Kip Moore. Photo: Jeff Schroeder
After 20 concerts in 14 states, Kip Moore ended his headlining After The Sunburn Tour with a sold-out show Saturday night (Nov. 17) at Nashville’s War Memorial Auditorium with friends Jillian Jacqueline and Jordan Davis.
Opener Jacqueline has not been on a Nashville stage, outside of CMA Fest, in over two years, but she was not lacking fans at Saturday’s performance. The crowd was enthusiastic and welcomed Jacqueline as she kicked off the night with “Shady.” Her most popular song of the night was her radio single “Reasons.” She finished her set with “God Bless This Mess” saying, “This song is my way of telling myself to keep going. Hopefully, you feel something in this one.”
Louisiana native Davis took the stage next with several selections off of his debut album Home State, such as “Tough To Tie Down,” “Slow Dance In A Parking Lot” and “Leaving New Orleans.” He included a rocking cover of “Hard To Handle” by The Black Crowes and slowed things down with “When You Say Nothing At All” by Keith Whitley. He ended his set with his No. 1 hit “Singles You Up” and current single “Take It From Me.”
“I don’t know two better people in the music business to be out playing music with than those two right there,” Davis telegraphed the camaraderie he has with Jacqueline and Moore when he joined them towards the end of Moore’s set for a great rendition of “The Weight” by The Band.
Prior to the main act, fans enjoyed a crowd performance of “Bohemian Rhapsody” thanks to enthusiastic fans in the balcony, even receiving applause from all the entertained concert goers.
Moore celebrated his final date on the After the Sunburn Tour by bringing his passion and love for his craft to his fans in Nashville. He began with two songs from his SLOWHEART album, “I’ve Been Around” and “Sunburn.” He then fell back on his Top 10 hit “Beer Money” to carry the energy as he played several more of his earlier songs including “Up All Night” and “Wild Ones.” He then played the first two songs from SLOWHEART with “I Plead the Fifth” and “Just Another Girl” and his current Top 10 single “Last Shot.”
During his performance of “Backseat,” Moore stopped and said, “I got to admit, tonight I am feeling a little awkward playing this song with my mom in the crowd somewhere. It just don’t feel right tonight, so y’all got to help me out.” The crowd, and his bandmates, were more than happy to help out at any point in the night, knowing all the words.
Kip Moore at Nashville’s War Memorial Auditorium. Photo: Jeff Schroeder
Moore went on to say later in the night, “I always had these big dreams of playing a room like this. I never thought about money or fame; I thought about being free, writing songs and everybody pulling something from that. To have a night like this where y’all sing back my album cuts, is all I ever gave a shit about.”
To show his appreciation of his fans, he began an acoustic set by saying, “It’s that time of night where I really don’t know what I’m gonna play; I kinda just see what I feel like y’all know.” He played fan-picked “Dirt Road” and others including “Magic” “Heart’s Desire” and “That’s Alright With Me.” He was joined onstage by his band for his No. 1 hit “Somethin’ ‘Bout a Truck.”
The encore brought “The Weight,” where his was joined by supporting acts Jacqueline and Davis, as well as a verse and chorus of “Tennessee Boy” from Moore’s recently released Room To Spare: The Acoustic Sessions EP.
Moore concluded the night with one of his favorite songs he wrote, “Guitar Man,” in the way he originally wrote it. “I wrote this thing at about 2 ‘o’clock in the morning after watching a guy do what I did for so many years. Thank y’all so much for the love that you showed us tonight. We really appreciate it.”
