It was the Start 94 Jingle Jam. Which is a concert with multiple artists performing...I'm sure you figured that much though. But instead of one or 2 openers and then a main act like a normal concert, there were 6 artists on the line-up. This is the first time I have ever been to this. It was at The Arena at Gwinnett Center. This is the second time I have been here, the first was for Justin Bieber, and I think it might be becoming a favorite venue.
My mother-in-law was nice enough to accompany me to it although she had no idea of any other the people were...and I wasn't far behind, kind of.
By that I mean, I had made it a mission to see Ed Sheeran live ever since I really got into his music. SO, I fully admit that he is the reason I went to this concert. Once I saw the line-up and his name on it, I was sold, didn't take anymore convincing. Well, I noticed I also recognized 2 other artists, Jason Mraz and Phillip Phillips, so I was even more content in going because I love Jason Mraz and Phillip is still "new" so I didn't know much aside from his song "Home" and of course his time on & winning American Idol, but he's a Georgia boy, so that was good enough for me. The other 3 on the line-up I had NO clue who they were (or so I thought). I only looked up one of their names beforehand and discovered the he had a song that I liked (Andy Grammer- Keep Your Head Up).
Well we got there an hour early, sat in the car for a few minutes and then decided to go in and find our seats. I didn't get the most amazing seats, but this arena is one of those place that doesn't really have a BAD seat, ya know? The distance stinks, of course, but those big screens work wonders, haha. I was happy.
Up first was Andy Grammer. His set was acoustic, just him and his guitar. And he was AAAMAZING! Of course the only song I could really sing along to was Keep Your Head Up, but the others were just as great and I'm a fan. Oh, actually, he sang Chasing Cars, I know you know that song, lol. It was great. Oh, and he can beatbox. I love that, so much. If you don't know him, look him up, or just click on the link above and watch other vids. :)
Second was Grace Potter. Okay...so I had heard the name Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, but I didn't know who they were, or so I thought. Well this show it was just her and her drummer. And the way I recognized them is because they sing "Paris (Ohh La La)" Most people have heard it, I know I definitely had, but if not give it a listen. Anyways, if I remember correctly she did 3 songs on the piano & 2 with her guitar. Ohh La La was the only song of hers that I knew. She also sang Joan Jett & the Hearbreaker's "I Love Rock & Roll" LOVED IT! All in all, she was AAAAMAZING also! New fan of hers as well.
Up next was Alex Clare. I almost can't believe I didn't know who this was. He sings "Too Close". If you haven't heard it on the radio, there is a 9 out 10 chance you have heard it on T.V. as the background music for the Internet Explorer commercials. (That is actually how I came to like it). Anyway, his set was a little more elaborate. He had a drummer, guitarist, and someone on keyboard & I'm thinking a mixer of sorts--since he has a bit of an electronic sound. Regardless, he was also AAMAZING.
Fourth of the night was Phillip Phillips. Georgia Boy. American Idol winner. Probably know his song "Home". Yes, him. He had a full band; a cello player, a guitarist, a percussionist, and himself. One of the things that I realllly loved that he did...he sang a Nice & Slow (you know, by Usher) and it was freakin' Awesome! Listen to it here (this vid doesn't start from the very beginning, but it's about the only one I could find from the Jingle Jam). And yea, you guessed it, he was AAAMAZING!
After Phillip , they had a drumline performance & all of the DJ's came out and talked about the Falcons. We're proud of our team. And they even had Thomas DeCoud, Sean Weatherspoon and William Moore, and Freddi Falcon there, (players from the team & the mascot) I'm a huge football fan, and the Falcons are of course one of my teams, so I loved that part as much as the rest of the night.
Fifth of the night, Jason Mraz. It was just him and Mona Tavakoli. She did percussion and backup singing/harmony. I liked him already, but this kind of solidified it. He was 2nd to last of the night, so I think he had more time. He did amazing. He sang The Remedy, Geek in the Pink, You Did It, I Won't Give Up, among others. Just..AAAMAZING. lol
Finally, the man I was waiting. The closer for the night was Ed Sheeran. I was so excited for him and for us that they gave him a longer set time. I think he had 45 minutes. And the best part is that it was just him and his raw talent. I absolutely LOVE him. I knew already knew all of his songs. I was SO beyond excited that I got to here him sing "Wayfaring Stranger" live, he said he doesn't normally do that song in arenas because it's slower and kind of quiet compared to his others. It's not his song, but he sings it beautifully. I'm glad that everyone in the arena cooperated. It made it sound soooo amazing! He asked everyone in the arena to be quiet, and to my surprise, they did it. He sang this song to a completely silent (almost full) arena. Absolutely amazing! And then he turned my favorite song of his "You Need Me, I Don't Need You", a 4 minute song, into an 11-ish minute song, and it was awesome. I just honestly don't even know how to put it into words. I'm so glad he was the closer, finished the night on a high note. He was INCREDIBLE!
Everything about the whole concert was great. Even though I went in not knowing who some of them were, I left loving all of them. And as for Jason and Ed, well it just solidified my love for them. All of these artists are completely amazing live. No joke. If you ever get the chance to see any them live you won't be disappointed. (In my opinion, of course.) When someone can sound the same, or even better, live there is no doubt that they have an amazing gift and talent. That can be said about all of these people! Star 94 put together a great line-up and the DJ's did an awesome job at coming out in between sets to introduce themselves, hype the crowd up and introduce the next artist. It was all definitely worth my money, I had an absolute blast and I think my mother-in-law had fun as well.
LOVED, LOVED, LOVED IT!!!
Ed Sheeran
I cheated and took a picture of the screen :)
Gonna post and link to some of my favorites of the night. You can listen to them if you'd like. :) I'll post the live video & link to a non-live version so you can hear it without them without the echos and screaming fans.
Ed Sheeran- Wayfaring Stranger Live
Ed Sheeran- You Need Me, I Don't Need You
Jason Mraz- You Did It
I'm not sure if there is a studio version of this onYouTube...
I posted Phillip Phillips singing "Nice & Slow" above...you can check that out, I also linked his video "Home" above.
Alex Clare- Too Close
Grace Potter- Ohh La La
Linked to her official video for this song above.
Andy Grammer- Chasing Cars (cover)
Linked to his official "Keep Your Head Up" video above.
[[Credit to any video owners. None of these are mine.]]
Anyway...that was my night Thursday night. It was great. I loved everything about it! Thanks to all of the artists that were there and to Star 94 for putting on a good show!
♥♥♥
Brandy
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