McCreery and Bradbery kept the crowd on their feet for Saturday’s country concert
Three songs into his set, wearing an Elvis Presley t-shirt, Scotty McCreery stopped to introduce himself to the crowd. The young, deep-voiced singer told the audience, which consisted of everyone from young, screaming girls to grown men shaking their hips to the music, that he’s from North Carolina, and he had an important message for the crowd.
“We’re here for one reason and one reason only — to sing y’all a little bit of country music,” McCreery said.
Andrew Holzaepfel, associate director of the Ohio University Campus Involvement Center, said there was almost 1,750 in attendance at Saturday night’s country concert featuring McCreery and Danielle Bradbery at Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium.
Once McCreery hit the stage, the crowd was on its feet for the entire show, Holzaepfel said.
The night started off upbeat and the crowd danced along to every note, but it took its first turn when McCreery brought out his “Feel Good Summer Song,” which captures the emotions that come when constantly reminded of a breakup. McCreery disappeared offstage while the dreary ending of the song continued.
The audience was left looking around with anticipation until McCreery strutted down the aisle from the back of the auditorium. Tropical music rang from the speakers and McCreery took the stage to sing “Write My Number on Your Hand.” As the song came to a close, he pulled a marker from his back pocket and scribbled his phone number on the hands of a few girls who raced to the stage.
McCreery said later that when his hit “The Trouble with Girls” was released early on Twitter, many girls were angered with the title, but the audience erupted with eagerness rather than fury when McCreery dedicated the song to all “the lovely Ohio ladies” in the crowd.
That was not the only dedication of the night. McCreery slowed down the show once again to thank and honor all of those who served before singing a patriotic song about the legacy left by those who fall too soon.
While McCreery went on to sing a variety of songs from his albums, he also sang some “good ol’ fashion country music,” which consisted of several songs from artists such as Johnny Cash, Hank Williams Sr. and Alabama.
“I’ve never seen Scotty McCreery before, but it was an amazing show,” said Mackenzie Ramsey, a freshman studying business.
The night ended with four giant beach balls bouncing around the venue as McCreery sang his latest summer single “Feelin’ It.”
Danielle Bradbery opened the show by taking over the stage and impressed the audience with her powerful voice rather than the constant pounding of instruments or crazy choreography.
“Let’s make this place look like a Taylor Swift concert,” Bradbery said to the crowd, which was willing to jump up and become part of the show.
MemAud was immediately filled with cellphones waving in the darkness to transform the auditorium into a dance hall.
Before leaving, McCreery called out one last reminder to the crowd.
“Keep it country,” he said.
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