On this tour, Tyler has been travelling solo with his band, but for the Texas tour dates, my friend's friend, Alyssa Bernal, was invited to open for him. She has a very pretty voice and definitely has stage presence. Her songs are very catchy and mellow, and my favorite one is called "Cali, Cali, Cali" which is about loving the state of California. She has a 3 song EP out right now that can be purchased on iTunes, and she's currently anxiously anticipating the release of her new album November 1st!
The main attraction of the night, of course, was Tyler Ward. I have to say that I was very impressed with his performance because from what I knew about him, he's made himself famous for making covers and playing originals on his acoustic guitar, but when him and his band took the stage, I was not expecting what they had in store for the night at all. There are 8 members to this band consisting of: Tyler, Alex and Jess (backup vocals and soloists), Epic (rapper), bassist, pianist, drummer, and lead guitarist. A diverse mix of instruments and sounds, and they make an amazing sound.
Immediately after they arrived on stage, their energy was the first thing the audience can notice because they're all seriously pumped up and having fun up there - it really shows. Another impressive thing that stood out to me is their genre range. They literally played a spectrum of different music from acoustic to pop rock to alternative to soft rock, country rock, jazz rock, hardcore, hip hop, and probably a few more. The 90 minute set list consisted of both original songs and cover songs, but even with the covers, they still rocked the venue. If I had to choose a favorite song...it would have to be "Party Rock Anthem" only because it was the most energetic song they played AND they all shuffled on stage in sync. The entire band moves in unison, and that's awesome to see.
I have to say that Tyler Ward and his crew are a group of genuinely talented people. Alex (pictured on left of Tyler) is his neighbor who just happens to have an amazing voice, and Jess (on right) was discovered by Tyler and invited to join them on tour because she also has a phenomenal voice. Epic is Tyler's friend who is an entertaining stage presence as a rapper, and the rest of the band is sick as hell on their instruments. Everyone on stage is talented and each contribute themselves to make this band great. They're not just another band hoping to get the praise and screams of millions of fangirls (although they did have some fangirl screaming), but Tyler and the gang have an audience of girls, guys, youngins, and even adults. They appeal to everyone.
Although Tyler is an artist, he also loves to produce music. He's well-known to find potential stars gaining popularity on YouTube and collaborating with them to record covers, helping them gain even more popularity. In a sense, he has "The Midas Touch" - anyone he reaches out to turns to gold. He's just a well-rounded guy who deserves to be in this industry and not to mention he's a cool dude to hang out with!
Man, I gotta say, I haven't been to a show THAT GOOD in a long time. It's probably the best one that I've been to ever just because they all have the entire package and present themselves very well. A great future lies ahead for everyone in that band, and I expect to hear more good music. Can't wait for them to be back in Texas again!
I've never heard Tyler Ward's music, and after reading this I want to go look him up and listen now.
ReplyDelete-Ashlye Elizondo