Jess Nelson FRIENDS FRIENDS FRIENDS. We’re back & gonna give you a good ole review of a countrayyyy concert (woo!). Want to first start by thanking BBVA for putting on a FREE mo’freakin concert cause FREE CONCERTS ARE WHERE IT’S AT, am i right or am i right?
I was super pumped to hear about this show because I got the lovely pleasure of being introduced to Tyler Dial the last time he was here (with BBVA as well – brand ambassador, what upppp). He impressed me so much the first time, had to go back for seconds (why am I talking about him as if he a snack? haaaaaa).
Okay MOVING ON. My anticipation was at an all time high for this show because I (& most of the country world at the moment) am obsessed with Matt Stell’s #1 Hit “Prayed For You.” It just hits you in all the feels & I was so excited to hear it live. He was just an added bonus of getting to see Tyler again!
Concert time arrives & my friends & I enter da venue, get our super official laminates/credentials because it was a private, RSVP only event (it sounds bougier than it was, but ya know, it’s called enhancing the truth). We head on downstairs where the concert awaits. Me, the concert nerd that I am, immediately clock Tyler chin chillin in a booth with his guitar player. But then here I am, nervy AF but thankfully he comes walking right out, only for us to bump into each other & me to introduce myself.
We eventually find our way towards the stage, awaiting Tyler to start his set. Lucky for us, he gave us some insight into some of his new music that he’s been working on. I always find it awesome to hear a song live before an artist actually releases it. Makes me feel special & being able to experience that before anyone else just has a special place in my heart. My absolute favorite part of his set list, though, was his newest release, “About Last Night,” where crowd interaction was involved (heyyyyyyyyyyyy HEYYYYY, alright ALRIIIIIGHT – just watch the video below if reading it doesn’t satisfy your desires). I, as a fan, failed to have listened to this song before but it is for sure my new favorite. He also threw out Tshirts that said “about last night” on them & myself & another girl caught it at the same time. She gave it up pretty quickly though, soooooo I scored on that front.
He also performed “Repaint” which I think highlights that country twang side of his voice & is one of my favorite songs of his. VIDEO BELOW.
I really want to touch on one of the last songs he performed called “Damn Denver” (because HELLO IT’S GOT MY CITY’S NAME IN IT). Not sure why but I always take much pride in representing places I live or have lived. Anyways, he starts out by telling us how he wrote it about a girl he used to date who moved to Denver & that it didn’t end up working out for them (at least I don’t think so but the song lyrics seem to point to that). He talks about how Denver “made her dream up a mile high” (UM CATCHY PLAY ON WORDS, TYLER, I LURVE IT) & how he couldn’t compete with such a beautiful city (you right, Tyler, Denver is BEAUTIFUL). The song just has good catchy vibes for the “heartbreak-ness” tone of the song. Y’ALL, it comes out in the spring so BE ON THE LOOKOUT. If you can’t wait that long (because neither can I, I’ve got a short clip below for your viewing pleasure)
Wowza, I typically never write that much about the opening act but obviously I enjoy his music & had a lot to say, OKAY.
The great thing about this private event, though, is that it wasn’t like a typical concert where you have to wait at least 30 minutes for the next artist. 15 minutes flew by and Matt Stell came roaring on out to the stage (with his dope ass band btw – one with a silver sparkly guitar and another with a fro. I was into it, f’sho). First impression: he was a lot taller than I was expecting him to be. Though I couldn’t tell you most of the names of the songs he played, he had MAD ENERGY the entire time he was playing. He even got so hype I think he kept stepping on his guitar line (I think that’s what it’s called where it connects into your guitar and the amp but…I ain’t no artist so my knowledge of that is lacking lol).
Lots of things to note, though. I was listening to him on Spotify (Spotify > Apple Music, am I right?) before the show & came across a song called “Last Habit” which I am obsesssssed with. I thought I got a video of him performing it, but I guess not (LAMEEE). He also played a song called “Everywhere But On” which is the title of his latest EP. I enjoyed the lyrics of this song as he talks about traveling everywhere and doing everything but moving on (lyric: moving “everywhere but on”). Just a nice play on words, ja feel meh?
He also did a cover of “God is a woman” by Ariana Grande & let me just tell you, HIS VERSION WAS FIRE. A slowed down, acoustic cover & his ability to “adlib” (is that the word for singing really fast?). I’m not sure but he absolutely CRUSHED it.
Matt also OBVIOUSLY, played his banger, banger “Prayed for you” towards the end of the set & my favorite moment was towards the end of the song where he had the crowd sing it back to him (which is still one of the coolest things to experience, I would think, as an artist). It’s hard to put into words, so just see if for yaself below.
After this, Matt left the stage & my mind was, oh show’s done. NOPE, he comes back out for more (which I’m not complaining about at all – but check out my thoughts on encores here). He ended with a cover of a Travis Tritt song & also one of his own songs. Again, couldn’t tell you the name but it was hypeeeeee as hell (wow great content Jess….lol).
Once the show was over, they set up a FREE (there’s that word again) meet and greet with Matt so we obviously had to jump on that. When it came to our turn, I walked up and gave him a big ole hug (hopefully I don’t scare artists when I do this but it seems less personal any other way) & discussed hopefully getting to see him when he comes back in a couple weeks to play the Grizzly Rose (a staple country venue here in Denver). Also, hey Matt, wanna hook me up with tickets? (cc ya manager Cory. P.s. sorry if that’s not how he spells his name). We took our photo & then I ended it with YO CHECK OUT MY BLOG. So Matt, if you find yourself reading this, HEY.
To top off the evening, I also got a photo with Tyler himself & then ended up meeting him & his friends out after for a little. We did a “mini interview” on my Instagram stories but a follow up interview should be to follow (STAY TUNED).
[…] saw him play a show in Denver (if you didn’t already, check out the write up on the show here) & we got to talking about a little Q&A. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to do one in […]