Friday night was an unforgettable one in Downtown Bowling Green, Kentucky, as country music star Craig Campbell came into town on his “Craig Campbell, by God” tour and put on a great show – alongside a pair of quickly-rising younger artists in Styles Haury and Parker Hamilton.
Campbell, now 43, performed as if he was still in his 20’s – singing his biggest hits like “Outskirts of Heaven,” “Outta My Head” and “Keep Them Kisses Comin'” in front of a strong crowd at The Capitol Theatre. He had his iconic Craig Campbell-labeled piano bar sitting on the stage and even hopped on it to play a few songs during the concert.
While Campbell was a delight to hear live for the first time, Styles Haury quickly caught the attention of those in attendance by coming out, taking a seat on his stool and jokingly asking the crowd, “How we doin’ Indiana?” as a classic April Fools’ Day joke. After telling the crowd that he was just kidding with them, Haury proceeded to begin playing a near-45-minute set, which was highlighted by his hit single “A Man That Didn’t Know Nothin’,” a song in which Haury reflects on lessons learned from his father – who has played a big role in supporting his dream of playing country music.
Along with “A Man That Didn’t Know Nothin’,” Haury also debuted a new single which he wrote with Craig Campbell on the tour titled “We Did”. I was able to spend some time backstage with Haury and Campbell and heard the new song before it was played to the crowd, and that really caught my attention. Let me just say this: It’s going to be a big hit – as well is “Truck I Grew Up In,” another single that Haury and Campbell pieced together on their tour together.
While Craig Campbell and Styles Haury both put together great performances, so did local artist Parker Hamilton – who had the opportunity to get the night started off on a high note. A Louisville, Kentucky native who has released singles such as “Raise Hell Praise Dale” and “Holler At Me,” Hamilton is really starting to make a climb in the country music world and should be consistently playing on Broadway in Nashville before too long. Alongside those two singles, Hamilton also debuted a new song titled “Daddy’s Money” during his set on Friday, which is a HARDY-style hit that should be recorded and released before too long.
When the crowd thought the night couldn’t get any better, country music songwriter Matt McKinney came out during Craig Campbell‘s set and played the big hit he wrote for Trey Lewis – “Dicked Down in Dallas.” That really brought the crowd to their feet and put the icing on the cake for what was a fantastic night in Downtown Bowling Green.
Tyler’s Final Thought: Getting the opportunity to hangout backstage at The Capitol with Craig, Styles, Parker, Matt and everyone else made for a night I’ll never forget. There’s nothing quite better than hanging out, talking country music and hearing unreleased songs get played around a couch and a few chairs.
About Tyler Mansfield: Tyler Mansfield is a media and journalism professional who currently resides in Bowling Green, Kentucky. He is currently a full-time sports journalist for the On3.com network, which covers national college basketball and football. Prior to joining On3, Tyler spent six-plus years working for the Rivals.com network covering Western Kentucky University athletics. A journalism and marketing graduate of WKU, Tyler has always been a big country music fan and enjoys attending concerts, meeting artists and writing stories about it all. He profiled Kentucky-based artist Parker Hamilton, who made a return to country music after a lengthy break and is quickly rising. You can read that story HERE.
Tyler Mansfield can be reached at tylermansfieldsports@gmail.com, on Instagram at @TylerMansfieldMedia and on Twitter at @TMansfieldMedia.
Tyler Mansfield 