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Country Stampede at the Heartland (SATURDAY) at Heartland Park, Topeka, KS (2022-07-16)

KID ROCK SETLIST intro music: Bad Mother F*cker/Don't Stop Believin' Devil Without a Cause You Never Met a Motherf*cker Quite Like Me American Bad Ass Cocky All Summer Long First Kiss Cowboy Wasting Time Bad Reputation Picture (duet with Kat Perkins) medley: 3 Sheets to the Wind (What's My Name) / DJ scratching / Your Love (The Outfield cover) / blues guitar solo / Cat Scratch Fever (Ted Nugent cover) / Superstition (Stevie Wonder cover) Rock n Roll Jesus Only God Knows Why Born Free We the People Bawitdaba outro music: Never Enough BIG AND RICH SETLIST Rollin' (The Ballad of Big & Rich) Comin' to Your City Wild West Show Look at You Lost in This Moment 8th of November God Bless America I Won't Back Down (Tom Petty cover) I Play Chicken with the Train (Cowboy Troy song) medley - Make Me Wanna (Thomas Rhett cover) > Cake by the Ocean (DNCE cover) > Tubthumping (Chumbawumba cover) > Livin’ in America (James Brown cover) > Hit Me with Your Best Shot (Pat Benetar cover) > American Pie (Don McLean cover) Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy) > medley: Life in the Fast Lane (Eagles snippet) > Back in Black (AC/DC snippet) > Country Girl (Luke Bryan snippet) > Baby Got Back (Sir Mix-a-Lot cover) > Give It Away (Red Hot Chili Peppers snippet) > Uptown Funk (Bruno Mars snippet) > Jump Around (House of Pain snippet) Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy) reprise CHRIS LANE SETLIST (opening music- Bright Lights – The Weeknd cover) Fix Take Back Home Girl (song w/Tori Kelly) Let Me Love You Tequila on a Boat (w/Dustin Lynch song) medley snippets – Where the Party At? (Jagged Edge cover) > This is How We Do It (Montell Jordan cover) > Party Up (DMX cover) > Friends in Low Places (Garth Brooks cover) Broken Windshield View Big, Big Plans Dancin’ in the Moonlight (King Harvest cover, w/Lauren Alaina song) For Her Small Town on It (sung with brother Cory, w/Scotty McCreery song) ‘90’s medley - Shoulda Been a Cowboy (Toby Keith cover) >Watermelon Crawl (Tracy Byrd cover) > Boot Scootin’ Boogie (Brooks and Dunn cover) >Chattahootchee (Alan Jackson cover) > Dust on the Bottle (David Lee Murphy cover) > Check Yes or No (George Strait cover) > Ride Wit’ Me (Nelly cover) I Don't Know About You RUNAWAY JUNE SETLIST Lipstick Forgot About That Broken Hearts (live debut) Wild Hearts (Keith Urban cover) Wild West Fast as You (Dwight Yoakam cover) Trouble with This Town Girls Medley - Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (Cyndi Lauper cover) / I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Whitney Houston cover) / American Girl (Tom Petty cover) T-Shirt Magic Man (Heart cover) snippet intro/ You’re No Good (Dee Dee Warwick / Linda Ronstadt cover) Nothing Like You (live debut) Fine Wine (new song) The Devil Went Down to Georgia (The Charlie Daniels Band cover) My Own Drinks DRAKE WHITE SETLIST American Thunder Pawn Shop Rings and Double Wide Dreams Hard to Handle (Otis Redding /Black Crowes cover) It Feels Good Hurts the Healing / I Won't Back Down (Tom Petty cover) Power of a Woman Makin' Me Look Good Again Mix 'Em with Whiskey Story Heartbeat > Use Somebody (Kings of Leon cover) Livin' the Dream Alive (Pearl Jam cover) 50 Years Too Late > A Country Boy Can Survive (Hank Williams Jr. cover)

Country Stampede at the Heartland is an outdoor music festival featuring country music stars, camping, and more in Topeka, Kansas at Heartland Motorsports Park, held annually since 1996. Due to flooding concerns, the event moved from Manhattan, KS to its current location in 2019.

Our coverage of Thursday can be found here:

Our coverage of Friday can be found here:

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The festival’s final day began under the threat of storms, moved back to extreme sunny heat, then returned to very brief rain, before the night would end. Musically, things were a bit diverse as well, going from more traditional country to full-on rock/rap.

Alabama native and singer-songwriter Drake White opened the afternoon with an hour-long set on the second stage, in support of March full-length The Optimystic , in part inspired by not only the collective health lockdown, but the stroke he suffered on stage a year prior. He and band The Big Fire played originals as well as working in a few covers, including an appropriate one from Pearl Jam.

Trio Runaway June has just completed recording new music and this stop gave the opportunity to hear some of the new songs, including two played live for the first time ever. A girl-centric cover medley got the females dancing, new vocalist/guitarist Stevie Woodward showed off her skills on the harmonica as well, and their version of a Charlie Daniels Band classic, found fiddle-playing (and Opry Live host) Natalie Stovall defying gravity as she arched back playing in hyper speed.

North Carolina’s Chris Lane was the first act on the main stage and engaged the audience more directly than anyone over the weekend, stopping his set to pit the left side vs. right side in terms of crowd noise, played two long medleys of familiar sing-along hits, and even jumped off the runway to race into the crowd for high-fives and hugs. Lane’s band includes his twin brother Cory on drums, who both sang on their hit, “Small Town on It”.

As usual, Big and Rich featuring Cowboy Troy brought the party along with them, on their Peace, Love, & Happy Tour, drawing from over two decades of hits, as well as working in some familiar covers. We last caught them in an intimate acoustic promo performance in 2015 at a downtown Minneapolis club. 

A tradition at all their shows, the band brought up several military veterans on stage to have a drink and toast from their makeshift bar, with Runaway June members pouring the shots, and the band had good fun, goading their Italian guitarist into playing a few classic rock riffs.

The always controversial Kid Rock would close the festival, with a hardworking, mostly music-does-the-talking ninety-minute set that both brought the rain, and then swiftly chased it away. The new album is his twelfth studio release, Bad Reputation on his own Top Dog Records and the set was a no-holds barred in-your-face rock/rap/country extravaganza.

As with most shows, we saw the musical dexterity of aka Bob Ritchie, as he played sax, blues guitar, drums, and also did some turntable scratching.

For the ballad hit, “Picture”, band member and The Voice alumnus Kat Perkins (who we’re familiar with from our Twin Cities base) helped sing it as a duet, and we were surprised to connect how much his 1998 hit, “Cowboy” sounds so similar to many contemporary Country songs.

The encore began with a taped intro from our 45^th President, which then segued into his lyrically incendiary “We the People” and the show ended with “Bawitdaba”, a twenty-five-year-old classic that still packs a massive sonic punch.

Note that Professional Photography was Not Allowed by Kid Rock’s management. (His name was not allowed to be mentioned on-stage in the intro either, so go figure...)

Country Stampede is set to return in July 2023, with scheduled headliners: Thursday- Hardy  Friday- Lee Brice  Saturday: Cory Johnson.

KID ROCK TOUR DATES

JULY 22 NORTH DAKOTA STATE FAIR Minot, ND

JULY 27 CHEYENNE FRONTIER DAYS RODEO Cheyenne, WY

AUG 02 MISSISSIPPI VALLEY FAIR Davenport, IA

AUG 05 BLOSSOM MUSIC CENTER Cuyahoga Falls, OH

AUG 06 THE PAVILION AT STAR LAKE Burgettstown, PA

AUG 12 RUOFF MUSIC CENTER Nobelsville, IN

AUG 17 RIVERBEND MUSIC CENTER Cincinnati, OH

AUG 19 HOLLYWOOD CASINO AMPHITHEATRE Tinley Park, IL

AUG 20 HOLLYWOOD CASINO AMPHITHEATRE Maryland Heights, MO

AUG 24 XFINITY CENTER Mansfield, MA

AUG 26 JIFFY LUBE LIVE Bristow, VA

AUG 27 PNC BANK ARTS CENTER Holmdel, NJ

SEPT 3 SOARING EAGLE CASINO & RESORT Mount Pleasant, MI

SEPT 4 SOARING EAGLE RESORT & CASINO Mount Pleasant, MI

SEPT 16 PINE KNOB MUSIC THEATRE Clarkston, MI

SEPT 17 PINE KNOB MUSIC THEATRE Clarkston, MI

SEPT 30 TOYOTA AMPHITHEATRE Wheatland, CA

OCT 1 GLEN HELEN AMPHITHEATER San Bernardino, CA

OCT 7 NUGGET EVENT CENTER Reno-Sparks, NV

OCT 8 LAUGHLIN EVENT CENTER Laughlin, NV

BIG AND RICH TOUR DATES

23 Jul West Union, IA Fayette County Fair

04 Aug Deadwood, SD Outlaw Square

05 Aug Grandstand Rifle, CO Garfield County Fair

06 Aug Woodstock, IL McHenry County Fair

11 Aug West Fargo, ND Lights Amphitheater

12 Aug Hinckley, MN Hinckley Amphitheater

19 Aug Lynden, WA Northwest Washington Fair

20 Aug Longview, WA Cowlitz County Fairgrounds

30 Aug Syracuse, NY Chevy Court Concerts

02 Sep Reno, NV Atlantis Hotel Casino

16 Sep Sioux City, IA Tyson Events Center

17 Sep Fort Dodge, IA Central Plaza

 

CHRIS LANE TOUR DATES

JUL 21 - JUL 23 Country Jam Eau Claire, WI

JUL 28 Waterside District Norfolk, VA

JUL 29 Power Plant Live! Baltimore, MD

AUG 5 Seward County Fair Seward, NE

AUG 10 Jenks Club Point Pleasant Beach, NJ

AUG 11 Cape Cod Melody Tent Barnstable, MA

AUG 12 Bold Point Park East Providence, RI

AUG 13 R10 Venue Long Creek, NB

AUG 14 Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom Hampton Beach, NH

SEP 10 Waterfront Park San Diego, CA

SEP 16 Central Park Plaza Valparaiso, IN

SEP 17 Splash into Country – Rise Up McHenry, IL

OCT 1 AvidXchange Music Factory Charlotte, NC

OCT 8 The Big Red Barn Retreat Columbia, SC

OCT 14 Boots In The Park Bakersfield, CA

OCT 15 Boots In The Park Santa Clarita, CA

DEC 1 Canadian Tire Centre Ottawa, Canada

DEC 2 Centre Bell Montreal, QC

DEC 3 Budweiser Gardens London, ON

DEC 4 Scotiabank Arena Toronto, ON

(click on any image to enlarge and see in full)

DRAKE WHITE

DRAKE WHITE

DRAKE WHITE

DRAKE WHITE

RUNAWAY JUNE

RUNAWAY JUNE

RUNAWAY JUNE

RUNAWAY JUNE

RUNAWAY JUNE

CHRIS LANE

CHRIS LANE

CHRIS LANE

CHRIS LANE

BIG AND RICH

BIG AND RICH

BIG AND RICH

BIG AND RICH

BIG AND RICH

BIG AND RICH

john ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Big & Rich at The Pourhouse, Minneapolis (25 March 2015)

Setlist Comin' to Your City I Came to Git Down Wild West Show Drinkin' 'bout You Kick My Ass Lost in this Moment 8th of November Look at You Run Away with You Medley- Tubthumping / Beverly Hills / Like a Virgin / Hit Me with your Best Shot / American Pie Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy) -- Encore -- Loud Tour Dates 04/10/15 Florence, AZ "Country Thunder USA" 04/25/15 Punta Gorda, FL "CountryLife Music" 06/26/15 Ozark, AR "Thunder On The Mountain" 06/27/15 Joliet, IL "Taste Of Joliet" 07/10/15 Billings, MT "Last Best Country Fest" 07/12/15 Madison, NE "Madison County Fair" 07/18/15 Gypsum, CO "Gypsum Daze" 07/19/15 Cheyenne, WY "Cheyenne Frontier Days" 08/01/15 Sweet Home, OR "Oregon Jamboree" 08/02/15 Merritt, BC "Rockin' River Music Fest" 08/06/15 Detroit Lakes, MN "WE Fest" 08/07/15 Prairie du Chien, WI "Country On the River" 08/08/15 Cherokee, IA "Creek Fest Music Festival" 08/09/15 Davenport, IA "Mississippi Valley Fair" 08/22/15 Gardendale, TX "Texas Thunder" 09/05/15 Thornville, OH "WCOL Country Jam" Read More Big & Rich Big & Rich is an American country music duo composed of Big Kenny and John Rich, both of whom are songwriters, vocalists, and guitarists. Rich was a founding member of the country music band Lonestar and later a solo artist .…

They said “Just show up” … so we did!

Nashville Country duo Big & Rich came to town to play the relatively small stage of The Pourhouse in downtown Minneapolis, playing a “just show up show” that was also a promotional event for local country station BUZN102.9.

“Just show up” meant exactly that—no ticket needed, no call-in-and-win, no games, and no cover charge—a refreshing nice change from all the hoops sometimes involved in getting into a concert.  The only task was queuing outside in line on a relatively chilly evening, but everyone seemed to get into the venue smoothly, once doors were open to the public.

Maiden Dixie

Local St. Paul band Maiden Dixie warmed up the crowd with a set lasting just under an hour that consisted of two-thirds originals and one-third cover songs, which proved to be an agreeable mix.  The band was promoting their latest, the upcoming Unsafe & Sound, due out April 14, which was produced by local guitarist Kevin Bowe.

The sophomore release follows their previous Little Black Dress, and the six-piece has continued to hone their songwriting craft and stage presence in concert as well, clearly having fun performing.  With both male and female singers as well as a fiddle player, they showed their versatility playing their own songs, as well as those of The Eagles, Shania Twain, and others, that kept most of the audience engaged, as all waited for the headlining act.

Big Kenny and John Rich have been a musical “sum-is-mightier-than-its-parts” force, since turning country music on its ear, over a decade ago.  In addition to their many hits, they brought together the MuzikMafia group of artists which included Gretchen Wilson, Cowboy Troy, and others.  Still touring on last fall’s Gravity (on their own Big and Rich Records), the duo along with a drummer and guitarist, brought the house down with a rousing 70 min. acoustic set.

The back-to-back of opener, ‘Comin to Your City’ and ‘I Came to Git Down’ (which sounds a little like The Rolling Stones’ ‘Satisfaction’) clearly set the tone that this was a party, whether it was unplugged or otherwise.   From there, a trip all the way back to the first song they ever released, ‘Wild West Show’ and another early song, ‘Drinkin’ ‘bout You’, after which Rich remarked, “Is it time for a shot?... I mean, the radio station’s called BUZN, so…”

Big & Rich salute w Navy Seal

Ballad ‘Lost in This Moment’ had couples dancing in the aisles and a tribute to the troops with an appearance from a former Navy Seal prefaced the stirring ‘8^th of November’ (which drew “USA” chants from the crowd).

‘Look at You’ the Top Ten single from Gravity had people singing along, then the wheels of the show decided to go off-road with a very eclectic medley that covered everyone from Chumbawamba to Weezer, to Madonna, to Pat Benatar to Don McLean, before circling back for the duo’s signature hit, ‘Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy).'

After the crowd wouldn’t let them go, ‘Loud’ was played as a somewhat impromptu encore, with Big Kenny mentioning, “we’ve had ourselves a buzzin’ good time here”, to which Rich replied, “Straight up!”.  Pretty entertaining for just having to show up.

Big & Rich at The Pourhouse, Minneapolis (25 March 2015)

john ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic