Mason Ramsey may not be a familiar name, but what about Walmart Yodel Boy? In March 2018, a video of Mason singing Hank Williams’ “Lovesick Blues” in the middle of a Walmart went viral and shot him into stardom. Since then, Mason has sung on stage at Coachella, been on Ellen, performed at the Grand Ole Opry, released two EPs, and was featured on the number one song of The Billboard Hot 100 list. For only being 12 years old, he has accomplished a lot in his short-lived career. In March 2019, Ramsey began performing around the southern and midwestern United States on his “How’s Your Girl & How’s Your Family” tour. At the end of April, he announced the “How’s Your Girl & How’s Your Family Pt. 2” tour, including a date in Minneapolis.
My best friend and I have always thought that Mason was so cute and talented and jumped at the opportunity to see him perform live. At the low price of $20, we couldn’t help ourselves. In preparation, we began listening to his EP titled Twang , featuring major bops such as “How Could I Not” and “Before I Knew It.”
The day had finally come! We drove the two hours to the cities and arrived about two hours before doors opened to ensure that we would get front row seats to see Mason. We were third and fourth in line, bundled up in blankets and sweatshirts. It was freezing out! As people lined up, you could tell who was here to see Mason—just look for the cowboy hats and boots!
When we were finally let in, we secured our spots at center stage. Along with Mason on this tour, he had two opening acts. First up was rising country singer Jenna Paulette. She is so pretty and put on such a good show! After Jenna, we welcomed Ernest on stage. He’s written songs for Mason and played us tunes songs from his upcoming project. He was super good, and my friend is convinced that he’s going to be my new obsession. I snatched his setlist as a souvenir of the show.
Finally, Mason made his way on stage. The crowd was cheering loudly and he just got straight into his first song “The Way I See It.” He is so charismatic and just so cute on stage. He also likes to be really goofy, making me laugh multiple times. He has a very good relationship with his band, who are also very talented. I think one thing I really admire about Mason is his ability to stay true to himself. He sang a song he wrote called “Hometown,” which was obviously about his hometown and covered a few songs by his idol Hank Williams. He does what he wants to do and I think that’s awesome. He walked around touching people’s hands, everyone reaching toward him.
During his song “Puddle of Love” (one of my favorites), he knelt down in front of me, took my hand and started serenading me. It was so funny and cute. He is so charming. He kept coming over to our side, presumably because we were singing the words the loudest. He even gave my friend his guitar pick he used the whole show! We were so lucky. You could tell he got more comfortable on stage as the show went on because he really started letting loose, playing the air guitar and twirling on his heels. He had such a good stage presence, you didn’t want to take your eyes off him because who knew what he would do next!
He finished his last song and walked off stage but the crowd wasn’t having it. They began chanting “Mason Ramsey” and “One more song!” After a few minutes he came back on stage for an encore where he performed arguably his most popular song, “Famous.” He brought out his opener Jenna Paulette to perform with him. They had good chemistry, but I think that might just be because he knows how to charm the ladies. When the last chords played out, he made his way off stage and the crowd was cheering louder than during the whole show. My friend got a setlist from the guitarist and we decided it was time for us to go.
Overall, I would definitely see Mason Ramsey again. His songs are so fun to sing along to, his stage presence is phenomenal, and he is just so stinking cute! I think a lot of people came out to see him because they recognize that Mason is just a 12-year-old kid living his dream who loves performing to crowds every night. It’s really sweet to see him following his heart at such a young age. He has some amazing songwriters and his voice is really good. He’s a natural born talent, and you can really see that when he’s on stage.