The Journey Tour kicks off in Abbotsford

The Journey is officially underway but not without a “minor” snag thanks to a notorious Coquihalla Highway snow storm. For the next month, Paul Brandt will be joined by Hunter Brothers, Jess Moskaluke, and High Valley on a cross country tour.  We had the honor to be at the Abbotsford Centre in BC to catch the start of it all.

The Hunter Brothers started off the night with a quick set and an early start in front of about 3,000 people.  The lighting for the first few songs was pretty bleak but the music and the energy coming from the guys more than made up for it … and to top it all off … Is there a better way to end the set then with a back flip while playing guitar?!

After one of the quickest intermissions ever, Jess Moskaluke came up with her band all in black.

“Holding me back” cover was a huge hit with the crowd and band members kept moving around the stage in different pairings at the mic.  At times it was hard to tell who was having more fun, those on stage or those watching … making for a great set!

Jess wrapped up the 45 minute set with a sing-along “Cheap Wine and Cigarettes” and the crowd overpowered the vocals even when it wasn’t their turn. The acoustics from the audience participation was amazing, especially given it’s essentially a hockey arena.  Kudos to whomever designed it!

High Valley hit the stage at 8:45 pm (according to my watch).  Given the number of acts, people, and equipment needing to get swapped out on stage, all the turnarounds were quick and pretty much without delay – massively impressive given it’s the first stop of the tour

As requested by their Instagram fans, they played some of their first hits and gave a huge shout out to headliner and friend Paul Brandt not just for this tour but for helping them out so much when they first started, including song-writing!

First country song they learned to play – for the “wild & crazy 90s country fans” – “Be My Baby Tonight” – had Curtis hopping onto speakers to get photos of fans with his phone while Brad jumped off drum platform

They suggested a Loudest Singer competition for “Young Forever” (with video of old photos playing on video monitors) that a lot of people missed because they were so enthralled with being the loudest.

Personally, I thought the bluegrass version of “Shut Up and Dance” was inspired!  The whole band came in to form a semi circle on stage for the high energy yet semi acoustic rendition.

They both jumped offstage at opposite ends and into the crowd for “She’s With Me” – got in a few minutes of selfies and hugs in the crowd before making their way back up on the opposite end of where they each started.

Paul Brandt headlined the night with a lot of stories, some of his classic songs, and so many old photos and videos from career played through on the screens, including his wedding footage!

It wasn’t just him and his band on the main stage for the entire set though … he shared the spotlight with each of the other artists.

High Valley joined from smaller stage for a song then on the main stage … The Hunter Brothers & Paul all squeezed into the smaller stage playing for the back …  even Jess Moskaluke got in on the small stage antics sporting a blue jean jacket.

Usually when the headliner invites the other acts up on stage, it’s on the same one!  Utilizing the back of the floor by expanding the soundboard area for a small stage (with dedicated lighting from the floor and ceiling so as to not give it away to the audience) was genius and we’re #SorryNotSorry for spoiling the surprise for all the other attendees. There is no bad seat with this lay out and if the game plan is the same in all the other venues, if you’re on the floor, you have the chance to leave your seat to get up close and personal at the smaller stage.  You may even score a selfie or 2!

Interestingly, Alberta Bound was the song that really brought a rumble in the seats … performed in Alberta is going to blow the roof off the venues given what happened last night in BC … Oh, to be a fly on the wall (or a photographer in the crowd) for the Edmonton or Calgary shows!

For more information on upcoming dates and how to get tickets visit http://www.paulbrandt.com/tour-dates/, we’ll catch up with the tour again in February when it rolls through TD Place in Ottawa. Grab your tickets today, you’re not going to want to miss this one.