Randy Houser Debuts New Music at Country Jam 2017 [Pictures]
Randy Houser's been in the studio recently, working on some new music, and fans at Country Jam 2017 got to hear some of it during his Thursday night (June 16) set. The country star played a handful of new songs with a blues-y, soulful bent.
"We're gonna do whatever the hell we want to do tonight," Houser told the Country Jam crowd just a few songs into his set. "Y'all mind if I play some brand-new songs here tonight?"
Naturally, they didn't.
There was "High Time," a song about leaving your problems behind with the aid of "a can of cold beer" and a smoke (the legal-in-Colorado kind). There was a travelin' tune about leaving "no stone unturned / No turn unstoned." There was a loping, steel guitar-heavy track with a prominent drum beat called "You Should Be Mine." They all let Houser show off a side of himself that fans don't always get to hear in his radio singles.
Of course, the hits were there, too. Houser opened his set with a few a cappella lines of "How Country Feels," and closed it with "Runnin' Outta Moonlight." In between, there was "We Went," "Boots On," "Goodnight Kiss" and an incredible version of "Like a Cowboy," dedicated to the military. Houser started the song alone, on an acoustic guitar, and slowed the song down, then built it into a full-band production; he belted it out plenty, but he also let the crowd take the lead a number of times.
An unexpected highlight -- which came early on -- was a cover of Trace Adkins' "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk." Houser wrote the hit with Dallas Davidson and Jamey Johnson, and he made it his own -- and the crowd at Jam Ranch was more than happy to dance along.
Country Jam 2017 runs through Sunday (June 18). Justin Moore co-headlined Thursday night with Houser; Jason Aldean will headline on Friday (June 16), Kenny Chesney is Saturday night's (June 17) biggest act, and Thomas Rhett will close things out on Sunday.
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