Scotty McCreery performs at New Music Festival

By Donna Mumford Stroup - Photography credit, Christian F. Scalise (www.CountryStarsCentral.com )

The large crowd was anxiously waiting for the newest member of the Grand Old Opry, Scotty McCreery, to perform on Friday night June 7th 2024. It was a big deal for the town of Bradley, Illinois, as the new Bradley 315 Music Festival's inauguration got under way at the Northfield Square Mall, just the night before. Scotty McCreery arrived there just in time for the festivities and fittingly so did the concert for his new studio album "Rise and Fall!" This is his sixth studio album that he's promoting on his "Cab In A Solo" tour.

Scotty opened the show at approximately 9pm, to screams and yells of excitement from the crowd, as he sang "Can't Pass the Bar. "Scotty was all over the stage and catwalk, as the enthusiastic crowd welcomed the North Carolina native. Scotty, the 10th season winner of American Idol, was welcomed by a mixture of young and older people. Their eyes were glued to stage moving with the music as Scotty yelled out "How you all doing tonight? You are some of the first to hear my album! Hope you like it! Scotty put forth a very electric stage presence. He seemed so excited, proud, and happy to be with the Bradley crowd.

Scotty mentioned that his wife Gabi's favorite song is "It Matters to Her." A collage of loving photos showed up behind Scotty of him and his wife as he sang this beautiful song. Scotty then moved on to his next song "Cab in a Solo" with the spectacular sounds of steel guitar streaming out. Scotty informed the audience that "Last month this was the number one song in the country!" Fans clapped and cheered for Scotty! As Scotty sang the next tune "And Countin’," the crowd chimed in as Scotty was seen grabbing a fan's cell phone.  He took a selfie of himself singing and then one of him and a fan.

I really enjoyed seeing how much Scotty engages with crowd now! He isn't as shy as I remember him years back. He has great stage presence and interacts so well with the fans now. He talked lovingly about his wife and how they’ve known each other since kindergarten. He said "She's the best thing that's ever happened to me!" He shared that an old diary was found of Gabi's that had hearts all over it, that was meant for him. He also mentioned that he and Gabi have been married 6 years and endearingly spoke of their baby boy as he started singing "Love Like This."

The evening was a mixture of old hits and fresh tunes from his new album. It was a pleasure to hear dobro and steel guitar tonight, which is seriously lacking in the country genre today. “Porch" featured dobro, which was amazing! This song is a down-home country tribute to his son and his North Carolina roots.

With excitement in his voice Scotty yelled out " Let's play some George Strait!" as he broke into "Check Yes or No" and the crowd joined in. As he finished up the song a resounding "God bless the King of country music you all" was heard loud and clear from Scotty. At that folks began chanting Scotty's name, which brought a big smile to his face! 

As the rest of the night moved on, we were treated to more amazing songs. The audience really seemed touched by videos and photos of Scotty and Gabi's wedding, as Scotty crooned "This is It" which is their wedding song. Next, Scotty really kept the attention of the fans, when the touching, sentimental song "Five More Minutes" was heard. As I looked around, I could see real emotion in many faces. Some tears could be seen. I even had some tears. There were many heartfelt videos and photos posted again as we saw Scotty as a baby, a young child and teen. It was so heartwarming and sad... A great reflection of his family and memories.

Scotty then gave a big "Thank you all for coming out tonight. God bless you!" We thought he might be finished as he left the stage, but he walked back out and kept the vibe going with "Damn Strait." As the music continued, Scotty acknowledged "I can hear you loud and clear tonight!" as the crowd sang along. He called out "Can you help me sing the last part of this song? That would make me real happy!"

After Scotty wrapped up the concert with his final song "Lonely" he introduced his awesome band. They were phenomenal! He then said goodnight.

Honestly folks, these songs on Scotty's "Rise and Fall" album are hit worthy! It's packed full of big hits! I didn't review every song, so you're just going to have to get the new album and see for yourself how good it really is! The songwriting and style are superb! I know you're going to enjoy it! Grab yourself a copy, or two! 

Set List:

1 Can't Pass the Bar

2 Little More Gone

3 It Matters To Her

4 Cab In A Solo

5 And Countin’

6 Love Like This

7 Fall of Summer

8 Porch

9 It Matters To Her

10 Check Yes or No (George Strait)

11 In Between

12 This Is It

13 Slow Dance

14 You Time

15 Five More Minutes

16 See You Tonight

17 Damn Strait

18 Lonely

Images of Scotty McCreery from concert. Credit, Christian F. Scalise - Country Stars Central