Kip Moore makes triumphant Ottawa debut with his Plead The Fifth Tour

Tell, Nashville based country rocker, Kip Moore a few years ago that he’d sell out two shows in Ottawa, Ontario and he’d probably think you were crazy. If anyone ever had a doubt that Moore’s fan base in Ontario, even in Ottawa, was strong those doubts were silenced last night as Kip along with guests Fairground Saints and Drake White & The Big Fire rocked to a packed house at Algonquin Commons Theatre in Ottawa, the first stop of an 8 night Ontario tour.

Newcomer’s the Fairground Saints made their Canadian debut in Ottawa last night. Quickly wooing the crowd with their energetic harmonies and catchy melodies. Signed to Sony Music Nashville this, California based, trio has toured with Scotty McCreery, Bros Osborne, Sara Evans, and Thompson Square. The group is best known for their hits “Turn This Car Around” and “Can’t Control the Weather.” It’s always tough to get a good feel for a band in only 30 mins, or so, but their stage presence is solid and they have plenty of talent between the three of them so something tells me we will be hearing more from them. Click on the song titles to download the singles on iTunes.

Next up was Drake White and the Big Fire. I had my first introduction to Drake at Boots and Hearts this past summer and I have to say I was really looking forward to catching him again. White brings a new, soulful, dimension to country music. His music stands alone in it’s own country universe. It’s like New Orleans crossed with Nashville crossed with Motown and the end result is pure magic. Add in White’s incredible performance ability and his genuine love of the stage and you end up with a spectacular show. White broke out onto the scene a few years ago with his debut label album Spark. The album’s second single, “Livin’ the Dream“, exploded into the top 20 on the US Country Charts and his follow-up single “Makin’ Me Look Good Again“, a personal favourite, continues to perform well for White and even landed him the International Song of the Year award at the 2017 British Country Music Association Awards.

Drake White and the Big Fire easily fired up the crowd for headliner Kip Moore, proving, again, that Ottawa has no shortage of country music fans. Everything was spectacular about Moore’s set, from the lighting to the stage setup. Although I’ve been a big fan of Kip Moore for some time I had my first opportunity to see him live just a few years ago in Kingston, Ontario as part of his Me and My Kind Tour. When it was announced that he was coming back to Eastern Ontario with his Plead the Fifth tour I added it to my must see list for 2018.

When it comes to country music Kip Moore is, without question, in my top 3 of favourite current country artists. There’s so much variety in country music today you could have sub-genres of the genre. I’m not going to start a big debate on how the country sound has changed since the early years because things change and that’s ok. There’s plenty of artists under the country music umbrella to satisfy everyone’s individual taste. Kip Moore has this style about him and his music, as I write this it’s nearly 2:30 am so my brain is barely functional but when Kip walks out onto the stage you just can’t help but get caught up in the energy of it.

From the opening notes of “Wild Ones” all the way through to a grand finale performance of “Guitar Man” Kip was joined by the sold out Ottawa crowd, who sang along through each song, for a musical journey that took us from Up All Night favourites “Somethin’ Bout a Truck”, “Beer Money”, “Hey Pretty Girl” through Wild Ones hits “Wild Ones”, “That Was Us”, “I’m to Blame” all the way to his latest release Slowheart for his more recent hits “Plead The Fifth”, “More Girls Like You”, “Guitar Man”, “Try Again” and everything in between.

I’ve covered a lot of shows at Algonquin Commons Theatre over the last few years, including a few rock shows, and I have to say the crowd at last night’s Kip Moore show was one of the most fired up crowds I’ve seen in a long time. Kip, Drake and the Fairground Saints will return to Ottawa next Thursday, March 29, for the second of two shows at Algonquin Commons Theatre but not before heading west for shows in Barrie, Toronto and Sault Ste Marie. The tour wraps in London, ON with two shows at London Music Hall on March 30 and 31. Limited tickets are still available for some of the dates visit www.kipmoore.net/tour for details.

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