Jamey Johnson – “Saving Country Music”

It has come to the attention of the Editors at Country Music Pride that there are some seriously intense fans out there sharing some seriously intense support. We invited one such fan to put his passion to paper so all the fans can “feel”, relive or see for the first time what he sees. That fan is John Parker ~ the following is his review of Jamey Johnson on October 27, 2011 at Cotton Eyed Joe’s in Knoxville, TN ~ Thank you John. CMP is “for the fans by the fans” …

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There are not too many artists out there that still have the pure country sound that many of us grew up on. But there is one artist that really sticks out to many off us real country fans. This man is Jamey Johnson. You will not see him blasted all over tv and radio. But for the true fans that follow JJ and his music, you will hear about him “all the time”.

Recently, I had an opportunity to see JJ perform with some of these true fans in Knoxville,TN. Growing up in Nashville, I’ve been to about 150 concerts. My father started taking me to shows as a child. My first concert was Alabama. Growing up around real country was all I knew growing up.

Saying that, I have to tell you that the show last Thursday (10/27 at Cotton Eyed Joe’s) was the best concert I’ve ever been to. Jamey seemed to be so happy to be back in a small venue. Cej sold out completely. Their capacity was 1650 people. The management was having to turn people away. The demand for tickets for this show was amazing to witness.

JJ came out to “Released” and “High Cost of Living”, as he does at every show. The crowd was intense. Singing along to every word, the atmosphere was amazing. As Jamey usually does, he covered many of the classics that we all grew up on. The song that stuck out to me the most was, “In the Pines”. My papa, god rest his soul, used to sing this to me over and over again when I was growing up. This was a very emotional moment for me. As I used to do when I was a child, I caught myself saying,” One more time Papa.”

Single-handed, the greatest concert moment of my life. JJ also played many of his hits that we all love. It was the best show I’ve ever been to.

If you have never been to a Jamey Johnson show, and you are a true country music fan, please do yourself a favor and get to one as soon as possible. You will not be disappointed.

~ Feature photo provided by John Parker ~ Article Written by John Parker ~