All anyone can hear are fans chatting with anticipation of what’s about to come. Then from the shadows there’s movement — and the crowd erupts as multi-platinum singer Kip Moore takes the stage.
A show and great time is what fans came for at the Algonquin Commons Theatre on March 29 and that exactly what they got.
Ottawa was the sixth stop on an eight-stop Ontario tour. Nashville, Tenn.-based Moore was accompanied by Drake White, also from Nashville, fronting The Fairground Saints who were making their Canadian debut.
Moore is a prevalent name in the American country scene with a 2014 CMA best new artist of the year nomination, but judging by the reaction of the 800 fans who filled the ACT, it’s clear his music has reached the heart of country music fans right here in Canada as the Algonquin crowd was filled with energy, from fans right by the stage to those all the way up on the balcony.
Moore knows how to engage a crowd, from reaching out to grab hands much to the glee of the fans in the audience, to jumping into the crowd to give out a drumstick to one lucky concert goer.
That lucky person was a fan who identified herself only as Kelsey.
“I’ve been waiting three years for this. It was the best f—–g day of my life,” she said.
Moore sang a cover version of U2’s I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For and the emotional performance could be felt everywhere in the ACT.
At one point Moore stopped singing and looked out at the crowd and said, “When we are completely exhausted coming out to this, it carries us through. They’re nothing better than this.”
Moore had the crowd in the palm of his hand from start to finish, with notable hits like Something About A Truck all the way to the end where he told the story of his first love and heartbreak, something no doubt many in the crowd could relate to.
According to an article by The Boots http://theboot.com/kip-moore-travel-songwriting-slowheart/ Moore draws a lot of his inspiration for his songs from the many travel adventures he has taken on. More Girls Like You, one of the hits of the evening, was taken from an experience he had while visiting Iceland.
Moore’s Plead the Fifth tour continues with multiple stops in the U.S and a short tour in Australia.