HALEY MAE CAMPBELL

Opry Plaza Summer Concert Series Powered by Whiskey Jam

Friday July 7, 2023

@ Grand Ole Opry House Plaza in Nashville, TN

(Review by: Jeffrey Kurtis)

When discussing country music’s strongest foundation, there’s no other institution that holds the genre on its shoulders like the Grand Ole Opry. 

For nearly 98 years now, their hallowed stage has created legends, been the accomplishment that every artist strives to achieve, and has consistently struck the right chord with fans by not only delivering stellar performances night after night, but by giving them so many “Only In Nashville” moments.

Continuing to uphold the rich traditions of the country music genre across town for the past 10 years in the Midtown district, Whiskey Jam brings several touches of the new era to their weekly blitz of who’s who in the emerging talent category among a healthy mix of who’s next.

So, when the Grand Ole Opry combined their efforts with those of Whiskey Jam to collaborate on this year’s ultra-popular, summer plaza concert series, the excitement level reached buzzworthy status for a lineup that has already included amazing performances by Kayley Bishop, Emily Ann Roberts, Julia Cole, Shaylen, Brit Taylor, Taylor Austin Dye, and this Friday night, Haley Mae Campbell.

Crafting a modern infused sound that balances the edges of country and pop and wraps into endearing stories that pull from the ideals of 90’s country within her lyrical approach, Campbell weaves through real life moments, tightly gripping the heart of the listener while captivating the audience through dynamic performances that have made her one of the hottest rising talents on the country music circuit today.

Over just this past year, she’s experienced breakout success on the back of “Never Been In Love” while continually impressing with each subsequent song release from her most recent EP, 20Something; “Thank You Card,” “Ms. Fire,” and “Champagne Problem.”

In front of solid crowd on the plaza ahead of a Grand Ole Opry show that included Charles Esten, Vince Gill, Jake Hoot, Gene Watson, and more, a naturally, wide demographic of country music fan found their way to the front of the plaza stage to catch Campbell’s electrifying performance.

Dancing her way to the front the stage with an unbridled excitement in her step, Haley instantly ignited the party when she opened with the ultra-catchy “Thank You Card” before then swerving her otherwise sugary laced vocal into the gravelly grit of Gretchen Wilson’s “Here For The Party,” the first of 4 covers she’d play on the night.

Continuing to pop the crowd with danceable rhythms, “Champagne Problem” saw her drawing more and more people to the front of the stage as her energy level completely transcended the crowd as she wowed with her crisp vocal and infectious melodies.

“One of the things about the Grand Ole Opry is their celebration of original music, and so we thought being here playing tonight, we’d try some brand-new stuff out on ya,” Campbell enthusiastically stated. “If you love the ladies of the 90’s country, then I hope you like this one,” she introduced as “Lucky Girl” pulled influence from what many consider to be one of country music’s greatest era’s to deliver an optimistic bounce into its silver lining lyric that sung of appreciating anything that life throws at you, knowing full well that even the bad stuff will turn out good on the flipside.

“This song is so special to me,” gushed Campbell. “It’s the first that I ever had listed on Spotify, and not only was it listed, but it made it all the way up to number one,” she excitedly told as her long tenured fans in the crowd sang along as Haley drove back to her 2021 Growing Up album with “Anything But Yellow.”

On the exact day that Taylor Swift dropped her “Taylor’s Version” of her Sparks Fly album, Campbell engaged the twenty something demographic in the audience with a cover of “Sparks Fly,” before continuing to pour upbeat anthems over the crowd as hips across the plaza began to pop during “No Such Thing (Casual Drinkin’).”

“This is such a special show because I think it’s the closest you can be to playing the circle without being in the circle,” Campbell alluded to the hallowed Opry Stage mere feet away from where she was playing as she gratefully thanked the crowd for coming out early and hanging with her.

“Now, it’s a pretty rare occurrence for me to do a ballad in my shows, but I thought the Opry crowd can handle one,” she said with a nod as “Looking At Houses” softened the pace of the show, pulling strongly from her 90’s country influences while tugging heartstrings through the lyric that sang of watching from the sidelines as your ex moves into the life you wanted with him with his someone new.

“Smoke It,” an ultra-memorable song that kept the energetic vibe of the night going strong, smacked right into a stunning cover of Kenny Chesney’s “Somewhere With You,” which before playing Campbell shared, “This is actually the song that made me realize that country music was kind of cool.”

The pounding drumbeat that kicked off “Never Not A Good Time,” her recent duet with Presley & Taylor, kept the crowd in the palm of her hand as several on the plaza danced and sang along with her as she bopped across the stage, commanding it left to right, right to left, pulling everyone further into the party atmosphere that was now 100% in full swing.

Autobiographically bringing the crowd into her diary with “20Something,” the title track of her new EP which has its CMT music video premier coming up later this month, Haley embraced the being young mistakes we all make in life, optimistically shrugging her shoulders as she chalked them up to simply being twenty something years old; segueing into the stunning “Didn’t Have To Drink Another,” flooring the crowd with the soft, mid-tempo flare as she punched through the emotional heart tug of wishing that he’d miss her when he wasn’t drinking and not only when he is.

After plugging the amazing experience of being in the audience for live Grand Ole Opry show, she told with a smile of being able to see one of her favorites recently play the Opry - Jo Dee Messina - engaging an incredible sing along when she paid homage to her influence with a spot-on version of  “I’m Alright.”

“I’m so excited about this next song, and I think this is just the coolest place to be playing it,” Campbell said as she dropped into the insatiably catchy melody of “Eighth Day,” enticing a rousing sing along as she namechecked the Opry to a great ovation while twirling through a list of all the different ingredients that God melded together when creating the music we all know and love, landing at the incredible hook, “On the eighth day, God made country music!”

After humbly thanking the crowd for coming out to see her play, Haley closed her set with the breakthrough, viral sensation “Never Been In Love,” receiving a shower of praise from the crowd when they swayed along in unison and sang back every word with her.

With a crowd that’s in constant motion whenever you play this stage, you’re first met with the early arrivers who have tickets for that night’s Opry show and are curiously checking out the vibe radiating the plaza, while when the Opry House doors open, an entirely different flavor lands at the plaza as the late comers stop by to catch a quick glimpse.

That said, it takes a very special artist to command both ends of this type of crowd. Haley Mae Campbell is that special artist! With an extremely upbeat set of original material, she enticed everyone passing through the plaza to stop by and listen while then slapping them with well-timed covers to hold them firmly in place, winning over new fans while satisfying her diehards one note at a time.

FULL SET LIST
1) Thank You Card
2) Here For The Party (Gretchen Wilson cover)
3) Champagne Problem
4) Lucky Girl
5) Anything But Yellow
6) Sparks Fly (Taylor Swift cover)
7) No Such Thing (Casual Drinkin’)
8) Looking At Houses
9) Smoke It
10) Somewhere With You (Kenny Chesney cover)
11) Never Not A Good Time
12) 20Something
13) Didn’t Have To Drink
14) I’m Alright (Jo Dee Messina cover)
15) Eighth Day
16) Never Been In Love

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