Chris Young with Lindsey Ell

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Chris Young with Lindsey Ell
AVA Amphitheatre, Tucson, AZ, USA, July, 07, 2019
by Mary Andrews

Singer/songwriter Chris Young is one of Tucson’s favorite performers. It was little wonder that his AVA Amphitheatre show was a sellout after he headlined the Oro Valley Music Festival in September. His “Raised On Country tour” has been wildly successful this year since its launch in May. The tour celebrates his newest album release of the same name. Tucson was thrilled to see a totally new show with Young’s new hit song, “Raised On Country.”

Young has a talent for picking a great opening band with his headlining tours. His choices have ranged from Chris Jansen to LanCo, and Morgan Evans. The Canadian export, Lindsey Ell, was the opener for this show and Young once again got it right. It has been a long, tough road for Ell and she finally hit gold with the song “Criminal.” Her exuberance and high energy make her a sure thing as an opening act.

Ell captivated the crowd with vocals and axe skills as she danced across the stage. Ell gave a heartfelt and passionate performance whether she was singing country, blues or popular music and did it extremely well. She immediately noticed five and six-year-old fans in front of the stage and gave them a big ole country welcome. It was an unforgettable moment for the fans.

Ell has been booked at several Country Thunder Festivals over the last two years. She can be seen at CT in Wisconsin and in Alberta. She is a force to be reckoned with.

The rest of the evening was left for Chris Young and his fans. The 32-year-old from Murfreesboro, TN released his eighth studio album, Raised On Country this past January. The set started with his stand-by hits, “Hangin’ On” and “Getting’ You Home.” That set the energy level that persisted throughout the 90-minute set.

There weren’t any gimmicks surrounding Young, just a guitar, and his one of a kind voice. His stage presence is comfortable. His band is superb. Everyone performs with true artistry. The set list spanned Young’s entire career with a few covers and surprises thrown in for good measure. Young set up the show by saying he was not going to completely stick to the setlist.
Young added the song “Text Me Texas” a special request from the audience. The other song added to the set was Keith Whitley’s “When You Say Nothing at All.” This was a solo, gut-wrenching performance done with only his acoustic guitar. Young likes to keep his shows “flexible.”

Young introduced his new song, “Drowning,” as a song that’s really, really special to me for a lot of personal reasons, as well as it’s just a different topic that I haven’t really touched on in any of my records before. “ The song was about the death of one of his best friends.

The energy level stayed high all night with frequent sing-a-longs, plenty of screaming and huge rounds of applause. The energetic fans sang along to almost everything Young had to offer.

Vocally Young didn’t miss a beat. He has a warm, husky voice and he is a charismatic performer. When you add that big smile he flashes frequently into the mix, fans know they are at the right place at the right time.

Lindsay Ell reappeared on stage briefly to hand Young his next guitar. Young remarked, “I didn’t expect that to happen.“ Young is not the only one who can surprise everyone. Anything can happen at a Chris Young show. It’s very clear that anytime There is a Chris Young show in Tucson, his fans will be there holding a beer.
Chris Young set list: