Brett Young Wows Us In Providence, Rhode Island
Last night we found ourselves at the 1,931-seat capacity absolutely beautiful historic Veterans Memorial Auditorium. The VETs, known locally is on the National Register of Historic Places. Construction began on this beautiful building in 1927 and didn’t finish being completed until 1950 due to the Great Depression, World War II and funding challenges. This was our first time attending an event here at this amazing venue. The ceiling and walls are adorned with stunning murals that depict scenes of Rhode Island’s history and military contributions. When we heard that Brett Young would be stopping here on his Back To Basics Tour we were very intrigued by the venue choice straying away from the standard concert venue options.
Kicking off the night we were honored to have Kylie Morgan perform. We have previously covered her back in October at MGM Music Hall at Fenway when she supported Parker McCollum. She came out ready to go. She sounded as sharp as ever. She definitely elevated her level of showmanship since we last saw her. Her stage presence was awesome. These theater / auditorium venues are geared towards seated productions. Kylie had no issues during song two getting people out of the comfortability of their seats performing a mixture of high energy cover songs. She did her job perfectly as a supporting act in a tough seated environment. For the rest of her thirty minutes or so set she had most of the crowd out of their seats. This was our concern for this venue. We thought people would be mostly seated killing the energy of the show. Saturday was not the case and she immediately put those fears at ease.
Next up, Brett Young.For those of you that have been living under a rock the past 10 years. Young’s career actually started with a different form of entertainment, baseball. Young played at Fresno State University and was on track for a professional career until an elbow injury ended his aspirations. After this setback, he turned to music, drawing on his love for songwriting and performing. He decided to leave Southern California and head to Nashville to pursue a music career. In 2015 he signed with Big Machine Label Group and within two years had his self-titled album released. This album gifted fans "In Case You Didn’t Know" (4× Platinum, his first No. 1 hit). Young’s style blends country, pop, and R&B, similar to artists like Dan + Shay and Keith Urban. His smooth, soulful voice and romantic ballads have helped him stand out in modern country music.
At 8:50 the lights darkened again and it was time for the man of the hour. Brett Young took the stage to an already standing crowd of fans. The band came out loud and sounded clear as day. The acoustics of this venue were perfect. No echoes reverberating back into the ear. Just a one way shot from the stage speakers. The band played with flawless precision, each note blending seamlessly into the next as if they were moving with a single breath. All the musicians were in perfect harmony, the drummer locking in effortlessly with the bassist, creating a pulse so tight it felt like the heartbeat of the song itself. I wish I had the names of Young’s musicians. They were top notch making Young’s job much easier and keeping everyone in sync. During the middle of the setlist Young took a good 6 minutes showcasing the talent of his band. His two guitarists performed and sung tracks of their own. Young bragged that he had the best band in country music and wanted the fans to see this first hand. Normally we get a 20 second drum or guitar solo so this was a nice change seeing a headliner giving a nod to the band.
Young did a lot of story telling about the songs he was playing. We loved how it made the show feel deeply intimate. This helped with songs that may not have been familiar to listeners. Young dove into the tour being named Back To The Basics explaining that he wanted to start away from the larger productions of confetti, smoke, fire, screens, and backing vocals. He wanted this tour to get him back to his roots of just audience facing off with the music. No backing tracks or tricks. You were seeing what you were witnessing and hearing what the band was playing. This has been a new fad lately in music and we are here for it! Sure, we love the pyro and explosions but when it’s really about just the music it brings us back to the core of why we love the songs we are hearing. We love both types of shows but appreciate raw, small, and pureness of striping down the production. The personal stories of Young’s family made everyone feel like we were apart of the family. This created almost a campfire like atmosphere yet as powerful as a stadium spectacle. It felt like a couple of friends sitting around the fire telling war stories. We absolutely live for this connections at concerts. This seems to be very rare in today’s industry. BRING THIS BACK. Young made you feel like he wanted to be here, he wanted to be telling you about his journey, he wanted you to know why these songs were written and performed. Going into the venue with uncertainty of what the atmosphere would be like turned into the absolutely perfect atmosphere. As fathers, it’s always sentimental hearing the back stories of songs about kids and how they evolved into what we peddle into our ears. Being a girl dad like Young and hearing the backstory of “Lady” was wonderful. The song hits even deeper now. We were blessed to hear a personal story of Young’s wedding day and wanting an attendee to sing at his wedding. He then went on to play “Crazy, Beautiful” by Luke Combs. I don’t want to exaggerate but we may prefer Young’s version better. Don’t tell Luke. Brett Young’s tone was pure and dynamic, shifting seamlessly from delicate, whisper-like vulnerability to full-bodied, spine-tingling crescendos. Truly a dynamic singer and his voice drips with sincerity. Going into this performance we had no idea of how good of a live singer Brett Young would be. Make no mistake he is flawless.
This concert was just about as perfect as you can get for country music. Are you leaving the show with your ears ringing? No. Are you leaving the show with your heart pumping from overpowering screaming vocals? No. You are leaving the venue vibing as you just heard great country music performed perfectly. It is hard to compare acts. It’s even hard to compare the different styles of country. Just know that this show will leave you wanting more of Brett Young. That I can promise you. We went in knowing about 5 songs. We are now huge fans and have a Brett Young playlist on repeat. The audience was completely entranced, singing every word back, lost in a moment that felt almost surreal. By the encore, it was undeniable—this wasn’t just a great concert; it was as perfect as it gets. If Brett Young is hitting your city immediately hop online and purchase your tickets . BUY. THE. TICKET.