Iconic country hitmaker Jo Dee Messina stopped at The Bluestone in Columbus, Ohio on Thursday, June 11 for opening night of her new tour to support Bridges, her first album release in ten years.
Having nine No. One Hits and 16 Top 40 Songs, the setlist was full of familiar songs that virtually every fan in the packed venue sung aloud to; essentially creating a giant live choir, often drowning out Messina’s onstage vocals.
Some of the greatest hits’ songs performed, included: “That’s The Way,” “I’m Alright,” “Stand Beside Me,” “My Give A Damn’s Busted” (during which Messina performed with a sparkly guitar), “Heads Carolina, Tails California,” “Bye, Bye,” “Can Anybody,” “Downtime,” and others.
When it came to performing newer songs from Bridges, Messina was jokingly timid: “with tonight being the tour opener, I might not know all the words to the new songs yet,” she laughed, “so, please, sing along, if you know the words.”
Announcing it as the next new single for local radio, Messina performed “Message In A Bottle,” along with other new songs: “If He Knew Jesus,” “Some Bridges,” “Where The Cowboys Ride,” and “Welcome To The Show” (which was appropriately the first song of the night.)
After a brief wardrobe change and putting her hair down, Messina and her band performed a wide-ranging ‘90s-2000’s cover song medley that fired up the crowd for a celebratory party-like drinking atmosphere.
Messina was energetic and jovial—full of smiles and gratitude.
Making her way across the entire stage throughout the set, she often paused to connect and engage with the crowd—she is a real rockstar, complete with spins, hand motions and gestures that exemplified her extraordinary sounding dynamic live vocals.
It’s no doubt she’s previously been Grammy nominated for Best Female Country Vocal Performance—a true artist with showwomanship having thirty years of accolades and recognition (ACM, CMA, AMA, Billboard) since her debut album in 1996, and she remains an inspiration to new generations of country musicians.
With only an acoustic guitar and wearing a sparkly electric dress, singer-songwriter Miranda Bury opened the show.
Living in St. Louis, Missouri, Bury told the crowd she has played in dive bars around The Lou for 15 years.
She performed a handful of songs about family and friends along with a slower song about being homesick after moving.
Song lyrics “‘Cause I smoke, when I drink” got some cheers early on, and later on, a chorus of “Your boyfriend sucks” got some applause.
Following Bury was Hall sister multi-instrumental vocal trio: Kat, Presley, Josie. The young all-female Bennett Hall Band was rounded out with a live bassist and a drummer/keyboardist.
The band—named in tribute to their late brother Bennett, who passed away on the same day as his birth in 2010–played a lengthy mix of covers and originals that warmed up the eager crowd.
Well-received and well-coordinated covers included: “Foot Loose,” “Wild Horses,” “My Jesus,” “Courtesy Of The Red, White and Blue.”
The band’s original songs were full of harmony and equally welcomed by the crowd: “Sorry Not Sorry,” “Country Girls,” “Mean Girl” and new single “Cowboys Are For The Movies.”
Tour Dates
https://jodeemessina.com/pages/tour
JO DEE MESSINA
THE BENNETT HALL BAND
MIRANDA BURY
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