DRAKE MILLIGAN

Grand Ole Opry Debut After Party

Wednesday October 5, 2022

@ The Nashville Palace in Nashville, TN

Making a debut on the hallowed stage of the Grand Ole Opry is a monumental milestone for any country music artist, but it’s even sweeter when the Opry is in full celebration mode.

Broken Bow Records recording artist Drake Milligan, who many new fans will recognize from his recent 3^rd place finish on America’s Got Talent, achieved his Opry milestone during the same week that “the show that made country music famous” reached one of their own – their incredible 97^th birthday!

But for an artist, this is a moment to be celebrated even after the red curtain has closed on the Opry stage for the evening and their time in the circle has come to an end, and when in Rome….you go from the most famous stage in country music to one of the most legendary for a good time after party.

The Nashville Palace, the heartbeat of Music Valley and the place that’s widely recognized for giving Randy Travis a line cook position when he was first cutting his teeth in music, welcomed Drake Milligan and a heaping helping of his rabid fan base to their stage for a rip-roaring, full-band celebration.

Surrounded by walls littered with flashing neon signs and posters of Cash, George and Tammy, Dean Dillon, and an array of the legends who paved the way, Milligan immediately tilted into his rockabilly kissed honky-tonking country style when he added his unique flavor to the Travis Tritt classic “T-R-O-U-B-L-E,” using the song as clever way to soundcheck while instantly getting the crowd tapping their toes, bouncing their shoulders, and bopping their heads with the souped up adrenaline that he kicked into the familiar tune.

“Let’s do a rock-n-roll song that I did on America’s Got Talent,” Milligan announced to his band as he shimmied across the stage throughout “Kiss Goodbye All Night” while dancing in unison with his lead guitarist during the songs midway break, pausing for a 10-second pose with a big smile on his face so the audience could snap some pictures as the female dominated crowd hooted and hollered.

“It’s still so unreal to me that I got to play that stage and stand in the circle,” Milligan stated referring to the Grand Ole Opry as he humbly breathed in the moment that occurred just a few hours prior.

“What do ya say we honky-tonk a little bit?” Milligan asked as he slid into a classic country style on “Over Drinkin’ Under Thinkin’,” which expertly suited the atmosphere inside the legendary venue as it recalled the 1970’s era of dusty honky-tonk anthems.

If it’s any indication by the amount of people singing along with it, then “Don’t Look Down,” the first slower paced song that Milligan injected into his hour-long set,” is the clear-frontrunner and obvious fan favorite that is destined for his next success.

“This is one of the first songs I wrote when I came to Nashville,” Milligan mused. “I’m from Texas and I love Western swing music. I said to myself when I got here, that’s what Nashville needs!... They didn’t,” he said with a laugh as he continued, “but I did get Vince Gill to come and sing this one on the record with me (his debut album Dallas/Fort Worth),” he finished as he took us straight to the dance floor with the two-steppin’ rhythm of “Goin’ Down Swingin’,” transporting us back to a time when Bob Willis was king.

He continued to stay in that Texas dancehall style as he pressed into “Tipping Point,” followed closely by “Bad Day To Be A Beer,” which leaned into a heavy influence that shined on Mickey Gilley as well as teetering into the rock-n-roll infused style of his famous cousin, Jerry Lee Lewis.

With a sexy bounce embedded into the bass heavy, mid-tempo rhythm, Milligan kept the crowd swaying along with him as they shouted back the lyrics of “Hating Everything She Tries On,” while segueing into “She,” the second softer pace song of the set which was met with a rousing ovation during its opening notes followed couples hitting the dance floor in front of the stage for a close to one another slow dance.

Drake danced across the front of the stage with the Spanish tinted groove through the intro of “Hearts Don’t Break Even,” before securing his place at center stage behind the mic with one leg bent at the knee, bouncing his heel to the rhythm as he wrapped his rich vocal into another fan favorite.

Igniting a fire in the crowd (pun intended), Milligan matched the vibe of the room yet again with a very well-placed cover of George Strait’s “The Fireman,” during which the crowd bopped along with the bass as if it controlled their movements while Milligan spit out the lyrics in rapid fire style, but allowed enough room for each individual player on stage to take a quick moment in the spotlight as the fiddle sawed, the guitars shredded, and the drums provided an insatiable backbeat.

Continuing with what we already slightly saw during the previous song, Milligan gave plenty of room to the boys in the band to take the spotlight from him during “Cowboy Kind of Way,” which he backed right into what he described as a “sad country song,” “Save It For A Sunny Day.”

“This one really features the boys in the band, so y’all give it up for them,” Milligan gratefully shared while praising his band as they drove into “Long Haul,” a toe-tapping trucking song that immediately carried shades of Cash and the Sun Records sound in its melody as Milligan shook his hips ala Elvis while his band members led the crowd in a rousing clap along before the guitar shredded through the thumping bass and cry of the fiddle as Milligan introduced each member of the band to the crowd who rowdily cheered them on while stomping their boot heels on the wooden floors.

“Thanks so much for hanging out with us tonight,” Milligan said with a nod of appreciation to the crowd as he closed his set with his current radio single “Sounds Like Something I’d Do,” keeping everyone singing and dancing along until the final notes of the night were played and Milligan was met with a standing ovation from the packed house as he exited the stage.

Animated!

Dynamic!

Energetic!

These are the many different ways that you can describe what it’s like to experience Drake Milligan live. His incredible know-how on stage of what songs to play when so that a crowd stays completely invested in the entire performance is an unteachable trait – the artist either has it or they don’t!

Mostly focused on his new album Dallas/Fort Worth - playing 13 of the 14 cuts from it - Milligan turned the Nashville Palace sideways and into a barn burning party that transported us back to country music’s honky-tonk heyday as he balanced against influences of Texas country and Western swing that kept the lively, Wednesday nighters rousing with cheers all night long as they danced and sang along with him as if it were a feel-good Friday night!

FULL SET LIST

1) T-R-O-U-B-L-E (Travis Tritt cover)

2) Kiss Goodbye All Night

3) Over Drinkin’ Under Thinkin’

4) Don’t Look Down

5) Goin’ Down Swingin’

6) Tipping Point

7) Bad Day To Be A Beer

8) Hating Everything She Tries On

9) She

10) Hearts Don’t Break Even

11) Fireman (George Strait cover)

12) Cowboy Kind of Way

13) Save It For A Sunny Day

14) Long Haul

15) Sounds Like Something I’d Do

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