Eli Young Band “Turn It On” in Toronto

Last night we were invited to take in the BIG Kick Off of the KX Country Concert Series at the Phoenix Concert Theater in Toronto.  Bright Lights Big Country is the brain child of the amazing folks at KX Country Radio. They wanted to bring some great acts to smaller venues this summer and hopefully this is the first of a handful of shows this summer and they couldn’t have had a better line up to kick it all off with.  With Eli Young Band headlining the show and with such amazing support from Burlington’s own Tebey along with amazing up and coming act Dani Strong this night was full of fantastic music.

Dani Stong hit the stage just after 7:30 and boy can she put on a show.  She rocked the stage for her complete 30 min set.  I know Dani had just played this stage a short month ago when KX presented the Rising Stars showcase and had rave reviews of her performance and we can see why.  With such strong vocals and one hell of tight band they did not disappoint.  If you have a chance to catch Dani at any of her shows this summer its strongly recommended.

In between sets I had to run out and chat with the fellas from the Eli Young Band and I can’t wait to share that interview with you next week.  But when I got back our buddy Tebey had just hit the stage.   For those of you that haven’t had a chance to catch a Tebey live show you’re seriously missing out.  With a great catalogue of music with hits like Somewhere In The Country, Wake Me Up (with Emerson Drive) and his current (and my personal favorite) When The Buzz Wears Off.

If you didn’t get a chance to see this wicked ass Canadian rock the stage last night Toronto don’t panic. Tebey hits the Burlington Sound of Music stage on Saturday June 20th so you won’t want to miss that FREE Event.

 

 

Next up, the headliners for the night Eli Young Band.  As mentioned earlier I had a chance to chat with these guys before they hit the stage and they are 100% a class act.  With three #1’s under their belt Crazy Girl,  Drunk Last Night & Even If It Breaks Your Heart and a handful of other chart topping songs you knew that this was going to be good.   This was my second time seeing EYB and have to say the Phoenix was a MUCH better venue to see these guys than my previous experience at last year’s Gone Country Festival in London, Ontario. The guys hit the stage with some new music as well.  With a new EP out with some amazing new tracks.

One of the highlights of that EP is the current single Turn It On,  So well written and a great song to hear live.  The fellas in the band really know how to play up to the crowd.  With a set that has a roller coaster of songs that leads you down such an amazing path. It’s not easy to get up on stage and keep the crowd moving for 60+ minutes but these guys did a bang up job.   We in Canada don’t get a whole lot of opportunity to see these bigger acts in such a great setting we couldn’t be happier to have the opportunity to be there.

We want to thank the amazing folks at KX Country for having us along with Universal Music / Big Machine Label Group Canada for hooking us up on the interview with the guys.  We look forward to the next one!

If you were at the show we would love to see your pics just tag us on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram.  Want to thank Ray Williams for some great additional images.

Corey Kelly / @CoreyKelly76