I am all about discovering some new and good country music. And at the end of 2016, I found my favorite country band to date when I attended an Old Dominion concert at the Knitting Factory in downtown Spokane.
I had heard a few of their songs on the radio before, but hadn’t thought much of it. They were good songs, but not my favorite at the time. I had seen them previously when they were the opening act for Kenny Chesney at Centurylink Stadium, but they sang only a few songs and I didn’t really get to enjoy their full potential. Well that all changed when I watched them in person in the intimate setting at the Knitting Factory.
The band is probably most known for their song “Snapback” and right now the song “Written in the Sand” is the most played on the radio. Actually, it was the No. 1 song in country music last week.
My point to all of this is that I was able to see them again this past weekend in Kennewick at the Toyota Center. We had great seats and the band did not disappoint as they sang pretty much every song off of their two albums.
It was a lot of fun to go on a mini road trip to the Tri Cities to help support a smaller band trying to make it in the music industry. They have had a lot of success and have grown even bigger since I saw them at the Knitting Factory. If I hadn’t taken a chance on seeing an up-and-coming band at the smaller venue in Spokane, I don’t think I would’ve ever appreciated the music that I do now.
It is the best to see a performer when they are first starting out because then when they “make it” one day, you can say you were there in the beginning. One example I use for that is Thomas Rhett. I saw him as the opener a Jason Aldean concert years ago. Now look at him, he is all over the place in country music.
Now every time that I go to a concert and see the opening acts to the headliner, I always wonder if they will turn out to be like Old Dominion and make me want more and more.
A perfect and recent example is at the concert there was an opening act called Brandon Lay. Unlike Old Dominion, I had never heard of the guy. But I showed up early so I could watch him and he is now added to my Apple Music on my phone because he was really good.
My point in all of this is that I think we should spend more time supporting those people trying to make it in the music industry. We see advertisements for people performing all over in our area. In reality, we are pretty fortunate to live in a place that has music spots all over.
Even when there is an act out there that we don’t know of, I don’t think we should write them off right away. I like to make sure I arrive early to every concert I attend so that I can see everyone perform, not just the main act.
So now go out there and listen to some good country music and I would suggest Old Dominion.
Grace Pohl can be reached at grace@cheneyfreepress.com.
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