Kelsea Ballerini’s Nashville Debut

Kelsea Ballerini’s Nashville debut was sold out, and her 90 minute show Tuesday night was a powerful statement that there’s a new contender in the Country Female category.  The site was 3rd & Lindsley, a club that was the launch-pad for many of today’s top stars, including Lady Antebellum.  The show was part of CMT’s Next Women of Country, currently traveling around the country.  Jana Kramer is headlining some of the shows and she came on stage before Kelsea to introduce other artists on the tour.

The night belonged to Kelsea, who played most of the songs from her debut album, “The First Time,” available Monday May 18.  The Knoxville native told the crowd that she moved to Nashville when she was 15, and immediately began writing songs.  Since then, she’s experienced a lot of “firsts,” and that explains the album title.  One of those firsts was playing the Grand Ole Opry a few months ago.  That night, she performed the Eddy Arnold classic “Make The World Go Away,” and she repeated it for the audience Tuesday night.

One surprise came about half way in.  She introduced new duo Maddie & Tae, who joined her for the Dixie Chicks’ “There’s Your Trouble.”  There’s an obvious friendship among the three young women. 

Kelsea showed a lot of poise as she moved effortlessly across the stage, interacting with fans, and her band.  She’s apparently only been with them for a couple of weeks, but they were well-rehearsed and focused on providing an entertaining night.  The highlight obviously was her debut hit, “Love Me Like You Mean It.”  But it sounds like there’s more where that came from.  The Next Women of Country Tour continues to Orlando, Fort Walton Beach, and Charlotte, before ending in Myrtle Beach on May 28.

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Category: New Artist, NEWS, Photos, VIDEO