Show review number two for me this year came up last week at The Fox Theatre in Detroit and I must admit, I enjoyed it way more than I thought I would. Don’t get me wrong, I knew I was going to have a good time, but I’m not always a fan of acoustic based performances. Especially when it’s a few of my favorite artists and some that I haven’t seen before. Unfortunately, Jelly Roll didn’t make it due to the weather and travel issues. Mother nature decided to throw down one of her seasonal freezing rain/ice storms. We were really looking forward to covering his set too. Another act that didn’t make it to the event that evening was Midland, this was one of the acts that I was looking forward to seeing for the first time. Even with these unfortunate happenings, it was still a very solid lineup with eight of the ten scheduled artists performing that night.

It’s been a few years since I last attended a ‘10 Man Jam’, the event is put on by local country station WYCD, so I kind of forgot exactly how it worked and how the night went as far as the entertainment schedule. To briefly explain for those that have never been, basically, half of the artists take the stage for the first ninety minutes of the evening, then a thirty-minute break, and then the remaining acts take the stage for the last 90 minutes. The first group was hosted by Clay Walker, and included Justin Moore, one of my favorite country artists, Priscilla Block, Shane Profit, and Breland. Since there really was no specific order, they all took turns playing a song or two and then handed it over to another, I’m just going to touch on each act and go down the line.

Breland – Breland hit the main stream in 2019 and has charted well. I personally didn’t know much about him prior to this night other than the song ‘Beers on Me’ that he does with Dierks Bentley. I was feeling his overall vibe and what he’s about. Several of his songs have a very modern pop groove to them, old school country fans might grumble a bit but there was something about him that was catchy for sure. He really enjoyed what he was out there on the stage and it showed. The crowd was definitely into it and I can say I specifically enjoyed the song ‘For What It’s Worth’, that one really stood out for me.

Photos: Steve Sergent

Shane Profitt – Shane is someone that has been gradually entering my music radar. His set was one that I was particularly looking forward to seeing. Great job by this up and coming artist. At 22 years old, the Tennessee native has already accomplished some pretty major things. His big debut was just last year but he has made a big splash on the scene. You could feel what he was singing, and you could see the passion he had within his lyrics. You could see and feel the enjoyment he got out of playing that night. I loved the lyrics and meaning in ‘Good Luck and God’ and enjoyed ‘How It Oughta Be’. His newer song ‘Guys Like Me’ was also something that I really enjoyed. Based on performance, I think this guy has a solid future in country music for sure. Great job Shane!

Photos: Steve Sergent

Priscilla Block – Here’s another blooming artist that I was really looking forward to seeing. There’s been so much hype about her this last year or two and I wanted to see what the chatter was all about for myself. I absolutely love the song “You, Me and Whiskey” that she performs with Justin Moore (who I’m also a big fan of). I was very impressed with her performance that night. I would say she was very down to earth and appreciative of how the crowd was reacting to her. The little I do know of her, she seems like a genuinely incredible person. I’ve always liked the song “My Bar’ and it was really touching seeing it live. There were a few special few moments that night, one was when she played the song ‘Peaked in High School’ and told the story of what it meant to her and why she wrote it. She not only held the attention of the crowd but the other artists were also enthralled. She definitely has a new fan after her appearance that night.

Photos: Steve Sergent

Justin Moore – What can I say about Justin Moore other than that he is currently one of my top 5 favorite country artists. I’ve been a fan for about twelve years and he’s the one who actually brought me back to country. Country music had made a turn toward a pop scene and and that just turned me off to country music for some time. He not only sounded incredible but he also added so much to the show with his sense of humor. The one liners had the crowd and other artists rolling and that made the night even more enjoyable. He pretty much became a co-host with Clay for that first half of the evening. It was great to hear ‘Why We Drink’, and ‘Til My Last Day’ done acoustically and I was so happy that Priscilla was there too so they could do ‘You, Me and Whiskey’ together for all of us. I’ll cherish that as a rare treat as they are so many duets out there that you just don’t get to see performed live by the original artists.

Photos: Steve Sergent

Clay Walker – I’ve always been a fan of Clay Walker, going back to the early nineties. It’s good to see him still doing so well after his early MS diagnosis. He’s definitely defied the odds and continues to show the world that life goes on and you can still do what you love no matter what. He looked to be in really good health and he sounded good as ever. He played a few of the fan favorites including ‘Rumor Has It’ and one of my favorites, ‘This Woman and this Man’. It was a bonus to have Justin Moore join in on ‘She Won’t be Lonely Long’. He did an excellent job hosting that first half of the night and I think he showed us all that he isn’t slowing down any time soon.

Photos: Steve Sergent

Hailey Whitters – Hailey opened up the second half after a brief intermission. Although I am not that familiar with her music, Hailey has a fairly solid background in music as a writer. She got a late but solid start performing main stream in 2019. One particular sond that I have heard on air is ‘Everything She Ain’t’ which is a really catchy tune. I wasn’t sure what to expect, from the rest of her show but she definitely held her own that night and did a good job. In my opinion, she earned that opening spot on the roster. Hailey was another artist that evening who you could tell appreciated the crowd response and was living in that moment and showing the crowd who she was and how much playing music meant to her. Her emotions were right there on her sleeve. Great job.

Photos: Steve Sergent

Morgan Evans – Morgan was another one of the artists that night that I was really looking forward to seeing. Although I knew the songs ‘Day Drunk’, and ‘Kiss Somebody’, I didn’t realize that he’d been around for a few more years than I thought. I only discovered this as I was working on this article and did some quick research on him. I was also kind of shocked to learn he was Australian when I had heard him doing an interview a couple months back. His accent doesn’t permiate through his music (A lot like Keith Urban). His latest single, ‘Over for You’ really got me and that was the song I wanted to hear most that night. Just him and a keyboard for this one and I was not disappointed, neither was the crowd, judging by their reactions to the performance.

Photos: Steve Sergent

Lady A – These guys (and gal) were the headliners of the event and the hosts for the second half of the evening. I’ve seen them a few times over the years and they always do it right when the play live. I was interested to see how it all went being an acoustic performance,and I think sounded amazing. The acoustic set really lets the vocal shine. They put on one hell of a show. The crowd showed a ton of excitement, people out of their chairs dancing and singing along. They were a great act to have wrap up a total package kind of night. I was happy to hear ‘You Look Good’, and ‘Never Get Over You’, which has a special place with me. My favorite moment was when Charles sang ‘As far as You Could’. That’s a song that he wrote about his battle with alcohol and being sober for more than half a year. It was an emotional few moments and the audience felt it too and gave him a standing ovation when the song came to an end. So many people can relate to a song like that. It was also really nice to see just how much his bandmates support, care about and believe in him throughout the night.

Photos: Steve Sergent

To wrap it all up, yet another great night of live country music in downtown Detroit. While only 8 0f the 10 artists could make due to the weather, it still felt like 100% worth of entertainment. I got to see one of my favorites, a few that I really enjoy, and a few more that I’m getting more into recently or have been curious about. Thanks to Bryant at 313 Entertainment for the media approval and thanks to WYCD for putting on yet another year of the ’10 Man Jam’. I had such a good time that night and I even met a few new people. Until the next one.

~Howie