Last night, The Jane Dear Girls rocked it in a live performance at Ashland, KY’s Summer Motion Festival.
The Jane Dear Girls took the stage to a ground shaking intro track that revamped a short piece of “Wildflowers” with heavy synths and sonic guitars, foreshadowing the coming 60 minute set filled with metal guitar riffs, big drums and the high energy new country performance of Susie Brown and Danelle Leverett who are The Jane Dear Girls.
Mentored and produced by Big & Rich’s John Rich, the Jane Dear Girls proved they can deliver the goods live, bringing an audience of festival goers that ranged in ages from 8 to probably 80, to their feet, cell phones in hand.
On the first two songs and throughout, both Jane Dear Girls played instruments and mixed it up with the band. Standing center stage and singing lead, Susie showcased her skills on violin and how she broke into the music business as a multi-instrumentalist in Trisha Yearwood’s touring band. Danelle sang harmonies into a headset mic, slinging her bright red electric guitar as she constantly prowled the stage from right to left and jumped into the front rows to slap high fives and hug the fans.
Briefly pausing after the second song to welcome the audience and intro the duo, Danelle tells the crowd, “This next one goes out to all the ladies of Kentucky and the idiots that broke our hearts,” as girls and grown men cheer.
During the set, both Jane Dear Girls tell brief stories about romantic relationships, “an old boyfriend told me the music thing wasn’t going to work out and I should stay home and bake cookies,” Danelle shares with the crowd, first kisses, Susie explains the song “Sugar” was written about a dare from a friend when she was sixteen, and following your dream, Danelle voices, “If you have dreams, don’t be afraid to chase them.”
The Jane Dear Girls build a bond with their audience by revealing personal triumphs and hurdles. “I loved it [in] the song when Danelle said she had to chose between her music and her boyfriend,” comments 11 year old fan Kylie. Another fan, Michael, age 34 says, “They are for everybody, they’ve got that little bit of rock with their country.” Concert goer Leigh brought her daughter and two other friends, and sums it up, “they are the whole package. They can sing, dance and they’re beautiful.”
Highlights of their fast moving set included a spot on rendition of their fastest rising single to date, “Shotgun Girls,” Susie’s blazing fiddle solo on “The Devil Went Down to Georgia,” and the show closer, “Wildflowers,” which brought a big roar from the crowd as they recognized the song that broke The Jane Dear Girls on country radio and established their free-spirit, female empowerment identity.
Jane Dear Girls Set List, Ashland KY, Summer Motion Festival, July 6, 2011:
Merry Go Round Shotgun Girls Goodbye Earl – Dixie Chicks cover Lucky You Sing Along Hit Me With Your Best Shot – Pat Benatar cover Sugar She’s Country – Jason Aldean cover Saturdays in September Honkey Tonk Angels – Kitty Wells cover 80’s Mashup including, Beat It, Billy Jean – Michael Jackson Smells Like Teen Spirit – Nirvana Here I Go Again – Whitesnake Devil Went Down to Georgia – Charlie Daniels Band Beverly Hills – Weazer We Will Rock You – Queen American Woman – Lenny Kravitz Footloose – Kenny Loggins Wildflowers
6 Responses
Sounds like the Jane Dear Girls are on their way to the top. Kudos to Susie and Danelle for being dynamic performers and musicians. With continued public performances and exposure this duo is bound to snag some hardcore fans! Thanks to John Rich for giving this group the opportunity to share their music.
Hi Todd, that was something I too admired about the duo – their musicianship. It was great to see them leading the band both musically and visually…
It sounds like they put on a great show. Of course if you like them, they have to be good….miss ya
Thanks for reading Brian! 🙂
I especially enjoyed the line “Briefly pausing after the second song to welcome the audience and intro the duo, Danelle tells the crowd, “This next one goes out to all the ladies of Kentucky and the idiots that broke our hearts,” as girls and grown men cheer.” I love when artists include the audience!
Hi Traci,
The Jane Dear Girls told a lot of personal stories to set up the songs. I think it really helped them connect with their fans. It was interesting to hear some of the struggles they had to overcome to get to the top of the country charts. Sometimes we forget that our heroes are only human, but they seem very down to earth and dedicated to their fans. I enjoyed the show. 🙂