The setting of Wednesday (3/22/17) evenings show at the XM Highway Finds Tour wasn’t your typical main stage show at the House of Blues in Cleveland. The show was held in the Cambridge Room which made the vibe of the entire show much more intimate. There wasn’t a bad spot in the room and the artists, SmithField and Steve Moakler did an amazing job creating that more intimate vibe on stage.
Opening The Highway Finds Tour was none other than new country music duo, SmithField. Smithfield was named a “Highway Find” back in 2016 when there breakout single “Nothin’ But the Night” hit the airwaves on XM The Highway. Their follow up smash “Hey Whiskey” has also generated popularity on The Highway and as the lead singer Jennifer Felder stated, “This is the song that landed us a spot on the tour.” The duo also consists of vocalist and lead guitarist Trey Smith who brings a little more rocker vibe to the band.
Their set consisted of several songs from their current EP including crowd favorites, “Good Ol’ Days,” “Nothin’ But The Night” and “Slippin.” They also did a very eclectic cover medley that included some 90’s country and alternative hits that the duo went back and forth singing. The Texas natives ended their set with “Hey Whiskey.”
Next on the roster was PA native Steve Moakler. Hailing from “The Steel Town,” Moakler felt right at home in this area. He sang several songs from his new EP “Steel Town” including several of his more notable songs; “Suitcase,” “Summer Without Her,” “Love Drunk” and “Wheels” just to name a few. The energy and just plain fun the crowd and Moakler were having throughout his set was just infectious. There wasn’t a single person sitting down or not moving along to the beat of the music. For a finale Moakler brought opening act SmithField back on stage for a rendition of the Fleetwood Mac classic “Go Your Own Way.” The crowd thoroughly enjoyed and started singing along to every word of it.
While the show was excellently done, I was left wanting more. This was partially because on select dates of this tour a third act was headlining. Drew Baldridge unfortunately had other obligations in Australia with CMC Rocks and was not able to be on the Cleveland date of this tour. This tour will definitely be one that you need to tell your friends to check out if it’s near them, and if not, it’s one that is worth a drive to see!
