Your First Country Concert/Concert Memories

[sabre14]

I was thinking we could posts what our very first country concert we ever saw. It would be fantastic if you could tell stories about the day or night you went. Perhaps something that you might remember standing out that you would like to share.

*My first concert was when I saw Shania here in Buffalo on September 30th, 2003. My brother (who's 14 years older than me) was able to get tickets and he knew I had never been to one yet. The opening act that night was James Otto who's single "Days Of Our Lives" was approaching the top 40. I remember walking in while James was starting his set and being taken back by how loud it was. I also remember noticing James wearing a 00 Buffalo Bills jersey. Shania's entrance was of course filled with suspense as a big shadow outline of her talking the crowd up showed through a giant white curtain. Then she appeared from the the crowd. I have no idea how she went unnoticed but she did. 

During the show I recall her drummer J.D Blaire getting to have a drum solo. He walked around the stage cracking jokes while wearing a Miroslav Satan jersey (he was the Sabres best scoring forward then). It was obvious why Shania lets him do that as he was very entertaining. Shania herself must have laped around the stage 50 times during the night and changed her outfit a half dozen times, including breaking out a Sabres shirt at the end of the night. I don't recall a lot of the songs she performed but I do remember "Honey I'm Home", "Man I Feel Like A Woman", and "That Don't Impress Me Much" getting huge reactions.

To this day it's still among my top 5 concerts of all-time and I've been to at least 60 or 70 since then. My next concert was Brooks & Dunn with Big & Rich and The Warren Brothers at Darien Lake next summer. Pretty darn good for your first two concerts if you ask me. ;)

[McCreerian (Harris 2024!)]

My first was Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton at the old Charlotte Coliseum in March 1990 when I was 9 years old. My life was never the same after!

[Sean]

My first one was back in 2005 with Brad Paisley, Sara Evans, and Sugarland. Brad had released Tim Well Wasted earlier that year and everyone in the audience was wearing lamp shades for "Alcohol". Sara released Real Fine Place just a couple of weeks earlier (was most excited for her at the time, since I loooved that album.)! Sugarland was just a brand new trio at the time, debuting within the past year or so) and I didn't know a lot about them, but after that concert I fell madly and i mean MADLY in love with them! <3 <3 <3 This one has always stuck with me as it was my big introduction into country music and first concert of the genre (Weird Al was my first actual concert)! I liked a lot of country stuff beforehand and was already obsessed with Reba at the time, but this concert just solidified everything for me!

Second concert was George Strait(!!!), Tracy Lawrence(!), and some new singer that I had never heard of named Miranda Lambert. ;)

Third was some GAC Christmas thing where I met Deanna Carter.....not a bad start I don't think! :)

[someguy]

My first country concert was Reba McEntire in 1995. I went with my parents and my sister. I remember being so impressed when she flew above the stage in a little cage-like thing to sing "Does He Love You" with Linda Davis. She also rode onto the stage in the cab from the "Fancy" video, which I also thought was pretty cool.

[McCreerian (Harris 2024!)]

May 5, 2014 20:13:12 GMT -5 someguy said:

My first country concert was Reba McEntire in 1995. I went with my parents and my sister. I remember being so impressed when she flew above the stage in a little cage-like thing to sing "Does He Love You" with Linda Davis. She also rode onto the stage in the cab from the "Fancy" video, which I also thought was pretty cool.

I saw that tour. It was my first of many Reba concerts. It was another concert that just totally made me fall in love with Country and her.

[.indulgecountry]

I saw Sara Evans for my first concert (surprise, surprise) on October 5, 2008 at the Midland Theatre in Kansas City. I went with my mom and was 15 at the time and probably one of the youngest people at the show, lol. It was a very nice, intimate venue and my seat was only 15 rows from the stage. Her opening act was her brother-in-law, who sang a bunch of his original songs and a few covers.

After he played for like 30-45 mins, Sara came out and sang for about two hours. She did a lot of talking sessions between songs where she'd just sit on a stool and tell stories and I just loved it, because she's hilarious and has such a great personality. She also sat on the stool with her sister/backup singer and did acoustic covers of "In the Pines" and "Jolene." And during "Coalmine" (which was in the direct middle of her set) she ran around and introduced her various band members (several of which were family members).

The setlist, which I found on Setlist.fm, included all of her big hits from the Born to Fly, Restless, and Real Fine Place eras. I remember being thrilled that she did "Low," which at the time was her current single which had just been released the week before the show I attended. This setlist doesn't say she did "Missing Missouri," but I think I remember her doing that one because I swear I can recall her saying something about doing it since we were in her home state. Aside from that though, it seems accurate from what I remember.

[Markus Meyer]

Brad Paisley in 2010. Only one I've been to.

[Kentucky25]

May 5, 2014 20:11:47 GMT -5 Sean said:

Second concert was George Strait(!!!), Tracy Lawrence(!), and some new singer that I had never heard of named Miranda Lambert. ;)

Take or leave Lambert, I wish I'd been concert-going when Tracy was still big enough to tour with Strait. Bet it was awesome.

[ky24941]

My first concert was The Wilkinsons at the Montana State Fair in Great Falls, Montana in August 1999. I also saw Jo Dee Messina there a couple days later. I was 5 at the time, so I don't remember the shows very well. Since then I've been to over 40 concerts, including Shania Twain, Dixie Chicks, Reba (2 times), Sara Evans (3 times), Martina McBride (2 times), George Strait, and Brooks & Dunn. I also went to the CMT Music Awards in 2010.

The first country concert my parents saw together was Reba in 1995 (with Linda Davis, Rhett Akins, and Tracy Byrd). I would've loved to have seen that show.

[Deleted]

My first concert was also my first country concert, and the headliner was Michelle Wright. This was more than ten years ago, and I would have been around nine. She invited all the children in the audience to stand at the stage for the entire concert, and I remember she almost stepped on my fingers at one point because I was leaning against the stage and had my arms extended. I met her after the show, and I've been a fan of hers ever since. She has an incredible amount of talent and even more class.

The next few concerts I attended included Brad Paisley and Terri Clark, the Dixie Chicks, Martina McBride, and Lady Antebellum's first concert in Canada. I have been to about sixty concerts in total, and they're always such a thrill. I have seen Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson six times each, and Reba seven times. Every concert is exciting to me, even if I have already seen the exact same tour with the exact same setlist - it's the atmosphere.

[Deleted]

My first Country concert was back in 2002-2003; Toby Keith headlined with Rascal Flatts as his opener:
I remember it was in a really small venue, but Toby was great with the crowd and it didn't feel like a small show, despite the size of the venue.

I remember this was around the release of "These Days," because that concert was the reason I discovered/fell in love with "These Days," which is still one of my favorite songs.

I've seen Carrie 3 times, Rascal Flatts 5, Blake Shelton ( opener), The Wreckers (Opener), Gary Allan (Opener) and Gary Allan (Opener)

SO jealous of anyone who's seen the Dixie Chicks live; I
HAVE to see them someday.

[Andy]

My first concert was seeing George Jones in September 2011. George is probably my all-time favorite artist and I couldn't have been more excited. George gave it his all and poured his heart and soul into many of his hit songs, plus some lesser-known tunes like "The Man He Was" and "You Oughta Be Here with Me." Unfortunately it was evident that his age was catching up to him and health problems were beginning to take their toll. He had trouble catching his breath and needed to take frequent rests. There was a young apprentice-like singer that sang with him and carried much of the load. Still, he did a great job given the circumstances and gave me a night I'll never forget. When he died a year and a half later, I was extremely glad I had the chance to see him in person.

[ant]

The first concert I've ever been to was when I was 17, and it was Carrie Underwood & Keith Urban's Love, Pain and the Whole Crazy Carnival Ride Tour on February 13, 2008 at Madison Square Garden.  My Dad took me as a treat.  Since I live on Long Island, we took the train into Penn Station instead of driving into the city.  I remember entering for a Meet & Greet through Carrie's Fan Club, but I didn't win and was kind of disappointed...6 years later and I'm proud to say that I've been able to meet Carrie 3 times (and was also recognized by her in the crowd at her VH1 Unplugged taping in NYC that I attended in 2012).

Keith Urban was also phenomenal, but Carrie is the reason why I went.

[mairy]

My first and only country concert was Shooter Jennings, a couple months ago. Not my favourite artist, but it's something so unsual to be country concert in my city, so I had to go.

[jrekk]

My first concert was Dierks Bentley in 2012 at the Jefferson County Fair in Wisconsin. He absolutely killed it and the best part of it was we were in the middle of a bad drought it hadn't rained for at least a month straight and all of a sudden as he played "Home" it started down pouring and the crowd just went crazy! He stayed out for his whole set even though during "What Was I Thinkin'" his equipment was being ruined but he didn't care he just said cleverly "i know what i was doin, but what i was i thinkin"

[tim]

My first country concert was in 1991. My mom took me to see the Pirates of the Mississippi at the Platte County Fair in Nebraska. "Feed Jake" was their big hit and they played it towards the beginning of their set and at the end of their set.

I believe my next concert would have been George Strait in 1993 in Lincoln, Nebraska. I was quite young then and don't remember it very well, but I do recall that he was set up on a rotating stage and to this day I hate concert stages that do that (it's annoying!). Anyways, I have since seen George so many times I've lost count (twice in Vegas and Omaha; once in Denver, Phoenix, Ames, Kansas City, San Antonio, Houston. A few of my most memorable concerts would be his 1996 show in Kansas City (he had just won a bunch of CMA Awards and he was full of energy that night); my two Vegas shows (there's nothing quite like seeing a show there as the crowd is full of energy which I know George and the band feed off of); Phoenix in 2008 (again the crowd was really into this show and George's performance was top notch). I've seen him here in Austin many, many times as well and again I've lost count there.

Reba's 1994 Omaha, Nebraska, performance stands out amongst many of her shows that I've seen. This one happened to be tapped for an NBC special and she also recorded her "Till You Love Me" video there. I've also seen her so many times I've lost count, but twice was when she was touring with George and maybe two of her concerts when she was on the road with Brooks & Dunn, Terri Clark, and David Kersh.

Another standout would be Alan Jackson's show in Omaha in 1992 I believe (Carlene Carter was his opener). This was such an amazing show. Ironically, I saw him a couple years later at the same location and was so disappointed with his performance I haven't seen him solo since (other than with George and Jimmy Buffett in Dallas).

Other artists I've seen once or multiple times would be Don Williams (2), Little Texas (2), Tim McGraw (maybe 3), Faith Hill, Alabama (maybe 3), Tanya Tucker, Paul Brandt, Dixie Chicks (twice!), Junior Brown, Asleep at the Wheel (many times with George, a couple of times solo), Little Big Town, Rascal Flatts, Gary Allan, Taylor Swift, Ronnie Milsap, Trisha Yearwood, Travis Tritt, Colin Raye, Aaron Tippin, Randy Travis, John Michael Montgomery (twice), Kenny Rogers, Clint Black, Jason Aldean, Diamond Rio, and many, many others (I need to sit down and make a list).

[urbanscot]

Sugarland with Holly Williams as the opener. Was amazing! Not many country artists come over here so I think so far that's my only country concert but I have Dolly and Kacey in June and July so not a bad year with Sheryl in October doing her country stuff.

[Spacey_Kacey]

Summer 2011: Tim McGraw, Luke Bryan, and the Band Perry.

Luke Bryan was the one drawing me in. Oh, how far music has come in 3 years.

[carrieidol1]

Sometime in the mid 1990s I saw Alan Jackson... his was my first country concert.

[countryfan4life]

My first country concert was September 2003 and it was Lonestar. I do not remember much about this concert, but what I do remember is that they opened with No News, there was flashing lights, and it was really loud. I also remember that they were absolutely hilarious. I'm pretty sure I remember Richie taking someone's camera and he took a bunch of pictures on stage, including one of Dean's butt. I caught the country concert bug after this show because in 2004 I saw Buddy Jewel, Kenny Chesney with Uncle Kracker, Rascal Flatts with Chris Cagle, Trace Adkins with Josh Turner, and then ended the year with Josh Gracin.

[Steven]

My first Country show was a special one to me. I saw Willie Nelson. His son, Lukas, came out with his band and sang a few songs. They're called "Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real". After a few tunes, Willie came out. He started with ''Whiskey River'' and continued on playing songs like ''Beer For My Horses, Good Hearted Woman, Funny How Time Slips Away, Hey Good Lookin', Jambalaya (On the Bayou), Move It On Over, I Saw The Light, Georgia On My Mind, Will The Circle Be Unbroken?, Shoeshine Man (Tom T. Hall), Matchbox (Carl Perkins), On The Road Again, some instrumental songs that I didn't catch the name of and a few songs off his ''Let's Face the Music and Dance'' album. Sometime happened that made the experience even better. Towards the end of the show, he announced that it was Jamey Johnson's birthday and he was turning 38. He sang Happy Birthday to him and after that started to sing "Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die". The best part: Jamey Johnson came out!!! All in all, it was a great show. Very happy I got a chance to see him live. He may not be around for much longer. I'm hoping to catch him at the same venue later this year. He's playing with Alison Krauss so it should be a fantastic show.

[tim]

May 8, 2014 20:14:24 GMT -5 Steven said:

My first Country show was a special one to me. I saw Willie Nelson. His son, Lukas, came out with his band and sang a few songs. They're called "Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real". After a few tunes, Willie came out. He started with ''Whiskey River'' and continued on playing songs like ''Beer For My Horses, Good Hearted Woman, Funny How Time Slips Away, Hey Good Lookin', Jambalaya (On the Bayou), Move It On Over, I Saw The Light, Georgia On My Mind, Will The Circle Be Unbroken?, Shoeshine Man (Tom T. Hall), Matchbox (Carl Perkins), On The Road Again, some instrumental songs that I didn't catch the name of and a few songs off his ''Let's Face the Music and Dance'' album. Sometime happened that made the experience even better. Towards the end of the show, he announced that it was Jamey Johnson's birthday and he was turning 38. He sang Happy Birthday to him and after that started to sing "Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die". The best part: Jamey Johnson came out!!! All in all, it was a great show. Very happy I got a chance to see him live. He may not be around for much longer. I'm hoping to catch him at the same venue later this year. He's playing with Alison Krauss so it should be a fantastic show.

My first time seeing Willie Nelson live in concert was here in Austin when him, Asleep at the Wheel, Dixie Chicks, and George Strait all got together a couple years back for a fire relief concert to raise money for families impacted by wildfires. I've also had the opportunity to meet Willie's sister Bobbie a couple of times and she is just a hoot (she plays piano in his band). If she acts anything like Willie, it's no wonder everyone loves him!

[Steven]

May 8, 2014 22:36:04 GMT -5 tim said:

May 8, 2014 20:14:24 GMT -5 Steven said:

My first Country show was a special one to me. I saw Willie Nelson. His son, Lukas, came out with his band and sang a few songs. They're called "Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real". After a few tunes, Willie came out. He started with ''Whiskey River'' and continued on playing songs like ''Beer For My Horses, Good Hearted Woman, Funny How Time Slips Away, Hey Good Lookin', Jambalaya (On the Bayou), Move It On Over, I Saw The Light, Georgia On My Mind, Will The Circle Be Unbroken?, Shoeshine Man (Tom T. Hall), Matchbox (Carl Perkins), On The Road Again, some instrumental songs that I didn't catch the name of and a few songs off his ''Let's Face the Music and Dance'' album. Sometime happened that made the experience even better. Towards the end of the show, he announced that it was Jamey Johnson's birthday and he was turning 38. He sang Happy Birthday to him and after that started to sing "Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die". The best part: Jamey Johnson came out!!! All in all, it was a great show. Very happy I got a chance to see him live. He may not be around for much longer. I'm hoping to catch him at the same venue later this year. He's playing with Alison Krauss so it should be a fantastic show.

My first time seeing Willie Nelson live in concert was here in Austin when him, Asleep at the Wheel, Dixie Chicks, and George Strait all got together a couple years back for a fire relief concert to raise money for families impacted by wildfires. I've also had the opportunity to meet Willie's sister Bobbie a couple of times and she is just a hoot (she plays piano in his band). If she acts anything like Willie, it's no wonder everyone loves him!

Oh wow, now that sounds like a pretty killer show. Yeah, Bobbie sounds like a fun gal. How was George Strait's performance? 

[Kat5Kind]

Hunter Hayes; December 16 2012. Best concert ever. He has fantastic vocals at his own shows, he just gets nervous at the award shows. That was my first ever concert and I was 14.
Kacey opened; I don't think she's all that great live. Since then I've been to 3 more of his shows and met him, which was amazing for me!

[George Strait Junkie]

My First show was Lady Antebellum. It was An Acoustic show it was a few months before their first #1 Run to You came out so i guess i saw them when they were new.

my second show was Justin Moore also didn't have a #1 yet and hadn't even released his first album yet.

[Ten Pound Hammer]

Collin Raye, fall 1991. I was 4. He was playing at a local bar that was torn down about 10 years ago. On the way there, mom bought his album at Kmart. The opening act was some bar band doing coers, and according to mom, I kept asking her if they got permission from the original artist every time they played a cover song.

I also saw Wild Rose and Conway's brother Michael at that bar.

[recjus85]

I believe my first one was Oak Ridge Boys (believe I was maybe 8 or 9, which was 20 years ago then). My parents won the tickets and made me and my sister (3 years older) go. We were both very bored then lol (especially her). I just remember belting out Elvira when they sung it lol. Think it was their last song that night too. The first one that I went to that I WANTED to go to (went to a few others before this) was the first of Brooks and Dunn's Neon Circus shows. Cledus, Montgomery Gentry, Toby Keith, and Keith Urban (opening act then) were also there. I went to all 3 of the Neon Circus shows, thought he 3 one was a postponed one (Kix I believe is was lost his voice in Atlanta the night before), so Jeff Bates, Bard Paisley, and Rascal Flatts couldn't come back. Keith Urban wasn't busy so he appeared that night, and Aaron Lines and Cledus were the only ones that actually came back with B&D. That was kind of a boring show overall. I have at least seen Brad since, but not the others.

[Uncle Lumpy]

My first concert was Hank Williams Jr. & Restless Heart at Starwood Amplitheatre in Nashville in the summer of 1988. I was kind of bummed out as I wasn't a very big fan of Restless Heart . They were a last minute opening act replacement when Rodney Crowell had to cancel after his father passed away. Rodney was at his commercial peak as this tour was supporting his Diamonds & Dirt era. I still haven't been able to catch him live. But I would guess I went on to see Hank close to ten times as he always did his "birthday bash" concerts in Nashville back then. Good times....from what I remember.

[sabre14]

Jun 18, 2014 13:26:59 GMT -5 Uncle Lumpy said:

My first concert was Hank Williams Jr. & Restless Heart at Starwood Amplitheatre in Nashville in the summer of 1988. I was kind of bummed out as I wasn't a very big fan of Restless Heart . They were a last minute opening act replacement when Rodney Crowell had to cancel after his father passed away. Rodney was at his commercial peak as this tour was supporting his Diamonds & Dirt era. I still haven't been able to catch him live. But I would guess I went on to see Hank close to ten times as he always did his "birthday bash" concerts in Nashville back then. Good times....from what I remember.

My brother loved Restless Heart, and he never saw them live, so I'm sure he wouldn't like you saying that you were bummed about having to see them. ;)

"I went on to see Hank Jr. close to ten times"......Another reason to get to Nashville. #jealous.

[Uncle Lumpy]

Jun 18, 2014 13:47:33 GMT -5 sabre14 said:

Jun 18, 2014 13:26:59 GMT -5 Uncle Lumpy said:

My first concert was Hank Williams Jr. & Restless Heart at Starwood Amplitheatre in Nashville in the summer of 1988. I was kind of bummed out as I wasn't a very big fan of Restless Heart . They were a last minute opening act replacement when Rodney Crowell had to cancel after his father passed away. Rodney was at his commercial peak as this tour was supporting his Diamonds & Dirt era. I still haven't been able to catch him live. But I would guess I went on to see Hank close to ten times as he always did his "birthday bash" concerts in Nashville back then. Good times....from what I remember.

My brother loved Restless Heart, and he never saw them live, so I'm sure he wouldn't like you saying that you were bummed about having to see them. ;)

"I went on to see Hank Jr. close to ten times"......Another reason to get to Nashville. #jealous.

They werent terrible by any means . Their latest single was "Bluest Eyes In Texas" which I loved at the time. I still would have much rather heard Rodney do "I Couldnt Leave You If I Tried" though. Ha! Nashville is cool but I rarely go to the big concerts anymore though as I just cant afford the beer. If you ever make it, check out some of the cool out of the way songwriting bars though like the Bluebird Cafe. Thats where I would say Nashville shines.