Justin Moore Helps Traditional Country Shine Bright at Chicago Concert
Smack dab in the middle of the Windy City, guys with cowboy hats on their heads and girls with cowboy boots on their feet headed to the Rosemont Theatre on Thursday (Feb. 21) looking to sink their teeth into some good old traditional country music. Justin Moore gave them what they were craving, and so much more.
Donning a white cowboy hat himself, Moore looked in his element as he started the show with songs including 2010’s “How I Got To Be This Way” and 2016’s “Kinda Don’t Care” before tearing into “You Look Like I Need a Drink.”
“Hello Chicago,” he enthusiastically greeted the crowd. “This is awesome. This is one of my favorite venues. You guys always fill it up.”
In true Moore fashion, the Arkansas native wasted no time turning up the emotion from there as he proceeded to perform his current single “The Ones That Didn’t Make It Back Home” and 2011’s “Til My Last Day."
But it didn't take long before Moore before turned on the sexy with songs like “Somebody Else Will” and “Lettin’ the Night Roll." And let us just say that the guy knows how to wear a belt buckle.
Damn.
“Our main goal is to make sure you leave here getting your money’s worth,” Moore told the crowd before singing a sweet version of “Grandpa.”
Moore then surprised everybody, and maybe even himself, when giving a brand new song from his upcoming album a twirl. The song is called “Jesus and Jack Daniels,” and while Moore had a bit of trouble remembering all the words to the new song, all indications are that this song just might be the cowboy’s next big hit.
“I was telling some fans before the show that I would try the new song but I would probably screw it up, and that came to fruition,” he said with a laugh.
From there, Moore proceeded to perform “Like There’s No Tomorrow” before the emotional high point of the night with “If Heaven Wasn’t So Far Away.”
“We are going to take it to another level for the rest of the night,” Moore told the crowd before turning up the heat with a Hank Williams Jr. cover, a singalong of “Small Town USA” and an all-out Windy City revival on “Backwoods.”
Before Moore’s headlining slot, 2019 Taste of Country RISER Cody Johnson took the helm and showed every indication that he’s got the makings of becoming a full-fledged headliner in the near future, taking a grasp of the Chicago audience from the first note and never letting go.
Showing up in an all-black ensemble with his tattoos peeking out from under his long sleeve, buttoned-down shirt, Johnson was the ultimate pro throughout his 15-song set that shined especially on songs such as the sexy “Nothin’ on You,” the sweet “Cowboy Like Me” and the sway-inducing “On My Way to You.”
“If you are here and you have been beating your head against the wall and not thinking things are going to work out, I’m here to tell you that God has a bigger plan for you,” he told the crowd, his voice getting louder with every word. “That’s faith, and if that offends you, I really don’t care.”
And everybody said “Amen” to that.
Moore is set to release his new album, Late Nights and Longnecks, on April 26. His tour with Johnson runs through May 31 before wrapping up in California.
Watch Cody Johnson's' Live Version of "On My Way to You"
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