Kane Brown fires up Ottawa crowd

Back in 2019 Kane Brown came to Ottawa to headline at RBC Bluesfest, at the time I was skeptical as to whether, or not, Brown would be able to hold his own in a headlining set as he was still relatively new to the country music scene. Not only did he prove that he could when I saw him a month later at Boots and Hearts opening for Jason Aldean it was clear that Kane was best experienced in a headliner role.Fast forward to 2022 and his, long anticipated, Drunk or Dreaming Tour, brought him back to Ottawa with special guests Restless Road, Chris Lane and a very special guest Katelyn Brown, Kane’s wife.

Newcomers Restless Road kicked off the night. The trio was formed, and ultimately finished fourth during, season 3 of The X-Factor. Zach Beeken and Colton Pack were both auditioning as solo artists for the 2013 season of the show. Interestingly enough it was at X-Factor auditions that they also met fellow auditioner Kane Brown. After a few years of changes and the group finding their footing they crossed paths with Kane Brown once more in 2019. Brown had started developing new artists under his own label imprint and he offered Restless Road a deal. Their January 2022 single “Growing Old With You” has been streamed more than 24 million times on Spotify, 10 million more than their debut single, which featured Kane Brown, “Take Me Home”.

Groups in country music these days, classic country in particular, are a rarity so watching Restless Road command the stage gave me faith that country music is in good hands with this trio, after a very solid performance on Thursday night in Ottawa.

Chris Lane brought the party to the stage next. High energy, charming and humble…these all describe Chris. Having been on the scene since his 2014 debut single “Broken Windshield View” Chris has toured with many acts including “Florida Georgia Line”, with whom he visited Ottawa in 2017. As the most experienced artist on the bill Lane easily pumped up the crowd. Whether they were singing along to “Take Back Home Girl” or envying young Eva whom Chris brought up onto the stage for “For Her” Chris had the crowd eating out of his hand. Near the end of his set he invited his twin brother, and drummer, Cory to join him on stage. He told the crowd that Cory couldn’t sing but Cory, much to the delight of the crowd, quickly proved him wrong and the two of them on stage meshed perfectly.

When it comes to Kane Brown I, admittedly, was late to join the bandwagon. Sure I liked a couple of his songs but I didn’t get the hype. That was until I saw him perform at RBC Bluesfest back in 2019. That’s when it all made sense. What makes Kane so popular is the fact that he doesn’t fit into the proverbial genre mold. Kane Brown is Kane Brown. On paper he’s a country artist but in reality Kane is an artist. He draws influences from all genres and it shows in his music and is especially clear at a live show.

On Thursday night we were treated to all of Kane’s biggest hits but also some of his biggest influences including a cover of Solja Boy’s “Crank That” which, for the record, almost everyone in the crowd (at a country concert) knew word for word and based on their cheers I’d say they loved every second. Aren’t we getting tired of the age old argument “he’s not country enough”? Does it matter? Kane brown managed to thrill a packed arena on Thursday night in Ottawa I’d be willing to bet that not one person left disappointed.

Of course the biggest highlight, and the moment that made the show go viral and, maybe, put Ottawa on the map, was when Kane invited his wife Katelyn to join him on stage. Together they charmed the crowd with the first ever live performance of their single “Thank God”. If you haven’t seen it yet you can watch it below.

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I’ve been lucky enough to see Kane Brown three times now, each show is different but one thing always remains the same. Kane wears his heart on his sleeve, it’s what makes Kane Brown, Kane Brown. With songs like “As Good As You”, “I Love You Like Country Music”, “Thank God”, “What Ifs” he knows how to pull the heartstrings and with songs like “One Thing Right”, “One Mississippi”, “Short Skirt Weather” he knows how to get the crowd on their feet as well.

My advice if you’re only looking for a classic country show with guitars and fiddle then don’t go to see Kane Brown. But if you’re open to letting your hair down (it’s a figure of speech obviously as I barely have any hair myself let alone enough to let down) and having a good time for a few hours then go check him out.

The Drunk or Dreaming Tour continues tonight in Toronto before moving on to Western Canada for 6 shows wrapping up in Edmonton, AB December 18.

For tickets and more information visit https://tour.kanebrownmusic.com/

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