Thursday night the historic Patchogue Theatre for Performing Arts on Long Island was taken over by the brightest rising stars in country music today. This all girls show sponsored by the local radio station Mycountry 96.1 proved that the “girl power” movement is very real and the “bro country” boys should be nervous. These girls with sassy lyrics and strong vocals are here to shake up the country music genre.
The first three artists to perform were Abi Ann, Didi Benami and Olivia Lane. All three girls sat on the stage, accompanied by two band members each and started a very raw, stripped down acoustic performance. Some highlights from this first round of female artists were Abi Ann singing her bluesy, non traditional break up song “Your Side of Town.” The lights dimmed and Abi sang “I don’t go, I don’t go / I don’t dare cross that dangerous divide / I don’t go, I don’t go / broken promises and heartache reside on your side of town.”
Each girl took a turn telling stories, talking with the audience and then singing their hits. Olivia Lane sang her brand new single “You Part 2” off of her EP Hearts Unlocked, released yesterday. Her energetic, bubbly personality intrigued the audience who were engaged the entire show.
We caught up with Olivia after the show and asked her how it feels to be performing with these amazing female artists and what it means to her to be a female artist in a genre that is mostly dominated by men. “To be a female in country music is really interesting right now, but I think it is an awesome opportunity to really band together and be like girls, lets take over the world right now!”
The banding together of these artists was evident throughout the night. During the second round of the night, Cassadee Pope, Mickey Guyton and Jana Kramer were constantly in awe of the other girls’ performances. They complimented each other, raising each other up and creating a family of girls happy to be performing beside one another.
Cassadee Pope paused before singing her new power anthem “I Am Invincible” to discuss Breast Cancer Awareness month and to send a thank you out to the empowering artists that joined her on the stage. Mickey Guyton closed her set with her hit single “Better Than You Left Me,” which the audience awarded her with a standing ovation. The well deserved recognition brought Guyton to tears after an amazing performance.
Jana Kramer also had some spotlight moments throughout the night, singing her debut single “Whiskey” and new songs off of her album thirty one which was also released yesterday. She asked the audience for help in singing the words to a fun upbeat song, “Said No One Ever.” Rocking the cutest baby bump under a fringe leather jacket Jana Kramer danced around the stage as the audience sang along.
The overall vibe of the evening, a bunch of girls who love to sing and write songs sitting around complimenting each other and empowering all of the women in the audience made for a unique and special performance. The artists let the fans in on the stories behind the songs and made everyone feel like a big group of friends. Girls with Guitars was a night to remember for all that attended and the future of women in country music seems bright with these girls taking the reins.