Blake Shelton brought his friends for a night of country at TD Garden
Get Starting Point
A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.
Enter Email
Sign Up
The career-leapfrogging jump from his very first single (the slow but heavy-hitting 'Austin,' where he changed a key line to 'Can't you tell, this is Boston, and I still love you'), to his latest ('Texas') inadvertently catalogued Shelton's drift from affecting country weeper to Post Malone-style pan-genre featurelessness.. So the periodic arrival of his support acts, each one taking the stage and singing with zero fanfare or introduction, served the additional purpose of grounding him in the genre that birthed him.
Morgan was laid-back and comfy on 'That's What I Love About Sunday' and dug in for a little more grit on the chugging thump of 'International Harvester.' With more molasses in his deep-voiced drawl and his hat pulled low over his eyes, Trace Adkins played everything close to the vest, but he had a relaxed command on the down and dirty groan of 'Honky Tonk Badonkadonk' and the pre-nostalgia of 'You're Gonna Miss This.'
Advertisement
Shelton performing with Craig Morgan, Trace Adkins, and Deana Carter.
Jamie Wendt
Best of all was Deana Carter, who came out joyous and strummy with 'We Danced Anyway' – which suggested Sixpence None The Richer playing 'I Hope You Dance' – and 'How Do I Get There' before wrapping up with a lovely 'Strawberry Wine,' a slow dance held tight. All four singers performed an acoustic set together at the tip of the stage, with one song from each, as the others joined with almost offhand vocals and guitar. Carter shone there, too, with 'You And Tequila,' a raw nerve of a song sung in a weary, defeated voice.
From there, Shelton took things home with George Strait's Western-swinging 'All My Ex's Live In Texas,' the rolling clomp of Alabama's 'Mountain Music' and the dark, twangy glare of 'God's Country,' complete with heavy, Bonham-esque drums. The good-natured bluster and sneer of 'Boys 'Round Here' brought things to a temporary close before an encore of 'God Gave Me You' closed things for real on a note of gratitude. 'God almighty, man, I love country music,' Shelton said as he launched into that final stretch, and he didn't make it hard to see why.
Emily Ann Roberts was the only artist of the night to get a dedicated set all to herself, which was both a blessing and a curse. Her opening slot, covering girls'-night-out sass, frisky Appalachian boot-stompers and devotional music, had the feel of her being left out (with an undercurrent of an acknowledgement that she was still too green to sit at the big kids' table), but it also gave her a chance to breathe that not even the headliner was afforded.
Advertisement
BLAKE SHELTON
Featuring Craig Morgan, Deana Carter, Trace Adkins, with Emily Ann Roberts
At: TD Garden, Friday, March 7
Marc Hirsh can be reached at
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Kelly Clarkson Was Allegedly ‘In Talks' To Star in a New Show With Ex Brandon Blackstock's Former Stepmom
Kelly Clarkson's family dynamics with Brandon Blackstock almost led to an iconic season of The Voice. But it sounds like their 2020 separation put the brakes on what could have been an amazing project. In 2019, Clarkson and Reba McEntire were 'in talks' to do the reality competition series together, according to The U.S. Sun. McEntire used to be married to Narvel Blackstock, Brandon's father, but they divorced in 2015. Still, the tight relationship between the women was something that fans would have loved to watch. More from SheKnows How Kelly Clarkson Faced Brandon Blackstock's 'Catastrophic' News That Changed Her Family Forever The media outlet also claimed the other two seats would have included Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani since they were all tied to The Voice. At the time, Shelton was represented by Brandon, so pairing the quad up together made sense. 'There were once talks of doing a family-themed season [of The Voice], it was a handful of years back, around 2019,' an insider alleged to the media outlet. 'The coaches would've been Reba, Kelly, Gwen, and Blake. The family theme being Kelly was Reba's daughter-in-law, and Kelly and Blake having the same manager at the time.' The 'overlapping' relationships would have made for a must-see season of The Voice, but as the pandemic hit and Clarkson's divorce began, the idea 'fizzled out.' McEntire and Narvel were married in 1989 and shared son Shelby, 35, together, but the country star considered her stepchildren a big part of her family. Brandon, Chassidy, and Shawna were from Narvel's first marriage to Elisa Gayle Ritter — yet McEntire always insisted that they were her 'blood,' per Entertainment Tonight in 2021. She also explained to the entertainment outlet that she didn't pick a side in their divorce — she loved Brandon and Clarkson equally. 'Kelly and I do talk, we text, and I love them both, and so I can't play favorites because I've been a friend of Kelly's for a long time,' McEntire said. Toward the end of Brandon's life, McEntire 'spent more time with the Blackstock crew,' per Us Weekly. 'They really came together,' said a source. Clarkson and her ex-husband's divorce might have been 'contentious,' but it seems like everyone came through to support him in his time of of SheKnows 13 Famous Women You Totally Forgot Elvis Dated Celebrities Who Died Tragically Young: Kelley Mack, Lucy Markovic, & More Our Favorite Photos of Dazzling Couple JFK Jr. & Carolyn Bessette Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Everything We Know About Kelly Clarkson's Late Ex-Husband Brandon Blackstock
The news of Blackstock's death came just one day after Clarkson revealed her ex-husband -- with whom she shared two children -- was battling an illness. Kelly Clarkson's ex-husband, Brandon Blackstock, has passed away -- just one day after she announced that she was postponing her Las Vegas residency due to the talent manager's undisclosed illness. On Thursday, a rep for the Blackstock family announced that he died following a private battle with cancer in a statement to People. He was 48. "It is with great sadness that we share the news that Brandon Blackstock has passed away," the statement read. "Brandon bravely battled cancer for more than three years. He passed away peacefully and was surrounded by family. We thank you for your thoughts and prayers and ask everyone to respect the family's privacy during this very difficult time." The news came after Clarkson -- who shared daughter River, 11, and son Remington, 9, with Blackstock -- shared a statement on Instagram, in which she said she was postponing the August dates of her residency to be there for her children because Blackstock was ill. "Unfortunately, I need to postpone the remainder of the August Studio Session dates in Las Vegas," the Grammy winner shared on Instagram on August 6. While I normally keep my personal life private, this past year, my children's father has been ill and at this moment, I need to be fully present for them." "I am sincerely sorry to everyone who bought tickets to the shows and I so appreciate your grace, kindness and understanding," she added. Who Is Brandon Blackstock? Clarkson and Blackstock, a talent manager and producer, began dating in February 2012, first meeting years earlier at the Academy of Country Music Awards in 2006 after they were introduced by the latter's father, Narvel, who was Clarkson's manager at the time. The pair became engaged the following December, and tied the knot in October 2013. The wedding marked Blackstock's second marriage. He was previously married to Melissa Ashworth from 2001 to 2012, and welcomed two children: Savannah and Seth. Following Clarkson and Blackstock's marriage, the former became a daughter-in-law to Reba McEntire, who was Blackstock's former stepmother. The country icon was married to Narvel Blackstock from 1989 until 2015. In the years since her divorce, McEntire has remained close with the Blackstocks and Clarkson, who was friends with McEntire even before she met Blackstock. Meanwhile, Blackstock and Clarkson went on to welcome two children together: River and Remington, who were born in 2014 and 2016, respectively. Blackstock also became Clarkson's manager during their marriage, and was an executive producer on her daytime talk show, The Kelly Clarkson Show. Among his other clients was Clarkson's The Voice co-host, Blake Shelton. However, after seven years of marriage, the couple called it quits in June 2020, with Clarkson filing for divorce. The separation sparked a tumultuous legal battle before both their divorce and custody arrangement. Clarkson and Blackstock's divorce was finalized in 2022. In 2023, Clarkson was awarded $2.6 million from Blackstock for overstepping his role as her manager in securing her work, including The Voice. What Kelly Publicly Said About Her Divorce While Clarkson kept her personal live rather private, she did address and reflect on her divorce multiple times over the years. During an interview with Today in September 2020, the American Idol alum spoke out about her divorce filing. "I mean, it's no secret. My life has been a little bit of a dumpster…personally, it's been a little hard the last couple months," Clarkson said at the time, per Just Jared. "I've been talking to friends that have been through divorce. I don't know how people go through that without having some kind of outlet because it is the worst thing ever for everyone involved." Later that month, she opened up about the split on the Season 2 premiere of The Kelly Clarkson Show, addressing her divorce with her virtual audience. "What I'm dealing with is hard because it involves more than just my heart, it involves a lot of little hearts," she shared. "I'm usually very open and I usually talk about everything, but in this case I will talk a little bit here and there about it affects me personally, but probably won't go too far into it because, you know, I'm a Mama Bear and my kids come first." "I probably won't speak about it too much, but you will definitely will hear it musically, probably," she went on to add. "That's how I became a songwriter. Music's always been my outlet to help me get through difficult times." The following December, the "Since U Been Gone" singer shared how music was there for her amid her divorce, telling guest Garth Brooks on an episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show that one of his songs helped her figure out her own emotions at the time. "So I'm going through a divorce and there's been like a lot of books and people always give you stuff to like help, especially when you have kids and stuff," explained Clarkson. "And I know you've been divorced as well. It's like, man, there's so much shame and guilt, and everybody sends you stuff, and I was just kind of working through it." "I couldn't quite nail down the feeling, I was like, you don't want to crap on it, you don't want to say that didn't count or matter, but you don't know what to put in it because it didn't work out how you wanted," she continued. "I kid you not, I was listening to my playlist and 'The Dance' came on and I was like, that's the thing." A few years later, Clarkson reflected on her divorce during an appearance on the Angie Martinez IRL podcast in March 2023. The "Because of You" singer said she was "on the floor crying" over the "loss" of her marriage at the time of her split. "It's like a death honestly…you grieve something you thought was forever," she said. Clarkson -- who was promoting her album Chemistry at the time -- continued, "I was trying to find a word – it might be one of the songs on the album -- that really described the whole thing. I didn't want everybody to think I was just coming out with some 'I'm angry' or 'I'm sad,' just those two emotions. This album is definitely the arc of an entire relationship." In January 2024, the "Breakaway" songstress described her divorce as "extraordinarily hard" during an interview with People. "You feel alone, and it's just a blessing to be able to have that outlet for those emotions that are overwhelming," she said. Blackstock is survived by his four children, his grandson Lake, his father Narvel Blackstock, and his three siblings: Shelby, Shawna, and Chassidy. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Ryan Williams ditched nail polish this summer, but will it return for Alabama football season?
Wide receiver Ryan Williams brought a tradition of his own to Alabama football last season. "Hollywood" went viral week after week for what color his fingernails were painted, donning purple, yellow and green ahead of LSU and even going as far inking an NIL deal with polish brand Sally Hansen. However, the sophomore star's nails were noticeably bare at media day. Williams was willing to offer an explanation for the absence, and whether his iconic manicures will make another appearance this season. MORE FROM MEDIA DAY! Who wins in an Alabama football footrace: Ryan Williams or Rico Scott? 'He ain't faster than me' WHAT RYAN WILLIAMS SAID: Why Alabama football quarterback Ty Simpson 'knows he deserves to talk' this season "It's just been, you know, fall camp, and even this summer I don't think I have really," Williams said. Instead, Williams says his offseason has "just been focused on ball." Will Ryan Williams' painted nails be making a comeback for Alabama football 2025 season? As the season heats up with the first kickoff of the fall on August 30 at Florida State, is there time for the painted nails to make a comeback? "1,000 percent," Williams said. He knew exactly what question was coming next. What color is up first? Will it be the Florida State's Garnet and Gold? Could he switch it up with FSU's Seminole Heritage turquoise? Or will Williams start his second season with a traditional Crimson and White? Just like last year, it's not going to be up to him. "I've got to ask my little sister first," Williams said. Emilee Smarr covers Alabama basketball and Crimson Tide athletics for the Tuscaloosa News. She can be reached via esmarr@ This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: No nail polish for Ryan Williams at Alabama football media day: Will it return?
