I caught up with Kip Moore this past Friday before his performance at New York City’s 1st ever Farmborough Festival on Randall’s Island. He sat down with me and spoke about two of the tracks on his upcoming album, Wild Ones, to be released on August 21, 2015. Check out what to expect from the songs “Wild Ones” and “Comeback Kid”.
WILD ONES
“I can’t wait for people to hear this. The intro is just super stripped and we geeked and geeked until we found the most killer drum tone for it. When people see what I’ve been up to behind the scenes with this song, people are going to flip. It’s just raw and has emotion behind it. I wrote it for my fans, but people are going to flip when hearing this and the rest of the album.”
Check out the intro and first verse of “Wild Ones” from the Farmborough Festival this past weekend:
COMEBACK KID
“I have always felt like the underdog my entire life. I have always had to scrap and claw for every single inch. I think that has given me a chip on my shoulder for most of my life. When I have seen things handed to others, when I have had to work so hard for it. But for that, I have a different thankfulness than other people do and I have a sense of gratitude. But, I’ve always had a supreme confidence when other people have doubted me. I always think I am going to get where I am going to get. It’s like a thing of destiny, but you are the only one in on that thing so that no ones knows where you are going, but you. I think that song, man, it is just 100% me and its going to resonate with a lot of people not just here in America, but around the world. It’s for all the people who scrap and claw with every inch” – Kip Moore
A few months ago, I sat down with songwriter, Erik Dylan, who also discussed the song (see “Who’s Next: Erik Dylan”: https://millertimemusicspot.com/whos-next-erik-dylan/). He had the following to say about his relationship to “Comeback Kid”:
“I wrote a song called “Comeback Kid”. There are actually four writers that wrote it, Ross Copperman, Jeff Hyde, myself and Kip… It was written for Kip but each of the writers related to the song from a different place with what the song means… My wife worked a day job for seven years and as a songwriter there are times you question whether you are good enough or if it is all worth it. You need that someone there to support you. So the song in my mind was all about my wife because I was the Comeback Kid… Meanwhile, Kip is the Comeback Kid in a different way because he had his share of ups and downs and so many people told him he would not be a country music singer and look at him now.” – Erik Dylan
Dierks Bentley – Sounds of Summer Tour – June 5, 2015 – Raleigh, NC
Guest Blog by Carrie Srebro (@corbers)
The summer concert season got off to a hot start (literally and figuratively) as Dierks Bentley kicked off his “Sounds of Summer” tour in Raleigh, NC on Friday, June 5, 2015. This is Dierks’ second year headlining the major amphitheaters across North America, and he, as always, gave fans a high energy show that packs a ton of punch!
Canaan Smith kicked the night off promptly at 7 pm with a 5-6 song set which included his current hit single “Love You Like That,” as well as “Two Lane Road” and a cover of Nick Jonas’ “Chains.” Canaan’s music isn’t really my cup of tea, but he put on an enthusiastic and energetic performance to get the night started. I met him before the show out at the box office, and he was very nice!
Maddie & Tae were up next, and delivered an energetic performance. I find these girls to be refreshing – their backing band includes a fiddler!, and they both played instruments including acoustic guitar and dobro through the performance. In fact, the only time they put the instruments down was for a rousing cover of Dolly Parton’s “9-5” which the crowd loved. The girls have tight harmonies and sounded great live, and never stopped smiling through their set. The set included songs that are on their current EP (“Fly,” and fan-favorite “Sierra”) as well as some new music that will be on their upcoming full-length August release. “Shut Up and Fish” is a cheeky song about dating a city boy who won’t – well – shut up and fish, and a lot of fun. And of course the crowd went crazy for the duo’s first #1 hit “Girl in a Country Song.”
Maddie & Tae Setlist:
Right Here Right
Now Shut Up and Fish
Sierra
Fly
Waiting on a Plane
9-5
Girl in a Country Song
Promptly at 8:15, Kip Moore took the stage, opening with the rousing anthemic song “Wild Ones,” the title track off his upcoming album. He then threw it back, so to speak, to his debut album with “Crazy One More Time” and “Reckless” before getting the crowd worked up with his hit single “Beer Money,” followed by an awesome cover of Jimmy Eat World’s “The Middle!” I’ve only seen Kip one other time, at the Grand Ole Opry for a 3-song set, and was really looking forward to this longer set. Kip didn’t disappoint – his gravelly vocals sounded fantastic on “Hey Pretty Girl” which he then blended into “Stand by Me”. New songs included were his current single “I’m to Blame,” (which feels even shorter in a live setting), “Come and Get It,” and “Magic.” The set closed with Kip’s quirky #1 hit “Somethin’ ‘Bout a Truck” (which coincidentally was Dierks’ walkout music for the Locked and Reloaded Tour in 2013!), which the crowd loved!
Kip Moore Setlist:
Wild Ones
Crazy One More Time
Reckless
Beer Money
The Middle (Jimmy Eat World cover)
I’m to Blame
Come and Get It
Hey Pretty Girl/Stand by Me
Magic
Somethin’ Bout a Truck
There had been a lot of press leading up to the kickoff of the tour this week, and the word of the week was “pyro” which admittedly had me a little worried. I’ve followed Dierks since his debut, and I’ve seen him over 35 times live, and I’ve just never felt like he ever needed to put on a big production to remain competitive in the live world. But, I guess they felt like it was time to pull out all of the stops this year! Thankfully, I didn’t really think anything was over the top, and even though the production is bigger, it still feels like a Dierks show – which means it’s super high on energy and crowd interaction. His 90-minute set kicked off with “Sideways,” “Am I The Only One,” and “5-1-5-0” and we got our first taste of fireworks at the end of “5-1-5-0” (the only time I felt like it was gratuitous, but I suppose in hindsight it was to close the big opening of the show). During the first three songs, Dierks was all over the stage, on the catwalk, giving high fives and fistbumps constantly, pointing out little white tank tops and pilot hats (obvious nods to his uber-popular “What Was I Thinkin” and “Drunk on a Plane”). He took a break to address the crowd leading into “I Hold On,” expressing his delight in opening the tour in Raleigh, commenting how far he’d come since 2005 when he played the 500-seat Lincoln Theatre, and mentioning his late father and telling the crowd “he’d get a kick out of this, y’all.”
He also made a point of calling out all of the faces he recognized down front, his long-time followers, and exclaimed “We did it!” “I Hold On” turned into a massive singalong, with the crowd positively screaming the song back to Dierks. The tour showcased the live debut of “Sounds of Summer” which included another singalong, with Dierks remarking that was his “favorite sound of summer.” Upcoming single “Riser” was absolutely a highlight of the evening, as Dierks was lifted into the air as part of the stage came up. His performance was strong, stirring, and triumphant.
On last summer’s “Riser” Tour, Dierks utilized a B-stage at the back of the reserved area, close to the lawn seats, and he continued that this year as well. Much to the delight of fans, he walks out to the B-stage taking selfies, giving high fives and hugs while singing the fan-favorite “Come a Little Closer” as he… comes a little closer. He sang the anthemic “Home,” and then the band joined him for a “banjo-fied” cover of Nick Jonas’ “Chains” (which sounds strange, but it works) – and he joked about Canaan singing the song earlier in his set, too – and “Settle For a Slowdown.” They then worked their way back up to the main stage for “Up on the Ridge” where they really turned up the heat – flames shot out of the back of the stage for the latter half of the song, and if you’re down front, be prepared for the warmth! It was a cool effect and I felt like it added to the spooky kind of bonfire-esque feel of the song. His “regular” set ended with his most recent #1 single “Say You Do.”
Of course that meant that he hadn’t done the two biggest songs of his career, and sure enough, a video started to play of he and band members Cassidy and Dan attempting to “hood slide like Bo Duke.” It was pretty hilarious, especially when the General Lee and “Bo Duke” himself showed up. Of course that meant that “What Was I Thinkin” was coming, and the crowd was whipped into a frenzy once again. But nothing could top the response to show closing “Drunk on a Plane.” It was one massive sing along, and ended with more fireworks.
Dierks said he wanted to make sure the “Sounds of Summer” Tour was the best tour of the summer, and I would say he’ll make good on that promise for many fans. He continues to put on a high energy show full of crowd interaction and look like he’s having the time of his life the entire time. He’s also good to his openers, inviting Kip Moore out during “Lot of Leavin’ Left to Do,” and Maddie & Tae and Canaan joined him for “Free & Easy.” All four acts seem to get along really well, and even on night one there was an ease among them. If you have the chance to catch this tour, I highly recommend it!
