Craig Campbell hosts a spontaneous tattoo party during a recent show in Louisville, KY
Craig Campbell took to Facebook Live on Wednesday, August 3rd, and let the world watch as his newest tattoo was being engraved on his left forearm. During the hour and a half of body art, Campbell would respond to viewer's questions as they were coming across the screen. I was watching the live stream and simply commented, "looking forward to the show tomorrow night in Louisville" to which Campbell said "Yes, Louisville, it's going to be a great time. Tell everyone to come on out and ya'll will be the first to see the new tattoo." Campbell was appearing the next evening at PBR at Fourth Street LIVE! in Louisville, KY for a radio station pop-up concert with supporting acts, Josh Goodlett and Billy Brown. With that comment, a spontaneous social media firestorm began between Goodlett and Brown promoting the show and calling it a "new tattoo party", to which management for the supporting acts took to heart and had temporary tattoos of each performer's logo made so that everyone at the show would have a "new tattoo" which were given out to patrons throughout the show.
The three performers seemed like old friends before the show, as they were hanging out in the back of the bar, having a few beers, taking selfies with each other and making sure they took the time to meet fans as they wandered up. It was a very relaxed, just a group of guys getting ready to play some music for some friends, type of vibe.
Brown opened the show with some of his current originals and a few cover songs, all well-received and executed. Next, Goodlett, who’s current radio single titled "I Don't Usually Do This" which is currently climbing the charts, took the stage and offered up a mixture of originals and cover tunes as well. Campbell closed out the night with a stage presence that made you "turn around and pay attention". If you were not aware of who he was before he took the stage, you definitely would when he was finished. You could've heard a pin drop when Campbell went into his current single, "Outskirts of Heaven" as everyone has a special place in their hearts for this type of song and Campbell's delivery and emotion with this one is out of the park. He mixed it up with everything from "Achy Breaky Heart" by Billy Ray Cyrus, to cuts from his debut album, such as "Family Man".
While Campbell debuted his first album in 2011 which was not well-received by radio or fans alike, however with his sophomore album, "Never Regret" in 2013, Campbell carved out his place in country music with "Keep Them Kisses Comin'" which led to fans going back to the first release in 2011 and finding there is more to love about this down-to-earth, country, take me as I am, singer, than they first realized.
Campbell revamped everything, from the new label, new producers, and new songwriters for his highly anticipated album scheduled to release within the next few months. The first cut from the new project is "Outskirts of Heaven", which Campbell co-wrote. It is a song that touches the core of your heart and reminds you of why you love country music. Campbell has taken this single and it is becoming a movement, of sorts. His social media platforms focus on this topic of "Heaven" and so many different meanings for this particular song, including stories from fans that they have submitted stories of what the song means to them and a video on his website titled "Heaven: According To Kids" where the question of "what is your idea of Heaven" is presented to children and their answers are priceless.
Campbell's visit to Louisville, while scheduled as a pop-up concert by a local station, took on a new life that was sparked by a simple Facebook Live video, tattoo, and a simple comment. It turned into a great night for all involved, becoming more of a personal, intimate show and left everyone wanting more, including Campbell, who gave us this quote on this night, "The show at PBR Louisville was awesome! The crowd was amazing, singing along and having a damn good time. I even had folks screaming out album cut requests which tell me they were true CC fans and I was digging it."
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About Laura Lou
JournalistBeginning about age 13, music always been my “safe place”, my “escape”, it became a part of who I am. My background includes being a photographer/journalist for newspapers, magazines and radio stations and more recently I have been an artist manager. What I continue to strive to learn is, what is important to the fans/readers? I find that the answer is always that they want to feel close to the artist they are supporting. The human contact that we all need is something that I want to deliver to anyone that happens to read something I write or see a photograph I shoot. It is important to me to provide that experience, because I am, after all, still always a “fan” and that giddy 13-year-old girl is simply amazed! I never imagined that my passion and love for music would lead me where I am today! I use the hashtag #iamtheluckiestgirliknow because I cannot believe how blessed I am! I’m excited to see “what happens next” and take you all along with me! This is going to be amazing…
