The perks of finally having a new job and a steady income include multiple concerts I have planned for this Fall! The first concert took place last Thursday evening at the beloved Kentucky Theater in Lexington. This theater has been the home to many shows I’ve seen in the past and the venue continues to host the best variety in local talent as well as touring artists who are truly skilled in their craft. Tonight’s show featured Justin Paul Lewis and Ben Sollee, both Kentucky natives who performed for a packed house. I have to give the University of Kentucky’s Student Activities Board serious credit for recruiting such talented musicians to come to Lexington and play relatively inexpensive shows, definitely accessible to college students.
So, I had never seen Justin Paul Lewis perform before and I have to admit he wasn’t my favorite. He’s kind of difficult to watch as a performer and I understood few of the lyrics of his songs. Imagine Randy Newman (Toy Story composer/artist) covering Creed songs. JPL is a happy medium between those two. His voice quality was great, however, and I definitely enjoyed the tracks I later looked up on iTunes. His guitar skills were impressive and his trumpet accompanist did a wonderful job keeping the crowd enthused.
Ben Sollee, on the other hand, was as amazing as ever. I can say “as ever” because I’ve seen him five times now — I’m a bit of a groupie. Ben’s profound lyrics about love, the earth, nature, his son and more illuminated by his soulful voice definitely gave an amazing show. This was also the first time I’ve seen Ben without simply his cello – He had a full band with him, complete with drums, bass, violin, and synthesizer. It was pretty impressive to hear the tracks come alive like the full recording as opposed to just an acoustic set. He didn’t, however, play my two favorite songs – Hurting and A Change is Going to Come. I was a little disappointed and tweeted at him to let him know, and he responded! I absolutely love when musicians and celebrities take the time to respond to fans who reach out to them on social media. It makes them seem so much more human and relatable. I can’t wait to see what Ben does next!
ALSO – My site is nearing 10,000 views! Shout out to every one of my subscribers, you make writing this blog so worth it and I love you all. When I do reach 10k views, I’m going to do something crazy and take requests for post topics from my readers — this could get interesting! Please keep reading (:
With love from the Kentucky Theater,
Sarah Alexandra
