Ben Rector, Starlight Theatre
BEN RECTOR SETLIST
JAKE SCOTT SETLIST
JORDY SEARCY STEPHEN DAY SETLIST
BEN RECTOR TOUR DATES MAY 13 KEMBA Live! Columbus, OH
MAY 14 TCU Amphitheatre at White River State Park Indianapolis, IN MAY 15 Iroquois Amphitheater Louisville, KY MAY 18 Sandy Amphitheatre Sandy, UT SOLD OUT MAY 19 Sandy Amphitheatre Sandy, UT SOLD OUT MAY 20 The Mission Ballroom Denver, CO MAY 21 Harrah's Stir Cove Council Bluffs, IA JUN 3 713 Music Hall Houston, TX JUN 4 The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory Irving, TX JUN 5 The Zoo Amphitheatre Oklahoma City, OK JUN 8 Wolf Trap Vienna, VA JUN 9 Metro Credit Union Amphitheatre Charlotte, NC JUN 10 Red Hat Amphitheater Raleigh, NC JUN 11 Ameris Bank Amphitheatre Alpharetta, GA JUN 16 Leader Bank Pavilion Boston, MA JUN 17 The Met Philadelphia, PA JUN 18 The Rooftop at Pier 17 New York, NY JUN 23 Mark C. Smith Concert Hall Huntsville, AL JUN 24 Avondale Brewing Company Birmingham, AL SOLD OUT JUN 25 Ascend Amphitheater Nashville, TN JAKE SCOTT TOUR DATES MAY 13 KEMBA Live! Columbus, OH
MAY 14 TCU Amphitheater at White River State Park Indianapolis, IN MAY 15 Iroquois Amphitheater Louisville, KY MAY 18 Sandy Amphitheater Sandy, UT MAY 19 Sandy Amphitheater Sandy, UT MAY 20 Mission Ballroom Denver, CO MAY 21 Stir Cove Council Bluffs, IA JUN 3 713 Music Hall Houston, TX JUN 4 Irving Music Factory Irving, TX JUN 5 The Zoo Amphitheatre Oklahoma City, OK Read More
|
“Joy”, as it turns out, is a smiling red creature right out of Sesame Street, and KC just got a new signature song of their own-
A perfect weather evening at Starlight Theater set the scene for the first outdoor show of indie singer-songwriter Ben Rector, on his Joy of Music: Live Tour, with support from Jake Scott and Jordy Searcy/Stephen Day.
The packed night of music began with a short twenty-minute set from Jordy Searcy and Stephen Day, who reminded us a couple times that they “were not a band” but “two separate artists”, and who are also a part of the headliner Ben Rector’s band, alongside their Australian drummer.
Each played two of their own songs, with Day drawing from his recent 2021 release, The Shapes I’m In, while Searcy dug back a little deeper for 2018’s “Love & War in Your Twenties” and 2020’s “Better”. Both had a similar style, so were complimentary playing on each other’s songs, with Day being a bit more John Mayer-esque soulful, and more twangy as well.
Arkansas native Jake Scott would be up next, already an online sensation from recording a song a month and posting online for almost three years, and fresh from a successful club headlining tour. His thirty-five minute set began unexpectedly with a short drum solo, with Scott then bursting on stage to sing songs in support of his 2021 eight-song EP, Goldenboy.
Scott unabashedly admits that most of his songs are inspired by his girlfriend/now-wife, Rachel, who serves as his constant muse and who he cultivated his relationship with, despite her being from Texas. Apparently, there is a serious AR/TX rivalry we in the Midwest don’t know enough about, but all turned into a story book happy ending, and his recent single, “Texas Girl” chronicles part of that.
Scott unexpectedly also has become a country crossover artist as well, thanks to his single with Russell Dickerson, “She Likes It”, a song born when Dickerson posted the chorus, but needed some lyrical help on the verses. “Where my Swifties at?” Scott asked the enthusiastic crowd, launching into his cover of the 2012 song, “All Too Well”, and the set ended with his 2019 song, “Favorite T-Shirt”.
We’ve followed Nashville singer-songwriter Ben Rector for the last decade now, even initially asking after we caught him live back in 2013, why he wasn’t a much bigger deal. Guess we had to wait for the rest of the world to catch up with what we had already known, seeing him again in 2015, on the lake in 2016, again in late 2016, and as part of the Basilica Block Party in 2017.
The new album, his eight studio release, is The Joy of Music (on his own Ok Kid Records) released in March, and is the ideal shot of uplifting positivity the world needs, after twenty months or more, of pandemic isolation. Even the quirky cover image sparks a smile, with Rector on his piano, alongside a large red furry creature. Turns out that creature is named “Joy”, was designed by Jim Henson’s creature shop, and is out of tour with Rector and band.
The walk-on music of “Joy to the World” made complete sense, as the ninety-minute headlining set began not with Rector walking out first, but “Joy” taking his place on the piano, followed by Rector and band playing “Dream On” (not to be confused with the Aerosmith song), an empowering lullaby of sorts.
Next was the nostalgia of 2018’s “Old Friends” (not to be confused with the Simon & Garfunkel song) and the sing-a-long single from the new record, “Living My Best Life”, which after fifteen years of independent success and a now-growing family, he convincingly is.
“Every show I’ve played in Kansas City has felt like home to me” Rector admitted to loud cheers, and said he was somewhat nervous with his wife, daughter, and parents being present. Rector has a continued affinity for Minneapolis, recording a recent EP there and even recruited his impressive college-age sax player David Besonen from the metro, he an Apple Valley native who paused his studies at Nebraska, to instead hit the road.
A taped soundbite from Rector’s daughter Jane prefaced his ode to her, and he painted the visual scenery of a country campfire for his original version of “Forever Like That”, punctuated by Day’s additional vocals. Cowboy hats were traded in for straw skimmers for a barbershop quartet style version of “Range Rover” and a mid-set cover medley mostly found Rector singing backup as his bandmates took over.
Couples swayed together for 2010’s “White Dress” and the mood turned more soulful for the gospel-tinged, “Joy”. Rector usually explains his dislike of the stage ritual of the band leaving then returning for the encore, and instead gave the crowd the heads-up on how many songs were left. And while Snoop Dogg wasn’t present for the set-ending “Sunday”, his vocals were piped in as “Joy” returned to dance on stage for the final number and Rector made his way out into the grateful crowd to sing to, high-five, and fist-bump.
For the encore, Rector began with something he wasn’t able to have ready at previous Milwaukee and Minneapolis tour stops- a freshly written and unique song celebrating the city he was playing.
“Kansas City” lyrics included “You’ve got the Royal barbecue, and giant shuttlecocks in front of museums, what a thing to do. You’re a city so great, you couldn’t fit in one state” and he had to stop not once, but twice after the line, “Wildcat, Jayhawks, and Chiefs fans” because the cheering was so loud. Rector’s biggest hit to date, 2016’s anthemic “Brand New” would continue the high and close out the evening.
After two years of collective seclusion, isolation, and postponements, the Joy of Music is finally back – in the form of Ben Rector, Jake Scott, and Jordy Searcy/Stephen Day. Oh, and in the form of a smiling, googly-eyed, over-sized red fur creature too.
(click on any image to enlarge and see in full)
Artist websites:
Ben Rector | The Joy Of Music (benrectormusic.com)
JAKE SCOTT (jakescottmusic.com)
JAKE SCOTT |
|
JORDY SEARCY and STEPHEN DAY
|
|
| john ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com |
Comments