Review and photos by Micah Gummel
Brad Paisley Photos HERE
Danielle Bradbery Photos HERE
Chris Young Photos HERE
 
Brad Paisley’s “Beat This Summer” tour has transcended into Beat This Winter Tour. Quite fitting as we had about 5″ of snow on the ground walking up to the Verizon Wireless Arena in New Hampshire. Chris Young remains on the bill as well as the 2013 winner of The Voice, Danielle Bradbery, is opening the show on this leg of the tour.
Danielle Bradbery Kicked the evening off with a short but impressive 18-minute setlist she exhibited her strong vocal abilities during the set she is really starting to look like a seasoned pro. Given that most of her following would be from The Voice, Bradbery gave the crowd a medley from the hit TV show. “These are some of my favorites from the show,” she closed with her first single “Heart of Dixie.”
When Chris Young took the stage at 8 p.m., it was obvious that fans were psyched to see the rising country star. Similar to Bradbery, Young also got his start by winning a television singing competition. He hasn’t looked back since taking down USA Network’s “Nashville Star” in 2006.
Young is a great showman in that, sharing smiles with his bandmates while also frequently slapping hands with fans situated along the catwalk. The majority of his setlist was derived from his recently-released, fourth studio album, “A.M,” opening with the title-track. He later played its first single, “Aw Naw,” after telling the crowd, “We’re gonna play ya a party song.”
Having seen a string of five consecutive Billboard #1 Country songs from his previous two albums, “The Man I Want to Be” and “Neon,” those hits comprised most of the other half of his set. Young joked, “When I wrote this song I made the last bit this ungodly high note,” then added, “and they promised me it wouldn’t be a hit. Thanks for making me reproduce that each night.” After playing “Tomorrow” Young stated, “We can’t let this end with a slow one,” before ending his set with party anthem “Save Water, Drink Beer” while the crowd joined in for a sing-along. All in all both artest are on the watch list as they are sure to be climbing up the charts.
Brad Paisley has been producing top Country hits for more than a decade and his latest release, “Wheelhouse,” extends his consecutive string of Billboard #1 albums to six. He started the show with its first single, “Southern Comfort Zone.” There was no denying that Paisley was enjoying his set as much as his fans. He mocked YouTube sensations Psy and Honey Badger during “Celebrity,” while also joking about himself, “That’s the sexiest muppet I’ve ever seen,” referencing his lookalike mascot who tramped about the stage during the song.
Chris Young returned to the stage to join Paisley for “Outstanding in Our Field,” the two showed good rapport on stage with playful antics. Paisley suggested they rename the tour to “Beat This Winter” before suggesting to the crowd, “It’s cold up here so we’re going to use our imagination that its 85 degrees and every woman is in a bikini, and the men are fully clothed. Except him [pointing], he’s in a Speedo.”
Paisley grabbed an acoustic guitar to begin “This Is Country Music.” After the first verse he signed the guitar and handed it to a young fan for a keepsake. The video backdrop flashed famous country artists with live video footage of Paisley interspersed within the video scrapbook. It was one of many video effects that took the show to another level.
William Shatner appeared as Captain Kirk asking for help, “I’m being held by Romulans or Kardashians. Please rescue me, but only if it’s Romulans. Light speed.” That segued into an instrumental jam session of “Time Warp” that showcased the instrumental talents of his entire band. It also reaffirmed Paisley’s place as one of the true guitar heroes of country music. He then sat at the edge of the stage and tore into an Eddie Van Halen solo before covering Van Halen’s “Hot For Teacher,” demonstrating his riffs extend well beyond the country realm.
 

Brad Paisley

 

Danielle Bradbery

Chris Young

Brad Paisley setlist:

Southern Comfort Zone

Mud on the Tires

Ticks

American Saturday Night

Outstanding in Our Field

This Is Country Music

Celebrity

Then

She’s Everything

Time Warp

Hot for Teacher (Van Halen cover)

Old Alabama

Waitin’ on a Woman

Online

I’m Still a Guy

Beat This Summer

I’m Gonna Miss Her

Karate

Remind Me

The Mona Lisa

Water

Encore:

Alcohol