Whoever said Bradley couldn’t sell a country concert better take Kimberly Perry’s advice and start eating crow, because last Sunday night proved to be a major success. The huge crowd certainly lent itself to the incredible performance the Perry siblings put on. With more than 3000 people singing along, the energy was palpable in the Renaissance Coliseum as The Band Perry exploded onstage with a track from their new album, “Pioneer.” The song choice, “DONE.” was the perfect way to start what would be a fantastic show. I was fairly ambivalent about the show when it was announced. I like The Band Perry but I’m not crazy about them. I’ve only been to small country shows before. I was pleasantly surprised by how great it was.
I was worried that it would be low energy because it was on a Sunday night and those are usually a slow time for most hungover college students. However between the Kari Lynch Band opening and the infectious fun The Band Perry was having on stage it was impossible not to start singing along.
Even for non-country lovers, the concert was still enjoyable. The Band Perry played a variety of cover songs as transitions for their own songs. One of my favorite moments was hearing them play Queen’s “Fat Bottom Girls,” and actually do it justice.
They took a hard, somber week and asked the crowd to come together as a family with them to hold hands, dance and most importantly: sing. The crowd delivered; when the band played “If I Die Young,” Kimberly simply stood back and watched as
3000 plus fans sang the first lines. I’ve been to a lot of concerts with a lot of amazing moments, but this will stick in my memory.
Perry credited the band’s new album “Pioneer” to the people in the crowd of college students who would be the future.
“The future is right here in front of us,” Perry said. “Whether you’re graduating school or just getting started… we don’t let the future tell us where to go. We tell the future where to go. We are all Pioneers.”
It was an inspiring performance, and well-thought out in all aspects, from production to song choice. If you didn’t go, you missed out. I hope having bands and shows of this caliber becomes a pattern of success for future Bradley concerts.
