By Olivia Burns
American country artist Chris Young brought his Young Love & Saturday Nights tour to Melbourne’s iconic venue, the Forum while he was down under performing at CMC Rocks QLD festival. Opening for him was fellow American country rock artist Bryan Martin, who was also set to play at the festival.
The audience, some of them dressed in cowboy hats, majority in flannel shirts were all flowing into the beautiful venue taking their place, as Bryan Martin and his band got up on stage. They were definitely more on the rockier side of country music with their heavy guitar riffs and drumming and started off the night getting into the country vibes.
During the break, fans went to fill up on their drinks and chatted amongst themselves.
As the countdown to starting time came about, people turned towards the front patiently waiting. Band members moved across the stage and took their places, they played intro music until Chris finally made his way in front of the excited fans, a smile on his face. They kicked off the night with ‘One Of Them Nights’, Chris and band set out the start of the night how it was to go on, full of energy.
There was playfulness between the band members as they all interacted with each other, Chris and his guitarist often having guitar battles between themselves.
During intervals between songs Chris spent time reminiscing on how his grandfather used to play country music to him and that when he first started out, he used to sing outside on a patio of a Mexican restaurant, where he’d earn tips and food as payment. After posing the question of who in here is in love? to the crowd, he then mentions witnessing a girl in the crowd who put her hand up and her boyfriend pulled it down, which set off laughter amongst everyone in the room and also some second hand embarrassment for them as I’m sure they wouldn’t have planned to be a talking piece. It was then an emotional intro into his song “Drowning” of which he had written about his friend who had passed away before they were meant to go on a road trip together for a tv promo for new music Chris. Hearing the story behind the song and having him sing it hit hard as people turned on their phone flashlights waving them synchronously. After the song ended, he jokingly said how are we meant to get out of this depressing mood, but the show had to go on, and somehow managed to lift the crowds spirits again. The setlist was comprised of a mix of new and old across his discography, including covers of Brooks & Dun’s ‘Neon Moon’ and ‘When You Say Nothing At All’ by Ronan Keating. Also playing his hit song ‘Losing Sleep’ which he claimed changed his life. After approximately twenty songs, he and the band got off stage saying goodbye. Fans started to cheer for more, however, after around thirty seconds they got back up on stage, they definitely didn’t leave the crowd guessing for long. Ending the night on a high with ‘Aw Naw’, everyone in the crowd gave him a great send off giving their all, singing and dancing along, Chris waved to the crowd leaving the band playing an epic instrumental outro, before throwing their guitar picks into the crowd and exiting the stage.
Chris delivers an energetic performance, but what truly resonated with me during his live show was his dedication to creating an interactive and intimate experience. Whether through engaging storytelling, crowd participation, or fostering camaraderie among band members, he effortlessly cultivates a welcoming and vibrant atmosphere onstage.
