Shipshewana, IN (July 19, 2024) – On Friday evening, 90’s country legend Tracy Lawrence settles in at the Blue Gate Performing Arts Center for a night of classic country music.
Located in the small north-eastern Amish town of Shipshewana, IN, the 1,500 seat theater hosts many shows throughout the year ranging from theatrical to various genres of music performances. On this July evening, the all-ages crowd fills the theater wearing cowboy hats and boots as if they were off to the local honky-tonk.
As the theater darkens and the stage lights brighten, Lawrence begins his show with his 2019 anthem, “Made In America.” With the crowd up and out of their seats, they dance in place as they clap to the beat of the music, while an American Flag waves on the video screen at the back of the stage.
With the upbeat momentum in the room, Tracy feels invincible as he races back to 1994 and “If The Good Die Young,” only to return in time to 2006 to “Find Out Who Your Friends Are.”
Having a career that spans 30+ years, 18 studio albums,18 #1 singles and so many other top tens, there are too many favorites to squeeze into one show. Tracy has had to place some of his earliest tunes into a medley of hits in order to perform even more. The medley includes: “Is That A Tear,” “I See It Now,” “Sticks And Stones,” “Alibis” and “Texas Tornado.”
Tracy sends prayers out to one of his touring pals, fellow 90’s country artist Mark Chesnutt, who recently underwent a quadruple heart bypass. Doing so, he and the band add Mark’s “Old Flames Have New Names” to the set.
After three decades of recording albums, touring and playing live, Tracy still enjoys getting up on stage most nights and playing live for the people. As a true artist, he still continues to write and create music that his fans have come to love over the years. In June, Lawrence released a new six-song EP, Out Here In It. The band performs his favorite song from that work, “I Could Use One.” The new single is a mid-tempo ballad that still has that true Lawrence sound adding a more mature draw than songs of past.
Giving the band a chance to loosen up and unwind a bit, they jump into an arrangement that they have put together while Tracy introduces each of them. The mighty musicians that form Tracy’s band on stage includes: Joe Caverlee (fiddle and background vocals), Travis Newman (lead guitar), Scott Joyce (piano), Derek Parnell (acoustic guitar), Sam Field (steel guitar), Kevin Von Der Hofen (bass guitar) and Lejoe Young (drums).
“Lessons Learned” and “Somebody Paints A Wall” is just a warm-up for when Tracy takes the crowd back to the 90’s honky tonks when the dancing two steppers filled the dance floors with songs like “My Second Home.”
Taking a moment to reflect back on 2020 when the COVID pandemic swept the globe, many lives were lost and families were broken. The world of country music lost four iconic artists that people didn’t talk a whole lot about when they left this earth. Tracy feels a bit obligated to honor those four artist by paying tribute to them by singing a song of theirs. Those four artists include: Kenny Rogers “The Gambler,” Charley Pride “Kiss An Angel Good Morning,” Joe Diffie “John Deere Green” and Charlie Daniels “The Devil Goes Down To Georgia.” During the latter, red and white lights flash and spiral around the theater, as Tracy is joined by Caverlee and his hell raising fire hot fiddle, while the crowd stands and cheers.
With the crowd already fired up, Tracy ends his set with a song to all the sexy grandmas in the theater tonight, as the crowd sings along to two of his biggest singles, “Time Marches On” and his signature single, “Paint Me A Birmingham.”
A moment after stepping off stage for a break, Lawrence returns for an encore. Standing in front of his mic stand holding his guitar, he shows off his right forearm and his favorite tattoo, his “country music Mt. Rushmore.” It includes four of his most influential artists that made him want to play country music. They are: George Strait, George Jones, Keith Whitley and Merle Haggard. He then opens up with a Merle song, “I Think I’ll Just Stay Here And Drink.” The song ends with the band showing off their musical talents one last time for the evening.
Finishing off the night, Tracy exits the stage after showing the crowd that he is a “Better Man, Better Off” as long as he has his music, his band and his fans. The crowd in turn shows their appreciation with hollers and applause. As they exit out of the theater, they congregate and talk amongst their friends, sharing their favorite highlights of the evening.
In 1991, Tracy Lawrence walked out into the spotlight with his debut single “Sticks And Stones” and has not looked back since, as he continues to stay true with his distinctive voice and sound that has made him a true country legend of his time. Although the sounds of 90’s country, with fiddles and steel guitars have seen their limelight dim to a flicker, artists like Tracy have kept the memory of that time alive by not giving in to the always evolving music scene. Now…due to the relentlessness of artists like Tracy, that country sound is coming back and making waves again. And for today’s country artists, Tracy will one day be on a new artist’s forearm, as one of their four idols on their country music Mt. Rushmore.
From this writer…thank you to Tracy for all the years and many memories you have given all of us (including me and my family) as we have shared this road with you. Your music has been an inspiration and healed at times, as much as it has been a heartbreak at times. Thank you for staying true, and we all look forward to the next time we meet again at the concert hall.
Words by: Leslie Reasoner
Photos by: John Reasoner
Tracy Lawrence setlist:
1. Made In America 2. If The Good Die Young 3. Find Out Who Your Friends Are 4. Melody: Is That A Tear / I See It Now / Sticks And Stones / Alibis / Texas Tornado 5. How A Cowgirl Says Goodbye 6. Nothing Burns Like You 7. Old Flames Have New Names (Mark Chesnutt cover) 8. Band Song 9. Lessons Learned 10. Somebody Paints The Wall 11. My Second Home 12. Can’t Break It To My Heart 13. Iconic Tribute: The Gambler (Kenny Rogers cover) / Kiss An Angel Good Morning (Charley Pride cover) / John Deere Green (Joe Diffie) / The Devil Went Down To Georgia (Charlie Daniels) 14. Time Marches On 15. Paint Me A Birmingham Encore: 16. I Think I’ll Stay Here And Drink (Merle Haggard cover) 17. Better Man, Better Off
Tracy Lawrence
Blue Gate Performing Arts Center