Something special

I've been to a lot of concerts. I wish I had a way to calculate how many. All I know is that my love of live music began with New Kids on the Block in second grade and since my New Year's resolution in 2011, I try to go to one every month.

I've never been to a truly bad concert. Once, I saw Blake Shelton open for Brad Paisley and he was so drunk and obnoxious, I knew I'd never pay to see him as an individual. But that's about the worst I've ever seen. But then there are good concerts. Great concerts. Amazing concerts. Concerts where you are relatively sober but walk out into the night feeling high. For me, those concerts have been, in no particular order:

1. Justin Timberlake and Jay Z in N.Y.C.
2. Garth Brooks in Charleston, S.C.
3. The Rolling Stones in Raleigh
4. Pearl Jam in Greenville, S.C.

The latest addition to that list is Chris Stapleton, Charlotte N.C.

Long before Chris set foot on stage to sing "Drink you away" with Justin Timberlake in 2015, I was a fan. His "What are you listening to" was a constant repeat play of mine in 2013. His soulful sound a bluesy voice got me every time. I think there is something so special about Chris Stapleton. He's not pop country at all. He reminds me of both Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson. If you know me at all, you know this is about as high as praise gets for me.

Showing more similarity to Cash, Chris doesn't have a woman behind him. His woman is always beside him. Morgane Stapleton, armed with a tambourine, sings harmony along with her husband. The two of them together is one of the most beautiful sounds I've ever heard. "That's what an angel sounds like," this drunk guy behind me yelled. Of course, I high-fived him.

His song, "Fire Away"is my personal favorite. While the powerful lyrics can sound like another typical love song, the music video tells the real story. "Fire Away" is a story about mental health, suicide and loving someone despite all the challenge that can bring.

Saturday night, about 3/4 of the way through the show, Chris strummed the first two chords of "Fire Away" and without provocation, the crowd went nuts. Chris stopped, kind of startled. He tried to start again and the crowd kept screaming. And screaming. It was a good three or four minutes before he was able to start the song. And the crowd kept singing, as loudly as they could, throughout the entire song. I'm not talking about the cheesy singing where the singer turns the mic to the crowd. I am talking about real, spontaneous, singing. Twenty-thousand people just belting it out.

At the end of the song, Chris and his wife seemed totally overwhelmed and asked everyone to turn the lights on the phone and sing it again. "I want you to sing it again, louder than last time, but I am not sure that's possible," he said.

So, everyone whips out their phones. A few old dudes even pulled out their lighters. And we sang it again. And on that perfect May night, (Yes, even the weather was perfect) it felt like everything in the world was right. It was one of those truly special moments that make you glad to be alive.