Ingrid Michaelson's A Summer Night Out Tour

Last night, Ingrid Michaelson brought her latest tour to the recently renovated The Ritz in Raleigh, NC. On her A Summer Night Out Tour, she is playing a different city almost every night during the month of June and playing songs she hasn't performed often on past tours. Her set included some of her more recent songs off of Lights Out, as well older fan favorites including "The Way I Am," "You and I," "Keep Breathing" and "Overboard."

To Raleigh, she brought with her Oh Honey and Jukebox the Ghost.  Both openers brought something warm and fun to the stage, but Jukebox the Ghost in particular rocked. I didn't have an extensive knowledge of them before last night, but they made me a fan. Along with their songs, they covered "Don't Stop Me Now" by Queen and it was awesome! They brought an energy to the stage that pulsated through the crowd and made audience members take notice.

If you've seen Ingrid Michaelson live before, you know that she's an incredible performer.  When she plays and sings it is obvious that she has something to say through her songs and you don't want to miss a minute of it.  Her voice can be light and airy hanging on to the softest notes and be charged and powerful in the next song, or event the next verse. She interacts with the audience and makes the concert even more fun, and makes each stop along her tour a unique experience for concert goers.  Last night, she brought up an audience member (selected from submitted videos) to sing "The Chain" with her and guitarist Allie Moss which was a fun experience not only for the guy who got to sing on stage with her, but for the whole audience.

Bottom line, if you have the chance to see Ingrid live on the A Summer Night Out Tour, don't miss the opportunity!

If you live in Raleigh and did miss this concert, there are still many more great shows coming to The Ritz this summer! Check out their event schedule for details!

Sara Bareilles Gets Her Little Black Dress On In Raleigh

On July 22, Sara Bareilles brought her magnificent talent and tour to the Red Hat Amphitheater in downtown Raleigh, NC.  Bareilles is a force to be reckoned with.  She brings a raw and natural talent to the stage that is rarely found in artists today.  She commanded the audience with every breath, every word.  The stage is her home. The air was electric as she sang familiar hits, intertwined with newer songs.

Her presence was magnetic, even as she briefly came out on stage before the show started to introduce the opening acts, Emily King and Lucius, and as she stood side stage to watch the bands perform.  This was our first time seeing the singer-songwriter, but it certainly won't be the last!

The opening acts, Emily King and Lucius were both excellent and brought a quality to the stage that was delightfully unexpected from the stand point of an audience who in large part wasn't planning to take notice of the openers.  Emily King is a singer-songwriter from New York City who brought such a soulful presence that the audience couldn't help but turn their attention to the stage.  It only makes sense that an artist with so much pure talent (Bareilles) would bring talented opening acts on the road with her and that is exactly what she did.  After King performed a set of soulful ballads, Lucius came out on stage and rocked.  They simply rocked. Their debut album is out now, and it is worth purchasing. The lead singers, Jess Wolfe and Holly Lessig are enormously talented and every song they played pumped a new life into the audience in preparation for Bareilles taking the stage.

Bareilles began her set with "Little Black Dress" and took the audience on a journey of love, loss, laughter and life before ending with an encore of "Satellite Call".  Words can barely describe the tremendous and transcendent experience of the concert.  She was better live than on CD, DVD or video .  She had background projections for most songs, of those I especially enjoyed the projections for "I Choose You".  Two of the most spectacular songs from the evening were her cover of Sia's "Chandelier" and a new song from the musical adaptation of Waitress that she is writing entitled "She Used to be Mine".

Sara Bareilles always brings a night full of fun, tears, cursing, and most of all joy! Everyone should see her live! Don't miss her when the Little Black Dress Tour stops in your city!