Darien Lake was the loudest it had been all year. Our boys returned home as the Goo Goo Dolls originated in Buffalo over 20 years ago. Chatting with local Buffalonians you hear stories from how “we partied together back in the day” to “I remember when they first started out.” I have roots tied back to them from when my uncle used to work with Robby and Rzeznik at local bars back when they first started. Among their pre-set mix was Rose Royce’s “Car Wash,” a warped reference to their 1993 release “Superstar Carwash.”
Rzeznik continued to thank Buffalo. Saying “you believed in us when nobody gave a shit.” The set was a vigorous with a blend of old and newer material, opening with “Over and Over.” You could see pure happiness on Robby`s face as he bounced around on all over overlooking “This is perfect,” Rzeznik would say during the show, “This is exactly what summer is supposed to be like. It’s all good.”
Collective Soul turned up the heat; they were the best direct support Goo`s could have asked for. Ed Roland, frontman of CS had a lot to say that evening; and it was about mid-set that lead him to say what might’ve been on the minds of many. “We started in the ’90s; we are NOT of the ’90s. We still fucking rock.” The band played their newest single “See What You Started by Continuing,” the third ever performance of the song. The band dedicated their closer, “The World I Know,” to The Tragically Hip, a touching gesture and moment in the flawless set.
Tribe Society stick out a bit on a lineup with Collective Soul and The Goo Goo Dolls. However, they quickly got the audience on their side by playing “1979” by The Smashing Pumpkins. The crowd also enjoys the flute player running around the stage is a cool unique feature of this band. Vocalist Gavin took a minute to thank us photographers and how hard we work. That was highly appreciated and not a common gesture by any means.
Keeper of the Flame is Miranda Lambert’s 2016 tour, and she brought some friends with her to Darien Lake on June 23. Brothers Osborne kicked things off, but didn’t kick things off right. They did not get the crowd engaged, and more so, their commentary was rather off-putting. Regardless, some of the crowd loved it and that’s what matters, making your fans happy.
Kip Moore doesn’t quite fit into the country genre per say. He’s got the looks and charisma a country star might have but the raspy pipes of rocker. Regardless, he fit in and blew the opener away. He’s still in his infancy only being signed four years ago by MCA Nashville. Moore already has quite following and had some diehard fans singing along to almost every song. He belted some well-known songs like his very first single “Something ‘Bout a Truck” and his most played on the radio “Running for You.” Give him a few years and he’ll be ready to be the headliner of the shows.
As the lights went down the crowd began to scream, and a video that flaunted girl power featuring history icons from the decades sprawled across the screen, while Beyonce’s “Run the World” song played over the speakers. As the old saying goes, if you got it, flaunt it — and Lambert did just dazzling with a set that included each of the hits that have kept her name high atop the charts for the past decade, along with some new never heard before songs. Given that she writes much of her own music, Lambert let her songs do the talking from the stage and treated fans with tales of hard living, lost love, hope and happiness that made for an alluring evening of music.
Eighteen year old Jacob Whitesides is taking the pop music scene by storm. Originally a kid who uploaded covers to YouTube, he’s completely captivated the audience similar to that of Justin Bieber.
And this talented musical artist and young entrepreneur is ahead of his time in the best way possible, stealing the spotlight and not taking it for granted. His headlining U.S. tour began on May 18, and we had the opportunity to catch up with him, while preparing for his first stop in Washington, D.C. And on May 28 you can catch him at 6 p.m. at Darien Lake, which will be his last show in the Empire State during the Lovesick Tour. Read on as Whitesides opens up about his roots and where he plans on taking them.
NYS Music: Your headlining tour kicks off in D.C. tonight. How are you feeling?
Jacob Whitesides: I’m very excited. I’ve been getting ready for this tour. We had rehearsals for 12 hours a day and it’s all worth it. I love that it’s a headlining tour.
NYSM: What are you looking forward to the most?
JW: Being able to perform new music from the album that comes out in September. I really look forward to the feedback from the fans. I have a full band with me and it’s going to be great. My tour manager is playing the keys for the shows and it’s going to be a lot of fun.
NYSM: Speaking of new music, you released a new single last month called “Lovesick.” How did this song come about?
JW: I was in Europe for a month and a half doing nonstop promo and the frustrations of being that far from home, from my family and my girlfriend, just resonated a lot. I would journal everything. When I got back I flew into Nantucket and I sat there talking with my producer and manager; I was able to collaborate with Alex and Mark from Magic. They had this song idea and we worked together. I wanted to mix the singer-songwriter with pop elements and in the end we were able to create the single. I looked toward musical influences like John Mayer and Justin Timberlake. Having found the single so early on helped guide the album production.
NYSM: Let’s go back to how it all started. You began covering songs on YouTube and then auditioned for the The X Factor, so how did being a YouTuber help your career?
JW: I’m going to start from the very beginning. My dad was into music and I wasn’t really that interested at the time. It wasn’t until he took me to a bluegrass festival when I was 13. I was listening to Chris Stapleton and Steel Driver, and I started to really become inspired. A few weeks later I got my first guitar and joined my dad’s band. After a bit I realized that I didn’t want to keep playing performances like this—I wanted more. I looked at Justin Bieber and Austin Mahone and saw how they were doing, and I decided to jump on the YouTube wave. I posted a few videos and would respond to comments and eventually it spread. I still like to look at my own videos and respond to the comments and interact with everyone as much as I possibly can. I believe that everything happens for a reason and this one just happened to work out.
NYSM: How did auditioning for The X Factor impact you professionally?
JW: I was on The X Factor for a really short period of time, but it was one of the most important. I was super unprepared and not really ready for it, but it was worth a shot. I made friends and it was my first experience in the industry. I had this super unrealistic picture in my head of what the industry was like, but as I slowly watched my friends sign to labels and have these labels tell them who they should be and what they should do, I saw them losing passion. The record labels tried to mold them into what they wanted, and I realized I didn’t want that; I wanted to be able to mold my own career. Now I have this great deal and I work with amazing partners. I am able to to have control over my music and being a part of The X Factor gave me a better understanding of the industry as a whole.
NYSM: You’re only 18 and you’ve already created your own record label, Double U Records, and partnered with BMG to mold your career. What made you decide to take such a big this early?
JW: BMG presented a deal to partner and the social media waver really helped me. I was able to get a bigger team and the opportunity to go to radio, and when it’s time, I get to make a lot of the big decisions. I wanted to be able to have control of who I was as an artist and thankfully, I was able to. A lot of it is because of the fans’ response.
NYSM: You’re always interacting with your fans; it seems they’ve had a lot of good things to say about you.
JW: Yea. My relationship with the fans is so special. They’ve helped me create so much and I’m so thankful.
NYSM: Where do you want be five years down the road?
JW: In five years? I’m really enjoying the pace right now. I really just want to keep building and get better as an artist. I want to keep growing as a person, and hopefully, I’ll be doing the same thing I am now, but bigger.
Jacob Whitesides will definitely be playing larger stages in five years. He most recently performed at the Marlin Room at Webster Hall in New York City on Sat., May 21. The crowd was full of girls screaming and singing along; these girls hung onto every word that came out of Whitesides’ mouth. It was incredible to see these fans interact with him; some of them had even followed the tour from D.C. and planned on going to as many shows as possible. Whitesiders are passionate and dedicated fans, and are no doubt helping this talented 18-year-old from Knoxville, TN, dominate the pop charts.
And this talented musical artist and young entrepreneur is ahead of his time in the best way possible, stealing the spotlight and not taking it for granted. His headlining U.S. tour began on May 18
NYSM: Let’s go back to how it all started. You began covering songs on YouTube and then auditioned for the The X Factor, so how did being a YouTuber help your career?