LIVE: Country Legend Ronnie Milsap Performs at the Turning Stone Showroom
Legendary country musician Ronnie Milsap performed for a packed crowd at the newly renovated Turning Casino Showroom Sunday night. Milsap, known to be one of the all-time great crossover musicians of his time, effortlessly churned out number one songs throughout the ’70s and ’80s and through the years has earned six Grammys, eight CMA Awards, two Billboard number one Song of the Year Awards, and three ACM Awards, as well as the ACM Pioneer Award. Inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in 1976, this country great has sold over 35 million albums and continues to record and tour. In my personal opinion, no one could make a sad love song sound more beautiful than Ronnie Milsap.
Milsap performed a multitude of his hits for the crowd such as “Stand By My Woman Man,” “No Gettin’ Over Me,” and my personal favorites “It Was Almost Like a Song” and “Smoky Mountain Rain.” He was joined on stage by some of the most talented musicians in country music. Milsap’s band; Jaime Brantley (guitar and vocals), Rhonda Hampton (guitar and vocals), Rodney Edmonson (drums), Warren Gower (bass and guitar), Larry Hall (keyboards and vocals), and John Heinrich (steel guitar and saxophone) not only accompanied Milsap through his catalog of hits, but they also wowed the crowd themselves.
Rhonda Hampton’s rendition of “Looking at Country” and “Walkin’ After Midnight” took you back to yesterday’s country stage with Loretta Lynn and Patsy Cline, while Jaime Brantley’s guitar riff on the “I Ain’t Never” cover amped up the crowd even more with a modern rock spin on country music. As Milsap sang “Lost in the ’50s Tonight,” John Heinrich punched out a saxophone solo that had the crowd back on their feet again demonstrating once again the wide range of genres within country music that Milsap has been able to span flawlessly throughout his career.
With a thank you to all service members and first responders, Milsap closed the show by paying homage to those that serve our country dedicating the final song “America the Beautiful” to those who selflessly give of themselves for others. It was a beautiful performance, and beautiful honor to be part of the evening with Ronnie Milsap.
Milsap is currently touring with Risa Binder, a powerhouse vocalist that pumped up the crowd with a mix of both her own country hits and covers such as “Missing You” by John Waite and Fleetwood Mac’s “Everywhere.” Bandmates Tim Quick on guitar, Jonathan Freeman on bass, and Rodney Edmonson on drums accompanied her in a mix of both classics and new music that wowed the crowd. It was her performance of Matraca Berg’s song “Easy To Remember” though that sealed her fate as one of my new favorite artists in country music. She is a must-check-out artist for certain.
This was my first show back to The Turning Stone Showroom since its overhaul during the pandemic, and I found it an amazing upgrade for concert goers. Set in theater-style seating now, the spacious seats and upgraded lighting and acoustics made for seamless movement and a more relaxed atmosphere for this amazing show. Concert goers were not only treated to a historical performance by a legendary musician, but they also did so in style. I highly recommend checking out a show there very soon.
For those in attendance Sunday evening, you just knew you were one of the lucky few that had witnessed a part of country music history with one of the few musicians that made a mark on Nashville like no other. Ronnie Milsap, there is no getting over you for certain. Thank you for including the Turning Stone on your list of cities to visit, you had me at hello!!
Risa Binder Setlist: Gotta Have You, You Came Along, Missing You (John Waite cover), You Haul, Everywhere (Fleetwood Mac cover), Easy to Remember, Light it Up
Ronnie Milsap Setlist: Overture, Prisoner, He Got You/ Any Day Now, ’80s Medley, What Goes On, Legend In My Time, Looking At Country (Loretta Lynn cover), Walkin After Midnight (Patsy Kline cover), Medley – It Was Almost Like A Song – Stand By My Woman Man – Pure Love, Please Don’t Tell Me How the Story Ends, I Ain’t Never (Mel Tillis cover), Back On My Mind Again, Smoky Mountain Rain, Lost in the ’50s Tonight, Stranger Things Have Happened, America the Beautiful.
Comments are closed.