We’re going to talk about music today, but first, a vlog!

The Swon Brothers

I LOVE these boys! This is a really solid debut album, and out of all of the contestants on The Voice up to this point, I feel like these guys have the best chance at a successful career. They have a great true country sound that I feel like country radio is missing right now. The album starts off strong with “What I’m Thinking About”, and it just gets better from there! Upbeat songs like “Later On”, “Songs That Said It All”, and “95″ are radio-ready, and slower songs like “Breaking” and “Same Old Highway” will break your heart. The boys don’t shy away from singing about their faith, and they have two great songs in “Pray For You” and “This Side of Heaven”, which features background vocals from Carrie Underwood and will leave you in tears. Eleven songs just doesn’t feel like enough, and I’m already excited for album number two!
Download Now: “Songs That Said It All”, “Later On”, “This Side of Heaven”

Little Big Town: Painkiller

Like I said in the vlog, I’ve been waiting for Painkiller since Tornado was released. These guys are my favorites, and I just can’t get enough of their sound. I didn’t know if it was possible for them to top Tornado, but Painkiller does a really great job! The biggest surprise of the album is a song called “Girl Crush”. I promise you, it’s not what you think! It will completely surprise you, and it’s awesome! They slow down and show off their beautiful harmonies on songs like “Live Forever” and “Tumble and Fall”, and they really rock out with “Stay All Night” and “Save Your Sin”. Karen sings better than I’ve ever heard her on “Painkiller” and “Things You Don’t Think About”, and I catch myself listening to these two on repeat. I wish there were more than 13 songs, because I already want more!
Download Now: “Girl Crush”, “Painkiller”, “Stay All Night”, “Things You Don’t Think About”

Taylor Swift: 1989

I feel like I should just list off every single song and why I like it, because this album is THAT GOOD! I won’t do that, but I’m telling you now, there’s not really a bad song, like at all. Even the ones I don’t like as much as others are still good songs. This album definitely feels like a grown-up Taylor Swift, but I don’t feel like she’s selling out or changing who she really is to try to appeal to a more pop audience. Even though it’s a new sound, it still feels like a Taylor Swift album. She co-wrote a few songs with Max Martin, who wrote for *NSYNC, BSB, and Britney back in the day. That’s probably why I like so many of these songs! “Blank Space” has quickly become one of my favorite T-Swift songs ever. A few were co-written with Ryan Tedder from One Republic and Jack Antonoff from fun., so it’s a really fun mix of songs. Of course I have my favorites, but you should probably just get the whole album! The deluxe edition from Target has three extra songs, and those are great too! Go get them all!
Download Now: “Blank Space”, “Style”, “Shake It Off”, “I Wish You Would”, “Style”, “All You Had To Do Was Stay”

Ok y’all, let me know if you have any of these albums and what your favorite songs are! If you try

George Strait, one of the greatest men to ever sing country music, announced a couple of years ago that he was going on one last tour before he retired from touring. On June 7th, he played his final show at the Dallas Cowboys stadium. Neely and I were lucky enough to get tickets to the show, and we had such a great night!

I got up SUPER early Saturday morning and started the drive to Dallas.

Only in Texas…

It was so exciting to finally be reunited with Neely! We hadn’t seen each other since February!

We went to brunch at Number One, where we had the most fabulous blackberry muffin and a beautiful plate of strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries! After brunch, we headed to Northpark for a little shopping. Ally hadn’t made it back to Dallas from London yet, so Flat Ally went shopping with us!

I think she had a lot of fun :)

After some shopping, we had an early dinner at Mi Cocina, and then headed to Cowboys Stadium!

So excited!

Ally came with us too!

Asleep at the Wheel was the opening act! They’ve been around for over 40 years, so it was neat to get to see them play! They played for around an hour, and then it was time for the main event!

It’s George! He opened the show with “Check Yes or No”, one of my favorite songs!

Since this was his last show, he had lots of special guests that came out to sing with him. It was pretty incredible to see all of these amazing performers on stage with him! He ended up playing about forty songs, a great mix of songs from the ’80s through today, including “Amarillo By Morning”, “I Can Still Make Cheyenne”, and “I Saw God Today”.

Vince Gill was the first of the special guests! I was sooooooo excited to see him! I’m a big fan, and even though I saw him at Blake Shelton’s benefit concert last year, the giant screen was blocking my view, so I didn’t get to see him perform. It was nice to finally get to SEE him perform! He’s amazing!

Jason Aldean

Eric Church

Sheryl Crow

Martina McBride! I’ve been wanting to see her FOREVER! Her voice is just flawless.

Faith Hill

Alan Jackson! I’ve never been a huge Alan Jackson fan, so I was surprised at how giddy I got when he came on stage! It was amazing to see them perform together!

Miranda Lambert! She’s one of my favorites, and even though I’ve seen her a couple of times, I was so excited to see her again. She seemed so in awe of George, and you could tell how much it meant to her to perform with him. Side note-her sparkly boots were amazing!

Kenny Chesney! This guy puts on one of the best shows I’ve ever seen! He’s a great performer! He said the first tour he ever went on was a George Strait tour, so it meant a lot to him to be a part of George’s last show. They were great together!

At the end of the night, George brought everyone back out to sing “All My Ex’s Live in Texas” with him! So many awesome people on stage at the same time!

George ended the show with “The Cowboy Rides Away”. I have to admit I got a little teary as the show was coming to a close. He is such a legend in country music, and I’ve wanted to see him in concert for a very long time. I’m glad he will still be releasing new music, but it’s sad that he won’t be touring anymore.

It was also so great to spend a fun weekend with Neely! We don’t get to spend nearly enough time together, so even though it was a quick trip, it was great to have a little bit of  best friend time!

Have you seen George Strait in concert?

I’ve seen them in concert twice, once when they opened for Carrie Underwood and once when they headlined a show. They are awesome performers!

Anyway, in honor of their new CD, I have put together a list of my favorite LBT songs. If you haven’t heard their stuff, DEFINITELY check them out! From the few songs iTunes released early, the new CD is going to be amazing!

1. Bring It On Home

This is my absolute favorite one of theirs! From the first time I heard it, I was HOOKED! Beautiful song!

Album: The Road To Here

2. Vapor

This one has a great message about making the most of life before it’s gone. Beautiful!

Album: A Place To Land

3. Stay

This one is gorgeous too!

Album: The Road To Here

4. Looking for a Reason

Album: The Road To Here

5. Fine With Me

Album: The Road To Here

6. A Place To Land

Album: A Place To Land

7. Firebird Fly

Album: A Place To Land

8. Boondocks

Album: The Road To Here

and, from the new CD The Reason Why…

9. Kiss Goodbye

This song is beautiful too! Phillip’s voice is just so awesome!

10. Little White Church

Their newest hit! Awesome fun song!

Anyone else listen to Little Big Town? What do you think of them? As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts! I’m totally going to get their CD before work in the morning! :)

*1st picture is from www.littlebigtown.com. All of the rest belong to me!

Advertising Carrie’s show!!

Sprint Center bathroom

Opening act Tyler Dickerson-he was highly annoying

Gary Allan was FANTASTIC! I just love him!

Brooks & Dunn!

During “Only in America” they had several military servicemen come out on stage! Very moving…I wanted to cry!

I really hoped that Reba would make a surprise appearance since she sings several songs with them and is great friends with them. Their “Cowgirls Don’t Cry” video was the closest I got to seeing her :(
They did a great show, and I’m really glad that we went to see them!

Toyota sponsored the tour, and before the concert, they took free pictures and superimposed B&D in them! Kinda fun! It was definitely a great way to end a great trip! Can’t wait for next summer’s adventure!

Pioneer Woman has a list of fun Elvis facts on her homeschooling website today! Elvis is one of my all-time favorites! Check it out!

Be looking out for giveaway information in the next day or two! Hope you all have a great Monday!