This concert review originally appeared on Degenrefy.com written by Ash Starkweather
When we arrived at the venue, the line meandered down the street from the doors of Charlotte’s Neighborhood Theatre. The venue’s doors opened a little late due to technical issues, but the crowd did not mind as they chatted excitedly about the opportunity to check out Brandy Clark headlining her own show.
Sam Lewis [★★★] opened the night up softly with his acoustic guitar with his friend on bass. He played a solid set including the title track off his new album, Waiting On You. Sam also played a very touching song about his grandmother called “Virginia Avenue.” This was a very slow and passionate set, and even though there was not much crowd engagement, everyone seemed to enjoy
Brandy Clark [★★★★] took the stage next and opened things up with “Stripes.” As she went into her song “Broke” she had the crowd singing along immediately. The band exited the stage and Brandy took the reins and told the crowd that she wrote or co-wrote a number of singles on the mainstream country charts, and that each song had a story. Her first number one song was “Better Dig Two” which was recorded by The Band Perry. Brandy also told the crowd how she worked closely with Kacey Musgraves and they co-wrote the song “Follow Your Arrow.” She joked thinking the song would never make it because it’s about “kissing girls and rolling up a joint.” She was still in shock that this song won her a CMA award for song of the year.
Mid set, Brandy invited a young boy on stage to sing along with her. They sang a chorus of “Stripes” and melted hearts in the crowd. Brandy continued her set with her song “Pray to Jesus.” Her last solo song was “Mama’s Broken Heart,” which was recorded by Miranda Lambert. When the band joined her on stage again they played “Hold My Hand.”
