CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF MUSCLEKINGZ’S CAR SHOW AND CONCERT!
Norco, CA- Headling MuscleKing’s inaugural car show and concert festival was the vibrant and accomplished sound of the country pop duo Dan + Shay. With their latest single, “How Not To”, sitting at the number 1 spot in both the Mediabase and Billboard Country Radio Airplay charts, Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney were all smiles as soon as they set foot on the main stage and were ready to give the country fans in the audience a musically flawless performance.
When I talk county music with friends, it’s always a tough sell. It’s, “Country’s this and country’s that, but it’s not the kind of music I like.” That’s the gist of what I typically get. It’s been like that for years. But their logic escapes me, because contemporary country, for the most part, is pop music. Dan + Shay’s music exemplifies that nation.
Their music has hummable melodies which sweep into anthemic hook and are laced with lyrics which touch on the pillars of the human condition: love, loss, growth, etc. Take, for example, some of the lyrics of “How Not To”:
“But I don’t know how not to think about you
When it’s late at night and crying
And I know that I ought to be the one who is strong and just moves on
But I probably turn down your road, knock-knock on your door
Fall back in your arms, wake up in the morning
Hating myself for the way that I can’t help the way I still want you
I just don’t know how not to, how not to, how not to”
If you can’t relate to heart wrenching like those, then you’ve got no soul and I definitely wouldn’t find you amongst the thousands in the crowd who were singing along with the duo.
Dan + Shay’s set was 16 songs long, which incorporated a handful of “cover” including Bon Jovi’s “You Give Love A Bad Name”, The Killers’ “Mr Brightside” and Rascall Flats’ “I Like The Sound of that”, although I kinda hesitate to call the Rascal Flatts song a cover as the two gents actually wrote the song (lucky for Rascal Flatts, right?). The chemistry between the two was as good as it gets on stage. While Dan would march stage left and right shredding his guitar and Shay walked down centerstage on the extended proscenium to get closer to the audience while singing his heart out, there was still that connection … that palpable connection … between the two every second of the performance. A kinship born from writing and playing music that clearly resonated with everyone in the audience.
As they continue their domestic tour all through the summer (before heading out to Europe in late November), this duo is riding high on their current wave of success and performing at a level that matches the acclaim. Catching them in concert is definitely worth the price of admission, and I would recommend anybody, even you non-country folk out there, to check them out. You may change your tune.
Follow Dan + Shay on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF MUSCLEKINGZ’S CAR SHOW AND CONCERT!
LIVE CLIPS
Dan + Shay @ MuscleKingz Car Show and Concert 7/1/17. Review and photo gallery coming soon to @BlurredCulture. pic.twitter.com/cHLw9JnAjm
— Derrick K. Lee (@methodman13) July 12, 2017
Dan + Shay @ MuscleKingz Car Show and Concert 7/1/17. Review and photo gallery coming soon to @BlurredCulture. pic.twitter.com/TeQM0mYG4t
— Derrick K. Lee (@methodman13) July 12, 2017
Dan + Shay @ MuscleKingz Car Show and Concert 7/1/17. Review and photo gallery coming soon to @BlurredCulture. pic.twitter.com/FQ9lZ7ljIa
— Derrick K. Lee (@methodman13) July 12, 2017
