A short while ago, I had the opportunity to see Scotty McCreery in concert (for free, otherwise I likely wouldn’t have attended). If you don’t know, he won American Idol in 2011 and his first album went platinum.
From <https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ChzAv1aVIAAurqm.jpg>
In the first place, I had no experience whatsoever with country music until coming to Regent in the fall of 2016. Not only am I not country, but I’m also from the DMV (the D.C, Maryland, Virginia metropolitan area), so I am from that weird part of The South™ wherein we are below the Mason-Dixon Line, but hold no regard for southern hospitality, country music, or tractors. In short, country music as a genre was completely foreign to me with the exception of “What Hurts the Most” by Rascal Flatts.
My roommates are the ones who have been educating me about country music for the past two years. Now I am rather familiar with some tracks and singers- one of them being Scotty McCreery- he’s one of my roommate’s favorite singers. The whole week before the concert, I had her play only his music so I wouldn’t look too lost at the concert.
The day of, my friends and I were picking outfits and I realized they had these cute cowgirl boots that I assumed must be a rite of passage for every girl raised in The South™. I settled for just dressing in whatever felt comfortable, but it wasn’t the best choice since it was hot during the day and cooler in the evening.
When we arrived, we got there pretty early so we were able to stand as close as possible to the stage without paying for VIP seating. I probably stood out in the crowd a little because besides being one of the few black people, my style completely reeked of city girl, or at least that’s how I felt. I wish I had some cute cowgirl boots to wear for such occasions.
Eventually, the concert started and there were some warm-up acts. I really enjoyed them. Surprisingly, it wasn’t as unfamiliar as I thought it would be. There was even a part where they did a mash-up of a country song and “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”. It didn’t sound as strange as you might be thinking. Maybe it was from all my years of playing Guitar Hero growing up, but I actually knew some of the songs!
When Scotty came on stage, the crowd went wild. Scotty McCreery’s voice is so enrapturing. The day of, I described it as orgasmic and I think I would still describe it that way. It has this deep and rough tone to it that is hypnotic. Really, it was so good. The concert felt really personal, he told us the story of his grandfather passing and how he met his wife. When I left I felt like I had known him more than I had ever sought to.
The concert really was lots of fun and even though I don’t know country, I do know good music.