Sasha McVeigh Performs at 2015 Country Jam Festival, Covers John Denver
Sasha McVeigh was a ray of sunshine in the already-hot Grand Junction, Colo. at 2015 Country Jam on Thursday (June 18), and just like the previous weekend at the 2015 Taste of Country Music Fest, she showed fans why she's one to keep an eye on.
Wearing a fringed yellow crop top and shorts, the British country singer was backed by two guitarists and easily played her acoustic while belting out her honeyed vocals. McVeigh performed songs from her brand new full-length record I Stand Alone, including fan-favorite "Stupid Girl."
"It's a bit of a heartbreak song," she explained before launching into the track. She sang each lyric tenderly and earnestly before heading into a different type of song — "Hot Mess." The high-energy song is one that gets fans out of their seats and fists in the air. McVeigh gave it everything and, after playing, said, "Who needs to go to the gym after that?"
The newcomer's easy banter with the crowd was one of the key aspects of her set at Country Jam in 2015. In between songs, she gave little snapshots into her life, even explaining that she has a dog back in the U.K., who she calls a "sausage dog," adding that in the U.S., it's called a "wiener dog." Her dog, she shared, thinks it's "the only dog in the universe." And while she sings "Hot Mess" to her dog, changes up the lyrics to say, "Wanna be a hot dog!"
Her title track, "I Stand Alone," was born from her beliefs that "everyone in life should be who they want to be." The songstress spoke of the recent controversy of how women are viewed in the industry and added, "I don't plan on changing for the music industry, and no one else should either."
Toward the end of her set, McVeigh sang John Denver's "Country Road" and ended it with "Mr. Brown Eyes." For fans who don't know, she wrote the song after meeting a "ridiculously good looking" server at Margaritaville in Nashville, and later sang it at the 2015 ACM kickoff party in Las Vegas.
McVeigh was full of smiles throughout her Country Jam set, and judging from the crowd's response, fans will want her to cross the pond again and again.