The 4th Annual Girls with Guitars event hosted by My 96.1 Country took place Tuesday night in Patchogue, NY. The sold out show included performances from today’s up and coming female artists with powerhouse voices including Tegan Marie, Tara Thompson, Brooke Eden, and Olivia Lane, and was headlined by Maddie & Tae and Cam. The intimate setting allowed the girls to interact with the audience as well as each other as they sat and listened to the acoustic performances.
Tegan Marie kicked off the show singing her version of “Done” by The Band Perry and although she is tiny, this girl can sing. Coming off her most recent opening slot for Hunter Hayes last Friday in Orlando, she had the stage presence of a well versed artist, strutting around rocking a pink sparkly guitar and interacting with the audience. At one point she even yelled out “Let’s take a selfie,” reaching up high to get as many fans as she could in the picture. She finished her set with her debut single “Lucky Me,” which she told us before the show, “Is my favorite song, it means so much to me and it is about me being so lucky getting to do what I love every single day which is singing, then sharing the luck with other people because anybody can be lucky you just have to have the right attitude.” Primed for stardom at such a young age, it will be fantastic to watch her career blossom.
After Marie’s opening set, the first round of girls took the stage including Brooke Eden, Olivia Lane and Tara Thompson. All hailing from different states, with different accents and different outlooks the three girls took turns singing new songs, their current singles, and telling stories to the audience.
Brooke Eden started off her set with her most recent single, “Daddy’s Money,” which she explained to us earlier in the night originated from a conversation she had with her roommate about not coming from an affluent lifestyle growing up and how she had to travel back and forth to her hometown in Florida to make money. She told her roommate “Girl, I ain’t ever had daddy’s money” and a couple of days later the song was written. She also sang a new song “Silence Speaks” about dealing with a breakup, saying, “You can take the high road but then you write a song and you can write whatever you want.” Eden has a way of singing that commands the audience to listen to her, with a strong vocal that has us looking forward to her EP this summer.
Olivia Lane also kicked off her set with her most current single “Make My Own Sunshine.” In a recent interview Lane tells us about the song’s concept: “We can decide if we are going to let life defeat us today or am I going to just live and be happy. So I hope that the song helps people get through a tough time.” In her usual fashion, Lane brightens up the entire venue with her personality and strong presence on stage. She sang two new songs, “Crying on an Airplane” and “She Fits,” which both talk about a lost love, the first focuses on the sadness and confusion experienced after a break up, the second a unique look at past relationships, realizing sometimes just because you weren’t the one doesn’t mean you have to negatively look back on the situation. Being happy that your ex has found someone who is perfect for them can in a way help you get through it. Announcing she will be releasing a new EP this summer, these two songs will hopefully make the cut.
Tara Thompson, another newcomer into the country music genre introduced her self as “a little hillbilly from east Tennessee.” Singing a sassy song about her sister’s wedding called “Vows” and another she considers her only love song entitled “Jail,” Thompson is unapologetically herself. Hardly able to contain her movements to her stool, she rocked to the music even playing a little air guitar during each of her songs. Closing with her fiery single “Someone to Take Your Place” Thompson joked with the ladies on the stage that all men should have to stick their fingers in a “man-o-meter” to make sure they were man enough before dating her; the crowd all laughed and most of the women in the room probably agreed. All three women were awarded a standing ovation by the crowd, a sure way to know that they are loved in New York.
Cam and Maddie & Tae were next to headline the event. Cam, wearing her signature yellow pumps, sang songs off of her debut album Untamed including her current single, “Mayday,” “My Mistake” and even “Runaway Train”. The smash hit “Burning House” had the audience singing along to every word. Alternating between her hauntingly beautiful serious ballads and fun tunes like “Country Ain’t Pretty” Cam’s charm and incredible vocal ability added to an already amazing night of girls who rock, singing country music.
Last but certainly not least, Maddie & Tae sang beautiful harmonies, and thanked the crowd multiple times during their set for being so receptive to their music. They performed hits off their album Start Here such as “No Place Like You” and of course their first hit “Girl in a Country Song.” Before singing “Fly” the girls explained that it was one of their favorite songs that they have written. “It was during a weird phase in our careers, non stop writing and doing everything to achieve this crazy dream,” they told the crowd. “You start doubting yourself and in order to get out of that doubt we wrote ‘Fly.'” One of the bright spots in the evening is when the duo sang the Fleetwood Mac smash “Landslide” and Cam couldn’t help but sing along. The three voices singing that epic song sounded like pure magic on the stage.
Overall the 4th rendition of Girls with Guitars was an outstanding success. Each year the radio station brings fresh faces to the fans on Long Island and the girls are always so appreciative to be able to sit in an intimate setting and share their songs.
Check out our socials for videos from the event as well as backstage coverage.