Boots & Hearts 2013 Spotlight: Miranda Lambert

Who run the world?

Girls!

If you didn’t know that already, Miranda Lambert wants to remind you. At least that’s what I had to assume when her performance at Boots & Hearts started with a video intro of cowgirls and Reba set to Beyoncé’s new generation Girl Power anthem.

Miranda is the reigning Academy of Country Music’s Female Vocalist of the Year and for good reason. Her career has been a consistent climb to the top since her debut album (Kerosene) in 2005. And truth be told, I’ve been crushing on her since that album.

Her appearance at Boots & Hearts as the headliner on the final day of the 4 day festival was dripping with anticipation from the crowd. And it did not disappoint. Her voice is powerful. Her attitude is full of sass. I’d see her again in a heartbeat. She opened her show with the upbeat single, Fastest Girl in Town which features race car driver Danica Patrick in the video and kept the party going with hits like Only Prettier, Me and Charlie Talking (her very 1st single) and Gunpowder and Lead, which showed off the Kick Ass Miranda Lambert that we’d been promised by Blake Shelton via video before the set.

Note: As the crowd sang the final chorus of White Liar I witnessed the most educated sing along ever. The audience sang the words in perfect time. And true to the song, held the note on the 2nd last word and stopped, leaving Miranda to finish it after a pause. Just like she does on the record. It was amazing.

Miranda also slowed the show down with Over You which made more than a few people in the audience cry and probably does every time she performs it. But one of my top 3 moments of the set came during another slow song, The House That Built Me. Lambert invited the fans to sing the last chorus of the song to her, and they did. Together. In one voice. Beautifully. And that was the moment that almost made me cry.

The other top moments included:

★ The performance of Heart Like Mine which is a favourite and speaks to me on a personal level without being a slow, sappy song.

★ Famous In A Small Town. The song that makes every kid who ever, ever grew up in a town like Port Hope, Ontario feel like a star. I Love It.

Thanks to Trish we have some awesome photos from the pit – and thanks to Republic Live I was able to stand right beside her, 5 feet from the stage and look at Miranda Lambert as she sang into her sparkly pink microphone.

It was one of the highlights of my year.

If you’re a fan of Miranda Lambert. Even a little bit. Please check her tour schedule and find out when she’s coming to a town or city or festival near you. She will earn your money on stage and give you the feels and memories just like she did for me.

Check out more photos of Miranda at Trish’s blog!

Work Hard, Play Harder, Be Awesome.