Chris Jamison, 2014 finalist on NBC’s The Voice, opened up last night’s sold-out show. The Pittsburgh native joined Allen Stone on tour for four dates – Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh. Last night at The Grog Shop, Jamison and his band played a hearty and dynamic set. They took their time and it wasn’t rushed. They also seemed to have a lot of fun on stage which means a lot. It shows the audience that they love what they do and are enthusiastic about sharing it with others. During the set, Jamison performed a couple of covers from his time on The Voice including, “Sexual Healing” by Marvin Gaye and “When I Was Your Man” by Bruno Mars. He had a great presence on the tiny stage and even found room to dance around. Of course, their set concluded with Jamison’s hot single and my favorite track, “Velvet.”
“Something I learned while working on my debut single “Velvet” is….To always follow my gut and not be afraid to try new things. The fact of the matter is that we are recording. If I sing something one way and don’t like the way it sounds I can always change it. At least I can say that I tried and have no regrets.”
In the end, he and the band put on a undeniably flawless and entertaining show. Learn more about Chris Jamison on a more personal level from his fill in the blank interview here.
After a while, Allen Stone and his band took the stage. This “hippie with soul” is a Washington native that grew up in the church and started listening to soul as a teenager. Their set last night was hands down the longest set I’ve ever seen performed at The Grog Shop. The highlight of the night was definitely their performance of “Unaware” and the packed, dancing crowd. Stone has only released two full-length records but he showed there was plenty of material to be covered. The beginning of the encore began with “Somebody That I Used To Know” by Gotye. They put an awesome twist on the song that nearly everyone is sick of due to its radio station overplay. The encore was long enough to be a brief set in itself and the band even brought up a few people from the crowd to join them for a song. One of my favorite tracks they performed was a cover of “Tell Me Something Good” by Chaka Khan. By the end of the night, Allen Stone and his band had turned the venue into a dance club that no one wanted to leave.
Overall, the night was packed with tons of incredible falsetto and uniform dancing. Leaving the show with a new respect for music was inevitable so if you ever have a chance to see either of these artists, don’t miss out.
P.S. If you or anyone you know took Allen Stone’s awesome hat, please reach out – it’s very dear to him.
– Victoria
Kryptonite Music Magazine 
That show was fantastic!
LikeLike
And being old, I really appreciated the “oldies” covers performed by both artists. They made me feel like less of a relic!
LikeLike