JULY MOON

Opry Plaza Summer Concert Series Powered by Whiskey Jam

Friday July 28, 2023

@ Grand Ole Opry House Plaza in Nashville, TN

(Review by: Jeffrey Kurtis)

As the dog days of summer continued to press into Middle Tennessee and temperatures reached the 100-degree mark, it didn’t stop the country music faithful from showing up early with unbridle excitement for this past Friday night’s Grand Ole Opry show.

While inside the Opry House the famed circle was fixin’ to be filled with the decadent sounds of Rhonda Vincent, Tiera Kennedy, Rhett Akins, Mike Snider, and more, the party was first ignited an hour before the doors officially opened when hot rising trio July Moon hit the outdoor stage with a groove laden set as part of this summer’s Opry Plaza Summer Concert Series Powered by Whiskey Jam.

The trio, consisting of Cassidy Daniels, Piper Bateman, and Braelyn Watt, caught attention earlier this year with their ultra-catchy, debut single “Champagne Plans,” bringing their influences of Fleetwood Mac, The Eagles, and The Chicks to the forefront of their modern kissed sound that’s fueled by stellar harmonies and infectious melodies.

Pieces of the overall puzzle that is July Moon flowed through their several original selections during their hour-long performance, shining the bright spotlight on who they are while balancing against precise cover selections that not only tapped an ear into their background, but skillfully drew Opry goers to the front of the stage one note at a time.

Kicking up the energy on the plaza, swerving the immense heat to satisfy the early arrivers, they blasted into their set with that mentioned single, “Champagne Plans,” instantly putting on an ear catching display of their stellar harmonies and addictive, toe-tapping melodies; two signature attributes that we’d see spread throughout the set over the next hour.

“We’re so grateful that y’all are hanging out here with us in this heat,” Cassidy graciously stated, noting the temperatures that had now risen to three digits as they dripped their blended harmony into an amazing version of Pistol Annies “Hell On Heels,” expertly taking momentary turns to balance their individually in the verses by each taking lead positions, enticing the crowd while slapping the proper grittiness into the familiarity of the fiery song.

“You Think You Know Someone,” their most current release, induced a sway along within the gathering crowd with its insatiably catchy melody, while the softer, mid-tempo flavor of “Rose Colored Lies” saw Braelyn standing tall as she pumped her impeccable vocals through the heart tugging lyric which transparently spoke of allowing your emotions to overtake your better judgement.

“This is a cover song, but it’s one that’s so special to us because it’s where we got our name from,” explained Piper as she slid into the lead role on Deana Carter’s “Strawberry Wine,” moving couples closer to one another for an intimate slow dance moment on the plaza as the Opry ticket holders allowed the nostalgic mood of the song to hold tightly to their excitement for their upcoming night with “The Show That Made Country Music Famous.”

“So, we just announced today that we’re going to be releasing our third single,” Piper exclaimed to a cheer from the crowd as the trio poured into the heartfelt song that they performed at Bateman’s wedding last year, “Someone Like Me,” aptly pulling the crowd to the front of the stage through its vibey, catchy melody as they popped their hips and tapped their toes, commanding the stage while highlighting her better half and tenderly admitting that “only someone like you could love someone like me.

“Well….we wrote this song about checking someone out to a whole new level and that’s all I’m gonna say ‘bout it cause it’s kinda mean,” Cassidy told with a chuckle as they bopped into the 1-2 beat of “Hotel Heart,” a mid-tempo kissed anthem that kept the crowd pumping a fist alongside the rhythm of the chorus as they slapped into the spunky swagger of kiss off sass.

“We love country music, but we love some good ‘ol rock-n-roll too,” said Piper as the opening notes of The Rolling Stones “Honky Tonk Women” immediately grabbed the crowd’s attention as the twist of her soulfully blues embedded vocal secured the opening verse, adding a fresh element to the perspective of the song as they swiveled through the smashing of guitar licks and the slapping of bass to kick into a rousing sing along with the crowd.

“Mama’s Recipe,” a song which they dedicated to anyone who has a crazy mama or is one themselves, saw them intriguingly shift melodically into a moody swampiness to offer a full spectrum view into the depth of who July Moon is as their signatures continued shining within the groove along rhythm of the brooding song.

Likewise, their stellar cover of Tyler Childers “Whitehouse Road,” continued to see them wearing their defining characteristics on their sleeves, impressing the crowd as the underlining western flare slid snuggly against the swamp fueled punch.

With the Opry start time ticking closer and closer, a perfectly placed cover of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” gripped the crowd’s excitement by transferring their modern infused sound to a throwback style that injected the natural bluegrass flavor into the instrumentation as Piper’s deeper lead vocal allowed the crisp harmonies to elevate that much bigger when they popped the chorus.

“I want this to be a message to the young girls out there… and the awesome moms and single moms,” Cassidy told with a heartfelt appreciation wrapped in her voice as they slowed down their souped-up pace into “What A Woman Should Be,” bringing the crowd to an impressive hush as the plaza momentarily turned into more of a listening room type of feel as everyone leaned in closer for a listen to each word of the empowering anthem.

Returning to that sweet spot of their mid-tempo sound, Piper hit into the slow hip swaying rhythm of “Fall When You Fall,” before they then punched into their definition of Dolly Parton and Led Zeppelin having musical baby with “Crazy Love,” showcasing a healthy balance of both sides of their influences by softly starting on country induced harmonies before kicking the instrumentation into a blues drive that built into the classic rock strike of the jam styled outro.

An ultra-impressive take on “Boondocks” walked their perfected harmonies in conjunction with those of Little Big Town on the original, while masterfully adding twists of originality to make it their own while still keeping the irresistible sing along qualities well intact.

“We got any whiskey drinkin’ women in the house tonight?” knowingly asked Cassidy as she was met with a rousing cheer as they closed their set with “Whiskey Drinkin’ Woman,” boldly sealing the deal on  why they are one of country music’s hottest groups to watch, leaving one final, groove-laden impression on the audience as the doors to the Opry officially opened!

FULL SET LIST
1) Champagne Plans
2) Hell On Heels (Pistol Annies cover)
3) You Think You Know Someone
4) Rose Colored Lies
5) Strawberry Wine (Deana Carter cover)
6) Someone Like Me
7) Hotel Heart
8) Honky Tonk Women (The Rolling Stones cover)
9) Mama's Recipe
10) Whitehouse Road (Tyler Childers cover)
11) Jolene (Dolly Parton cover)
12) What A Woman Should Be
13) Fall When You Fall
14) Crazy Love
15) Boondocks (Little Big Town cover)
16) Whiskey Drinkin' Woman 

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