Justin Moore plays an extended set to a fired-up sold-out crowd in Shipshewana, IN that includes local talent, Nate Barnes.
A sold-out crowd of all ages fills the seats of the Blue Gate Performing Arts Center for a highly energetic performance featuring Justin Moore and his band. Moore is wrapping up his 2022 touring schedule this weekend after another performance on Saturday in WV. As the band is excited to get on the stage and finish up these last two shows before they go home for the holidays, first they must make way for the local opening act, Nate Barnes.
Barnes is originally from South Haven, MI (65 miles northwest of Shipshewana) and has fond memories of traveling to this Amish community to visit shows in the past with family. This show is special as he is surrounded by many friends and family in the crowd. Originally working at a nuclear power plant in Michigan, Barnes now calls Nashville home. Performing on this stage prior to Moore is purely an honor.
Nate’s performance is a duo acoustic set as he is joined on stage by another guitarist, Scott Zeller, who is his drummer during full band performances. The set includes original music by Barnes that has been recorded at Quartz Hill Records in Tennessee. Those songs include “Right About Me,” “Make A Wildflower Grow” and “Girl Like You” which he dedicates to his mother in the crowd.
To complete the 30-minute performance, he adds his latest release “Country Does” and his debut Top 40 single “You Ain’t Pretty” which can be found on his You Ain’t Pretty EP.
After a short intermission to prepare the stage for Moore, the lights come up and the music begins to ring through the speakers. The crowd immediately rises to their feet as Justin comes strutting out to center stage with a guitar strapped over his shoulder. He begins his show with “Point At You” and “Til My Last Day” before getting rid of the guitar and showing a dance move or two to his 2015 number-one hit, “You Look Like I Need A Drink.”As the crowd goes crazy with loud excited applause, Justin removes his tan leather suede jacket and comments, “This is not a wardrobe change. I started out cold but am not anymore.”
Moore’s stage setup resembles a deer hunting man cave with a back curtain to imitate a wood wall and upper light carriers with antlers attached. The mock-up is fitting to the times as deer hunting is in season now across the land.
As he constantly shows that he is a loving family man and molded after his grandfathers, Justin talks of them both being strong military men. He tells of how they instilled into him to respect and honor all veterans who continue to fight for our freedoms and let us do what we are doing today. It reaches farther than just our servicemen and women, it also includes policemen, firemen, first responders, and so many more. With today being Veterans Day, he sends out his respect and love. He continues by singing his number one single from 2018, “The Ones That Didn’t Make It Back Home.”
Along with all the hits that have made a storied career over the past 15 years for Moore, he introduces some new tunes from his upcoming album Stray Dog. They include “Get Rich Or Die Trying,” a fun song that Justin has held onto for approximately ten years before finishing and putting out to the public. Other new music performed includes his hit “With A Woman You Love,” along with “Like There’s No Tomorrow” mixed with “Bed Of My Chevy.”
Justin tells of a text from his father telling him that he is a great father. It chokes Justin up talking about it as he leads into “Grandpa” and “If Heaven Wasn’t So Far Away.” At the conclusion, Moore steps away from the microphone leaving his hat hanging from it.
Moore is from the small town of Posen, Arkansas, which has a population of 300 people. That led to the inspiration for his first number-one single in 2009, “Small Town U.S.A.”
After walking off stage for a break, the band returns for an encore by themselves to cover the Joe Walsh cover of “Life’s Been Good.” The band is made up of Roger Coleman (guitar and vocals), Stephan Laplante (guitar), David Dubas (bass guitar), Wil Houchens (keyboards), and Tucker Wilson (drums). Justin returns to the stage for a medley of his older songs – “If You Don’t Like My Twang,” “My Kind Of Woman,” “Beer Time,” “Run Out Of Honky Tonk” and “Flyin’ Down A Backroad.”
To conclude the evening, Moore performs the fitting song “Home Sweet Home,” his cover of the Motley Crue hit for the Nashville Outlaws (Motley Crue) tribute album.
For all in attendance, it appears everyone enjoyed the show as they all stand, sing, and dance throughout the two-hour show. Many chant in hopes that Justin will return to perform other popular songs that were not part of the evening’s setlist. With a career that spans 15 years and includes 11 number ones, it is hard to play everyone’s favorite song in a short amount of time.
Now the band is off to West Virginia to round out the 2022 year, before enjoying their time at home with families over the holidays. They will begin their 2023 You, Me & Whiskey tour with Priscilla Block in February.
JUSTIN MOORE
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