of the territory when you work at a concert venue), and even a lot of really great concerts, but not many have the crowd and energy of the Well Lit & Amplified tour.  From the first notes of "Footloose," to the last notes of his current smash "God Gave Me You," the crowd sang along to every word and didn't bother with sitting down.

 Photo courtesy of Raven Nichols

 Photo courtesy of Raven Nichols

One thing that really struck me was how engaging Blake was with the crowd.  Many artists will talk and interact a little bit, but Blake seemed to get a big kick out of telling stories about everything from drinking, to his hit TV-show The Voice, to, well, drinking!

Speaking of The Voice, I would have never expected a Christina Aguilera impersonation from one of country music's golden boys, but he not only gave a spot on rendition of the pop queen, he threw in a little medley of his other Voice co-stars hit songs "Moves Like Jagger," and "Forget You."  I have since learned Blake is going to be teaming up with Cee Lo Green for a song.  Now THAT should be interesting!

Even though Blake has had a slew of hits since "Austin," that song is still my personal favorite.  I really enjoyed the acoustic part of the show where he included this song, and hearing the entire crowd drown out Blake's voice singing along.

I also have to take a moment to congratulate Blake.  Not only did he deliver an awesome, sold-out show here at The Arena, his single "God Gave Me You" earned Platinum status, while his "Loaded: The Best of Blake Shelton" and "Red River Blue" albums reached Gold certification.  Industry and label members presented these awards to him in a surprise ceremony at our show.  Way to go, Blake!!

Our Marketing team greets Blake & his promotion staff.

Photo courtesy of Raven Nichols

 
And, of course, we can't leave out his opening acts - Dia Frampton (from The Voice) and Justin Moore who did an excellent job of getting an already fun crowd riled up for Blake's performance.

 

Photo courtesy of Raven Nichols

Robb D. Cohen/ www.RobbsPhotos.com

Alright, Blake Shelton fans, I want to hear from you - what did you think about the show last Friday??