Went to 3rd & Lindsley the other night to check out the first of 103.3 Country’s Artist Showcases. Matt Stell was the headliner, with George Shingleton and Boomtown Saints opening. The first, I’ve been a fan of for awhile now. The other two I hadn’t heard of. After finally finding parking, I was lucky enough to score a table up front. The place was packed.
One of the dj’s from the radio station, Amy Paige came on to announce the first act. An outlaw country artist, George Shingleton. He played a few songs with his acoustic guitar. Not bad. He can write and he can play. But nothing stood out. He just sounded like a traditional country artist you would hear in any honky-tonk on Broadway.

Next up was Boomtown Saints, a country duo hailing from Nashville. The first thing that got my attention was their show intro. It was like something you would hear at the fair upon boarding a rollercoaster. Immediately, I looked to the stage to see who these guys were. The duo bounded out, full of energy. They were working the stage and the crowd, who was on their feet cheering. Their music was upbeat and fun. Added with a certain charisma, you couldn’t help but be drawn to them. I was pleasantly surprised.

I’ve been a fan of headliner, Matt Stell for awhile now. Seen him a handful of times over the past few years. He always put on a great show. Tonight, something was off. Don’t get me wrong, he was good. I enjoy his music. But he didn’t move around or interact with the crowd much, except for on two covers where he wasn’t playing guitar. Those were probably the highlight for me, the times I saw the artist break through. He played his old hits, along with some new tunes including his brand new single “Breaking Boots” and “Born Lonely”. His guitar player was great, and entertaining to watch. Dancing around, throwing guitar pics to the crowd. Looking like he was having the time of his life. Stell, on the other hand, didn’t seem to be 100% into it tonight.

Hung around after the show for a bit. I was disappointed that Matt didn’t come out to talk to fans. It was a small crowd. Boomtown Saints was walking around, as was Matt’s guitar player. Would have liked to meet him after all this time. Alas, I enjoyed the show. I discovered a new band, and had a fun night out.