Small Town Saturday Night in KC

Carrie and me at Alan Jackson Concert

Carrie and I went to Kansas City on Saturday to see Alan Jackson. Neither of us had ever seen him in concert before and he is doing his farewell tour. I am so glad that we were able to see him in concert. Our seats were great he sang all of our favorites. This made our concert count four on the year and we have another one booked before the end of the year.

Alan Jackson on the Stage

Our seats were straight which we liked better than our seats for the Chris Stapleton concert (see June 23, 2024 post). For that concert, we were on a side and had to turn our heads to see the stage. This was much better and with isle access, it was easy to get in and out of our seats for drinks.

Jon Pardi Opening Act

Jon Pardi opened for Alan Jackson. He was good and I will have to check out some of his songs. I was not familiar with Jon Pardi, but he is certainly worth checking out. 

We stayed at the Hotel Indigo in downtown Kansas City where we have stayed before. Just a few blocks from T-Mobile Center makes it a good spot to stay and still have access to the concert within walking distance.

Alan Jackson on the Stage

After Concert

New Alan Jackson Hat

Great time at the concert and I am so glad we were able to make it work. We got the tickets back over the summer as we were looking for concerts to attend and noted it was his farewell tour. We had a great time and made some wonderful memories.

Sunday morning we went out to get breakfast at a new spot that my brother, Tim, had recommended. Hemma Hemma was just what we needed after concert the concert. The cinnamon roll was the best that I have had out anywhere. I got an egg dish with potatoes and it was really good, but the cinnamon roll was a must have for our morning. 

We are tired on this Sunday evening as I write and likely head to bed early. Fun time in Kansas City for the concert and eating at a new place. Until next time, have a great week!

Carrie and John attended Dwight Yoakam concert on June 22 in Kansas City with summary and pictures

Drinks Before Concert

I have mentioned a few times in past posts that Carrie and I are trying to do more concerts this year. We attended our second concert of the season on Thursday, June 22 by attending Dwight Yoakam. Overall, we had a great time attending the concert. Dwight Yoakam was really good and solid in his performance. The special guest opening for Dwight Yoakam was Aaron Lewis. I was not a fan of Aaron Lewis, so I could have done without hearing him on stage. 

The concert was at Azura Amphitheater which I had not been to in over 10 - 15 years. I actually do not recall the last time I went to a concert there, but it was a fun spot. They had the upper area, grass, closed for the concert, so only the lower section which is seating was open. A good variety of concessions with food, drinks, and even high end cocktails, so it was a fun night. Prior to the concert we did a little tailgating before heading into the concert. After hearing Aaron Lewis, we wish we would have stayed out in the parking lot longer to enjoy a few more drinks.

Carrie in the Shade

After we made it inside, we found a shady spot to hang out and relax. Sipping on drinks and we had a delicious hotdog from concessions. Dwight Yoakam went on stage around 9 or 9:30, so we had a long time waiting for the earlier acts to finish up and the main event to start. We believe Dwight Yoakam was waiting for the sun to go down fully as that's when he finally came out on stage. The concert started at 7 and then main act went on stage much later. We did not get home until about 12:30 that night.

I would go to another concert at Azura Amphitheater as it was a fun spot. It was our first country concert to attend in a long time, so we will have to evaluate and see if we will attend another one in the future. I have fond memories of Azura Amphitheater, formally Sandstone Amphitheater from back in the day, where I saw a number of concerts when I was in college. Fun to be back there and enjoy the outdoors while listening to live music.

Shot of Stage with Dwight Yoakam

At one point while getting drinks, I did snap a picture of the stage although I see I did not get a good picture of Dwight Yoakam as he was behind the post. There was a good crowd at the concert and we had a lot of fun watching people, enjoying the music, and enjoying being out and about together.

Until next time, have a great weekend and get out and hear some live music!

Apple Music with Three Live Radio Streaming Options and My New Found Love

 

Quietly, Apple rolled out Apple Music which was formally called Apple Beats Radio for their live stream. I had not seen any posts or notifications in the Apple Music app but did notice as browsing the radio option that there were three live stations showing up. I had listened to the Beats Radio live station a few times through the years, but usually stuck with my own library to play songs I know and love.

Doing a search, I did find an announcement from Apple from August 18, 2020 (Apple announces Apple Music radio) about the change in name and the new stations being available. However, I do not recall seeing any tweets, email notices, etc., from Apple about the change when it was rolled out back in August. I just happened to stumble across it one day while looking through my music options.

Three options are offered for live music in addition to listening to your own library, new songs, etc. through the Apple Music app. First, they have Music 1 which features exclusives, remixes, and various hosts for every hour of the day. Next, you have the Music Hits station which includes artists hosting the shows which go throughout the day. The last live radio station is Music Country which is again live hosts, new songs, and discussions with various country artists. 

I have enjoyed all three live stations from Apple Music. My favorite and the one I listen to most days is the Music Country. I go through points in my life where I listen to all country, pop, blues, or whatever is trending. Country is a genre that I come back to throughout the year and while I used to only like the older artists from the 90's or early 2000's, I have found that I am enjoying some of the newer artists lately too.

I have tried other streaming services, but I am liking Apple Music the best so far. I think Carrie is going to let her subscription expire with Amazon Music and switch us over to the family plan for Apple Music which is only an additional $4. 

Happy music streaming to whatever service you enjoy. Feel free to respond to this post with your favorite service and what you like best about the service.