Josh Gracin, Lady Antebellum: Lookin’ For a Crazy Good Time in Searcy

Douglas Boultinghouse
Staff Writer

   Country music superstar and former “American Idol” finalist Josh Gracin made a stop at Harding University’s Benson Auditorium in Searcy for an intimate concert Sept. 4. He brought with him the genre’s hottest new trio, Lady Antebellum.

Photo by Douglas Boultinghouse

Lady A - Lady Antebellum opened the Sept. 4 show in Searcy with "I Run to You."

Before Lady Antebellum performed, upcoming country singer Fisher Stevenson warmed up the crowd.     

Stevenson, whose original songs sounded good, suffered from an overpowering band. The bass muffled his words and nothing could be made out.

   Lady Antebellum, or Lady A for short, took the stage around 9 p.m. with their song “I Run to You.”  Charles Kelley and Hillary Scott traded the duty of singing lead while Dave Haywood sang harmony and played guitar.

   The trio sailed through songs from their debut album that included “Love Don’t Live Here, “Things People Say,” “Love’s Lookin’ Good on You,” “Home is Where the Heart Is,” “Slow Down Sister” and more.

   The trio added in classic covers of “Free Fallin’,” “Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” and “Hard to Handle.”

Photo by Douglas Boultinghouse

Uplifting - Country singer Josh Gracin performs at Harding University’s Benson Auditorium in Searcy.

   The highlight of the night came when Kelley and Scott showed off their vocal ranges on the powerful ballad “All We’d Ever Need.” The show-stopping performance ended with a crowd full of applause.

   Gracin, the headlining and final act, started his set with his first single “I Want to Live.

   He proceeded to deliver crowd-pleasing performances one right after the other with “Telluride, “I Keep Coming Back,” “Stay With Me,” “We Weren’t Crazy” and more.

   Along the way, he mixed in a Garth Brooks cover of “Ain’t Goin’ Down Til the Sun Comes Up,” a powerful cover of Mercyme’s “I Can Only Imagine” and a new song he recently wrote called “Between the Bottle and the Bible.”

   He closed the night with an energetic performance of his hit “Nothin’ to Lose.”

   Seeing Gracin perform makes me wonder what was wrong with America by not crowning him the second “American Idol” in 2003. After all, where are any of the contestants that lasted longer than he did?  In all honesty, where is the actual winner of the second season? Point proven. He joins the ranks of Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood as the best of the best to come from the “Idol” show. 

   Before the show, Lady A’s fan club gave me the opportunity to meet the trio backstage. Also, after the show Lady A and Gracin waited in the lobby to sign autographs for the fans.

   In the music business, artists rely on their fans for support. The support from their fans makes or breaks them.  When an artist takes the extra effort to prove how important and special their fans are, they gain a strong following.

   With that said, I challenge you to find an artist who genuinely shows how much they respect their fans as much as Lady Antebellum does. Good luck finding someone as down to earth and charming as Hillary Scott, as well.
 

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