Tim McGraw Raises His ‘Southern Voice’ in Tulsa
Tim McGraw packed in over 14,000 fans to the BOK Center Thursday (April 8), when he took his Southern Voice tour to Tulsa, Okla., along with special guests the Lost Trailers and Lady Antebellum.
Candid photos and clips from Tim's recent big-screen movies flashed on jumbo trons as fans made their way to their seats. After the sound of static blared throughout the arena, the screen went black and music began playing to build up the anticipation of the superstar's stage entrance ... And what an entrance it was. A video played on the white curtain surrounding the stage of Tim riding up on a Harley Davidson, revving up the crowd. As the stage lights came on, Tim's larger than life silhouette appeared on the curtain before it fell to the stage and his band launched into his first hit of the night, 'Real Good Man.'
Tim shook hands with the ladies and fist-bumped the guys, as he worked the stage throughout his electrifying set. He even had some impromptu collaborators, as the country superstar recruited two young fans on the front row to help him sing 'Last Dollar (Fly Away).'
Tim kept things rocking along with 'Where the Green Grass Grows' and 'Let It Go,' then slowing things down with a beautiful version of 'She's My Kind of Rain.' The tempo picked back up again with 'Back When' and 'Just to See You Smile,' after which the country superstar removed his hat and held it against his chest, bowing to the cheering fans. He then treated them to his latest single, 'Still,' not once but twice due to the fact that Tim was shooting the music video for the song. "Pretend like you haven't heard me sing this song yet," Tim quipped in-between takes.
After the fun-loving songs 'Down on the Farm' and 'Everybody Hates Me,' Tim pulled a stool to the center of the catwalk as his band left the stage. "This summer marks 22 years I've been making my living making music," Tim told the crowd. "Seems like a long time ago ... next month I will be 43-years-old! The reason we've been able to do it this long is because of you guys buying the records and coming to see us. I know you work your asses off to make a living. I can't thank you enough. How about a hand for you guys!"
Tim then paid tribute to Oklahoma's own Garth Brooks by singing an acoustic version of 'Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old),' followed by 'Everywhere,' which had Tim struggling to remember the words. "OK, that's enough of me playing guitar!" he laughed.
Tim then called out "two of the most talented songwriters you will ever be in the room with," Brad Warren and Brett Warren of The Warren Brothers, who are playing in Tim's bad throughout the tour. "If you don't mind too much, I'd like to do one of my favorite songs that these guys ever wrote," Tim said, as Brett strummed his acoustic guitar and started singing, "When you think Tim McGraw, I hope you sing my favorite song, the one we dance to all night long ..." -- teasing the crowd with the chorus of Taylor Swift's debut single, 'Tim McGraw.' Tim cut him off, laughing, "That's not the one!" "That's your favorite subject though," Brad joked. The three then went on to sing 'Blank Sheet of Paper' and 'If You're Reading This' -- both of which were co-written by the brothers.
The full band rejoined Tim, Brett and Brad as they continued on with the night by performing the Elton John classic, 'Tiny Dancer,' followed by a new song, 'It Felt Good On My Lips.' Tim continued on with his beloved hits 'Things Change,' 'I Like It, I Love It' and 'Something Like That,' ending his set with the title track of his latest album, 'Southern Voice.'
But, of course, that wasn't the end. Tim came back for a lengthy encore consisting of 'Sing Me Home,' 'Angel Boy,' 'Live Like You Were Dying' and 'The Cowboy In Me.'
Lady Antebellum took honors of playing the middle slot and proved to Tulsa why they are they hottest new trio in country music. Kicking off their set with the energizing 'Stars Tonight,' Lady A's Hillary Scott, Dave Haywood and Charles Kelley sported smiles as bright as the spotlights. They continued with 'Love Don't Live Here,' followed by more songs from their chart-topping sophomore album, 'Need You Now,' including the tender 'Perfect Day,' 'When You Got a Good Thing,' 'Our Kind of Love' and 'American Honey.'
Hillary, Dave and Charles each stood at one side of the catwalks as they sang a fun and flirty rendition of 'Lookin' for a Good Time' before settling down for the show-stopping 'Need You Now.' They closed out the night with their first No. 1 hit, 'Run to You,' which the three sang from the center catwalk to give the fans in the nose-bleed seats a better view.
The Lost Trailers got the evening started with their opening set which got the crowd fired up and ready for a night of good country music. Women danced at the stage front and from their seats as they held their beer cups high throughout songs like 'How Bout You Don't' and 'All This Love.' After graciously thanking the audience for spending the evening listening to their songs, the band closed out their set with 'Holler Back.'
The Southern Voice tour runs through August with country trio Love and Theft replacing The Lost Trailers starting April 22. For a complete list of tour dates click here.
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