The Budweiser Country Throwdown returned to the Rock 'N' Horse Saloon in downtown Toronto on Friday night for night two of two and a whole lot more country music fun!
Following Thursday night's party with The Reklaws, Emily Reid, and Jade Eagleson with the same level of energy, enthusiasm, and entertainment wasn't necessarily going to be easy... but the performances and personalities of Andrew Hyatt, Eric Ethridge, and Leah Daniels showed up and showed off what they've got to offer to a live crowd.
They nailed it.
Leah Daniels was first to the stage, and the early Friday night crowd was ready for her. There were cheers and screams throughout her set. And that was on top of the dancing and singing along seen throughout the bar.
Daniels played a bunch of her own songs that ranged from brand new (her album The Story was released in May of this year) to her first Top 20 hit, 2014's Go Back, as well as an amazing selection of covers. The band was just as fired up as Leah was, and when they all rocked out to The Killers' Somebody Told Me and Alanis Morissette's 1995 classic, You Oughta Know, it was spectacular.
It was pretty fantastic to see fans singing along to the new songs like The Story, ToGetHer, and 1st, showing us and Leah that the fans have been paying attention and are buying into what she's offering.
We've watched Leah Daniels on stages big and small over the last few years, and in that time we have seen her take command of the stage, own the show, and connect with the fans more and more and more. And on Friday night in Toronto, Leah Daniels did all of that to warm up the Budweiser Country Throwdown crowd and get everyone ready for the rest of the night!
Eric Ethridge was next on stage, and he was ready to go in Toronto. The Sarnia, ON native is riding high on the buzz from his debut EP, and it was easy to see that he is taking that excitement into his performance.
Ethridge played a handful of songs from his self-titled debut including, If You Met Me First, Makin' Me Crazy, California (a fun cover of Wave's 2001 hit), and his standout hit, Liquor's Callin' The Shots. The crowd was in it with him, singing along to the ones they knew, and getting extra loud for California and again when the band played Liquor's Callin' The Shots to end the set. It was a great atmosphere and not the only time they were loud.
In the set Ethridge and the boys played a medley that included Livin' On A Prayer, Shape Of You, Closer, Body Like A Back Road, and Don't Stop Believin' - and the volume at the start and end for the rock and roll classics was awesome.
There was a great moment in Eric's set as well when he called Leah Daniels back to the stage to perform their duet cover of Dan + Shay's Tequila. The crowd loved the song, it was cool to see the two singers doing their thing together, and moments like that are what live music special.
Eric Ethridge has more summer shows coming up, and we'd be willing to bet that he'll give all of them the same high impact performance that Toronto got on Friday night.
In the headlining spot on Friday night, on stage in his performance uniform of all black everything, was Sudbury, ON's rising country star, Andrew Hyatt.
Hyatt and his band hit the stage hot, there was no feeling out process or warming up required as they burst into That's How I'm Livin ' to get things going. And from there, they kept things at a level worthy of the amped-up Toronto crowd.
On the stage and on the floor, the energy level was high. Drinks flowed, Hyatt leaned out over the crowd in a nod to the dark, sweaty club shows we've talked about from his youth, and he gave everything he had to the Budweiser Country Throwdown audience.
With an album worth of material (2017's Iron & Ashes) plus new music to share, Andrew Hyatt had no shortage of songs to sing at the Rock 'N' Horse Saloon. Whether he wanted to slow it down with We Only Kiss On Sundays and Can't Win 'Em All, pick up the pace with Most Of Me and MGR (Me And A Girl And A Radio), or throw it all the way back with Love Drunk - he was able to do it. And the crowd was into it from top to bottom.
Hyatt also played a brand new song, You And Me Town, promising that...
"There's a new record coming very soon"
That's exciting news for Canadian country music fans.
Friday night was also our first chance to see Andrew Hyatt play his current single, Habit, live. The song is getting ready to crack the Top 40 and is featured in his entry in the SiriusXM Top Of The Country contest, where Hyatt is a finalist alongside Leaving Thomas and Jason Benoit.
With more summer dates on the schedule and a handful of sets lined up on Tim Hicks' Get Loud Tour this fall, Andrew Hyatt is going to have a lot more chances to do what he did on Friday night - give country music fans a taste, and make them want more.
