FRANK RAY

W/ KAT & ALEX

Friday October 7, 2022

@ Downtown Commons in Clarksville, TN

(Review By: Jeffrey Kurtis)

Surrounded by the classic architecture of a very picturesque downtown Clarksville, on the border of Tennessee and Kentucky, aromas from Big Kahunas Island Grill and Tater Headz food trucks permeated the senses as the community gathered in Downtown Commons for this installment of their ‘Downtown at Sundown’ concert series.

The atmosphere from the get-go was one that was friendly, neighborly, and seemed as if everyone knew everybody and if you were a stranger to their town, then you were just simply someone that they hadn’t met yet.

Families tossed a football, children played rousing games of tag (or “it” dependent on where you’re from), while others danced along with the PA system pumping out country hits from Clarksville country station, 100.3 The Beaver.

On what was a late season, cool October night as the sun set over Clarksville, the crowd packed onto the vast lawn in front of the stage, securing their place with their folding chairs and blankets as they held tightly with a firm grip to one last outdoor event before the cold completely takes over and shuts everyone in for a long, few months.

In the final week of Hispanic Heritage Month, Clarksville welcomed headliner Frank Ray and direct support act Kat & Alex to their stage, both emerging country music acts who are navigating their way through the trenches as they’re ascending the ladder to the top, separating themselves from the pack by injecting their modern branded styles with kisses of Latin flare as they nod to their heritage.

With a mud-stomping, rock kissed rhythm, Kat & Alex ripped into their set with “That’s What I’m Drinkin’,” leaning it into a country vibe that allowed both vocalists to immediately shine and grab the audience’s attention as they led them into a clap along while bouncing across the stage in rhythm with the groove.

“I know it’s starting to cool down out here tonight, but let’s see if we can’t heat this place up,” stated Alex enthusiastically as they continued bringing the groove heavy material with “5 on a Friday,” during which Kat impressively hit her vocal stride in the second verse as her voice soared over the crowd before smashing back into Alex’s, pulling a crisp harmony through the chorus as the crowd raised their arms into the twilight air and began to sway them back and forth.

“Fun fact for y’all…we’re originally from Florida,” said Alex with a smile.

“And I’m Cuban,” stated Kat as she explained, “which is why you heard a little of that flavor in that last song.”

“And y’all…I had to put a ring on it,” happily stated Alex in reference to his wife Kat who proceeded to then sing the familiar line, “if you liked it then you shoulda put a ring on it” from Beyonce’s “Single Ladies,” as the duo began their first softer pace song of the night “Marry You,” which at the end, saw Alex slide down to one knee as he took Kat’s hand in a mimic of proposing.

“Tennessee Whiskey,” which sounded fresh and new as Kat dipped into her lower register to deliver an entirely new dynamic on the familiar song, led right into their recent single “Let’s Find a Bar,” which kept the already invested crowd swaying along with its slow groove.

“So, Kat and I did American Idol in 2020 and what a wild, wild ride,” told Alex. “But 2020 in general was wild for so many people. Unfortunately, a lot of things came to a complete standstill and our hearts go out to those who were affected by all of that. But…no matter what season you’re in, if you feel like your dreams are at a standstill right now; stick to it and believe in yourself! You’ll get there, this is only a season,” he encouraged as they played “Heartbreak Tour,” a song that they said to have written about what it would be like for them if they didn’t keep chasing their dreams.

From their brand-new EP Side A, they tilted their set into an ultra-modern pop country sound with “Still In It,” before enticing the crowd to sing along with them on their second cover of the night, Luke Combs’ “Forever After All,” as the crowd aptly responded to the request by lifting their voices into the night air during the final chorus.

“We got a phone call that this song was going to be played on Sirius XM’s The Highway starting this weekend during their “On The Horizon” segment,” excitedly shared Alex as they played their current single “We Bought A House,” a song that they shared had been written about not just buying a house, but making it a home with the one you love before heading into the final chorus with just him, Kat, and an acoustic guitar accompanying the Spanish translation version, “Mi Casa.”

“This song is so special to us,” told Alex. “Kat and I wrote this one ourselves, and we dedicate it to our grandma’s who passed away….it was inspired by the idea of leaving those you love behind as you ride off into sunsets,” he finished as they pulled the audience in to the soft, heart-tugging “Cowboys Need Sunsets,” before moving into blissfully happy moments when they played “I Want It All,” which was introduced as being their wedding vows in a song.

“How Many Times,” the duo’s first official single, saw them humbly thanking the fans for supporting their dream as Alex gratefully told “we can’t do this without you” as the song came to its close.

“Get ready to dance with us one last time,” Kat said as she began to sway with the opening notes of their closing song, “You and the Radio,” which midway through saw the duo leaping from the stage and going directly into the crowd to sing with them, slap high fives, and of course, dance as Kat teased would happen.

In every sense of the word, Kat & Alex are a true duo. They fluidly batted leads back and forth throughout the 13-songs of the performance, allowing each vocal the opportunity to shine uniquely in the spotlight before coming together in perfect harmony to lift the chorus of each song.

When you see a performance as good as one like this, it’s crazy to think that in many ways they’re just getting started. They clearly understood their role as the direct support act, igniting the crowd as the hype man so to speak, but also wisely won them over one by one, song by song, building upon their growing fanbase through each catchy melody, audience participation moment, and gratefulness shown through every word spoken between songs.

FULL SET LIST (Kat & Alex)

1) That’s What I’m Drinkin’

2) 5 on a Friday

3) Marry You

4) Tennessee Whiskey (Chris Stapleton/George Jones cover)

5) Let’s Find a Bar

6) Heartbreak Tour

7) Still In It

8) Forever After All (Luke Combs cover)

9) We Bought a House

10) Cowboys Need Sunsets

11) I Want It All

12) How Many Times

13) You and the Radio

As a booming bass pumped through the speaker system, vibrating the turf where the crowd sat so much that they could feel the adrenaline rush move through their entire bodies from their toes to their head, the band pushed into “Y’all Showed Up” as Frank Ray blasted onto stage with unbridled energy, bouncing across the front of it from left to right in timing with the melody as he held a red solo cup in his hand, lighting up the enthusiastic crowd who immediately began to sway and bop along with Frank as the party had just started!

“I know I can’t be the only one with a drink in my hand,” he exclaimed to a massive applause as he led the crowd in a toast. “Y’all ready to speak a little Spanish with me?” he asked as he taught them the words to “Tequila Mockingbird,” bringing them straight into the groove of the song as she shifted his stellar vocal to higher note territory during the Spanish flared portions of the lyrics as couples held one another and swayed along with the rhythms and a large group of line dancers began to step in timing (stage right).

“I wrote this song about the Southwest where I’m from,” enthusiastically shared Frank as he sang us through a list of all the down-home attributes that perfectly described the pictures of his hometown and their way of life on the ultra-catchy “We Got ‘Em.”

With the crowd now completely warmed up and in the party mode, Frank kept them on their feet singing along as they swiveled their hips with Tim McGraw’s “Something Like That,” before sliding into “Somebody Else’s Whiskey,” a song that instantly resonated with the crowd, and by the final chorus had them screaming along with the lyrics, making us believe that this is a surefire hit and should be in consideration for his next radio single.

“We’re bout to get a little Latin up in here!” declared Frank as he dove into the Spanish kissed “Streetlights” as a mom and young daughter in the crowd danced a salsa style with the rhythm of the groove while Frank lifted the whole place up and had everyone on their feet when he slid the ending of the song into “Despacito.”

“I’m so incredibly excited about this next one,” Frank happily said. “I wrote it with some buddies of mine out in South Carolina, and we wanted to write a song about our wives. If you’re here tonight with someone who is always late, then this song is for you! But… it took on a whole new meaning for me when I got home one night and my wife was waiting for me with a pregnancy test; I’m proud to announce that we have another baby girl coming in January, but if she’s anything like her mama, she’s gonna be late,” he finished with a smile as he brought couples into one another for a head on shoulder slow dance, serenading them with “Late,” praising his better half through lyrics that sung of loving her just the way she is and wanting nothing more from her than that.

“It’s not very often that my family gets to be at one of my shows, but my wife and daughter are here tonight,” Frank gleefully said as he waved to his daughter. “I’m a girl dad through and through. The thing about Nashville, though, is that sometimes you have songs that get away from you; lost in the shuffle. But this one….this one is one of my favorites that I’ve ever written, and it goes out to all the parents out there,” he finished as he tugged on heartstrings with “Watching Me,” taking us through a lyric that spells out all the different ways that you change your wild behaviors when a little girl comes into you life and starts paying attention to everything you’re doing.

As guitarist Mark Ramos dipped into the opening riff of Stevie Ray Vaughn’s “Pride and Joy,”  Frank slid out of the spotlight momentarily to allow Ramos and the blues to inject the crowd before sliding the out of the song into Brooks & Dunn’s “Boot Scootin’ Boogie” as the line dancers - once again - kicked up their boot heels and clapped along.

“I was a police officer for ten years before I did this,” Frank said as he was met with a huge ovation thanking him for his service. “We all up here back the blue and if you do, then you’re a friend of mine,” he said as he saluted the officers on duty at the venue for keeping all of us safe.

“This one celebrates all our country music heroes,” he exclaimed with purpose as the guitars slid into shredding mode during “Back Before Our Time,” while the crowd instantly had their arms in the air swaying them along with the melody as Ray kept the country music lovers hooting and hollering at every mention of a legend or iconic song; Dolly, Freddy Fender, “Whiskey River,” etc.

Keeping the party going strong, Frank jumped into the crowd, slapping hands and dancing one on one with several of the concertgoers, as everyone hollered out the lyrics to “Fishin’ in The Dark” and “Don’t Stop Believing,” before he shifted back into his original songs with the feel-good groove of “Out On Me” as he danced across the front of the stage while the crowd bounced along with the beat.

“I have some music that I put out about 6 years ago, and that EP honestly changed my life because it helped me figure out that this is what I wanted to do. This girl that I was dating at the time lived in town, while I lived on the outskirts. I wrote this song for her in the kitchen of her apartment, and wouldn’t you know it…she ended up being my wife!” Frank excitedly said as the crowd cheered. “No matter how tedious that drive was, it was so worth it,” he said as he looked directly at his wife before slowing down the party down one last time with “The Drive,” bringing couples into one another for another slow dance, while others stayed in their seats cuddled up closer to one another, keeping each other warm as a cool breeze blew through.

As the opening notes of “Country’d Look Good on You” began to play, Frank asked his band to stop playing that song for a minute as he shook his head in disbelief that they had already arrived at the last song.

“I don’t want this party to end yet!” he exclaimed as the crowd cheered, signaling that they didn’t either as the band took everyone back to the 90’s for one more romp during Alan Jackson’s “Chattahoochie,” before closing with his break-out smash, “Country’d Look Good on You.”

Anyone can play!

Anyone can sing!

But Frank Ray carries a humbleness to his entire aura, which is an attribute that can’t be taught, but also a big part of the charm and charism that makes him so endearing.  A Frank Ray show is not just another concert, but it’s a party with his closest new friend’s who he goes out of his way to make sure they know that they’re his cherished guests.

FULL SET LIST (Frank Ray)

1) Y’all Showed Up

2) Tequila Mockingbird

3) We Got ‘Em

4) Something Like That (Tim McGraw cover)

5) Somebody Else’s Whiskey

6) Streetlights

7) Late

8) Watching Me

9) Pride and Joy (Stevie Ray Vaughn cover)

10) Back Before Our Time

11) Fishin’ In the Dark (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band cover)

12) Don’t Stop Believing (Journey cover)

13) Out on Me

14) The Drive

15) Chattahoochie (Alan Jackson cover)

16) Country’d Look Good on You

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