Stagehand - The Band Perry

People always ask me if I get to meet the artists after the show or if I go back stage after the performances for whatever reason. My answer has always been no. Ushers have one job to do and we're focused on that job of keeping the patrons safe and happy throughout the whole show. After Sunday night though, I can no longer say I've spent every summer in the stands. The Band Perry is a country-rock group who formed in 2005 when siblings Neil, Reid, and Kimberly Perry joined together. They released their first album and single in 2010 and have since scored 3 #1 hit's on the country charts. With songs like "Better Dig Two" and "If I Die Young", their songs deal with emotional trouble while others are uplifting. Their song "Live Forever" was actually selected to be the official song for the Rio Olympics and they were flying to Rio right after their performance in Wolf Trap to perform it down there! I thought they kind of sounded like a younger Taylor Swift with a little less of the teenage angst that often permeated through Swift's records. Their third album is to be released soon and they previewed several of their new songs during the show. Their opener was Jordan Rager, a new name to the country scene who is coached by Jason Aldean's father and appeared in season 2 of the Voice!

This was the cool part. The Band Perry requested that two ushers be on stage the whole time to help monitor the crowd and just have a new set of eyes in the theater. I happened to be selected! Luckily, the crowd was very tame and I didn't have to call anything in so I got to watch the performers for a good amount. I was literally only 20 feet away from them and at one point, guitarist Neil Perry came over and shook my hand! (easily the most awkward handshake I've ever done). The band themselves were amazing! They have much more of a rock sound on stage and they have great energy and exuberance on stage. Along with their big hits, they sang a number of covers ranging from Justin Bieber to Queen. Kimberly is a fantastic singer and the two brothers are excellent musicians. I could also tell that they were relatively new to their fame by the way they actively engaged with the audience. They threw their guitar picks after every song and stopped playing to take selfies with people's cameras. They debuted their new song "Comeback Kid" at this show and it seemed this is a band who is just starting to peak. One of the best shows of the year!

My favorite part of the show was their opener, "Better Dig Two"! It's just a great song and I was overwhelmed with being on the stage for the first time ever which made it all the better!

As always, looking forward to more shows in the future (only one more this summer)!

DC

The Band Perry 

Jordan Rager