BY ORLA GULLA

One of the best nights of my life! I had been waiting to see Charles Esten for the longest time, so when he announced his debut album tour the countdown was on! Most know him from his role as Deacon Claybourne in the hit TV series Nashville, and more recently his role as Ward in the Netflix series Outer Banks.

Opening with ‘Love Ain’t Pretty’ was beautiful, and the crowd silence echoed this. The concert started very softly with more slow songs such as ‘One Good Move’, my personal favourite from the album as the lyrics reflect the journey of his relationship with his wife, Patty and whilst performing, his stage presence reflected his love for her through little actions such as smiles throughout the chorus and I could tell how happy he was in the moment, not only getting to share the song with his fans but also his wife who has been supporting him on every show of the tour so far!

The constant changing of guitars for different songs was very impressive and shows such a passion for what he does – everything was just perfect and in tune!  As well as performing hearty hits from the debut album, Charles delivered a heart – warming performance of ‘No one Will Ever Love You’ from Nashville, which he performed with Connie Britton on the show. This performance was special to the crowd reflected in the silence but also for me as I have followed Charles on his journey from Nashville where my love for his voice first began, when I was much younger. So to see him live on his debut album tour was truly inspirational and just amazing. However the pace started to pick up when Charles brought Betcha, the support act back out on stage to sing with him towards the end. I could tell they have a lovely relationship as they were laughing together and interacting with us Chipsters, encouraging us to dance and live life to the full. They performed a stunning rendition of Simon and Garfunkel’s The Sound of Silence which highlighted their vocal harmonies. Towards the end they delivered an energetic performance of ‘Down the Road’ in which everyone was up dancing for to match the awesome stage presence of Chip. Not just the song made me happy but the meaning behind it, and Charles reminded us of this when he spoke to us like friends and encouraged everyone in the venue to go away and find happiness with whatever path we take.

Half way through the show, Chip gave a shout out to the West End director of the Buddy Holly Story which gave him his first big break. He then performed a beautiful rendition of True Love Ways which showcased his versatility. To end the show, Chip proved himself as a total showman by finishing his set with Oasis’ Champagne Supernova which the audience loved singing along to. What a show!

Having been a Chipster forever, the night lived up to all my expectations and more. It was so super special. Not only because I got to see Chip live, but I got to share it with all the other Chipsters too and seeing everyone so happy and singing along made it even more enjoyable.

As the night came to a close, Charles sang us one more song, and that was ‘A Life That’s Good’ from Nashville. Every single fan sang along, and the fact that everyone knew all the words made it even more special, showing how much the music means to the fans. I got to share the moment with my mum, who is also a big fan, and Chip reminded us when singing the hit that we all deserve to go away and live a good life. The song also put into perspective how lucky we are to be able to go to concerts and see artists we love, and I certainly felt that when leaving – feeling so lucky that I got to see my favourite country artist perform live, and even meet him at the end of the night, which was one of the most special moments of my life, and one I will treasure forever. Charles Esten – what an amazing man you are, so lovely and this was seen through the interactions with the fans. Until next time, I’m counting down already!