music

Things Are Heating Up

Weekend #2 of the Sundown Heaven Town tour hit Phoenix, Chula Vista, and Irvine. Phoenix hit a brisk 103° F on Thursday but didn't stop the crowd from getting into the set - quite the opposite! The heat had everyone in full party mode. 

Last year, we came through Chula Vista with Rascal Flatts and couldn't wait to come back. It cooled down a bit from Phoenix, was beautiful out and I did some hiking nearby - great views! One of the added bonuses of Chula Vista's Sleep Train Ampitheater is the post-show taco truck. Oh man, are these things good! Being only a mile or so away from Mexico, these bad boys are the best tacos you'll ever eat. Mmmm... 

Last night was another beautiful night. Irvine was very welcoming, and seeing all the fans in the pit singing along to all the songs won't ever get old. Like most things, it's not always easy, but playing music with good people on a beautiful night - you can't ask for much more. It's in those moments that I appreciate being out here the most.

Don't forget to keep voting for Cassadee!  More soon...

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"On The Road Again..."

Today, we loaded up the bus and are on our way out to Fresno, CA for the first show of Tim McGraw's Sundown Heaven Town Tour. All of team Cassadee is ready to get back out on the road and make it another great summer! We're going to be all over the country - click here to see when we'll be in a city near you!

Last week, we had a show in Las Cruces, NM. Very very windy - but still a fun show, no less. Then we headed down to West Palm Beach for an acoustic show. Had some great hang time with Cass and Steve, and filled in on acoustic and vocals - had a blast! Check out my Instagram (patmccarthybass) for a short clip of a song from the set :)

From there, we shot up to Kentucky to perform with Steve Holy and Scotty McCreery. Had a great time with the Scotty McCreery camp and they put on a helluva show! Afterwards, Dan, Cass and I got to take our first helicopter ride around the city - SO MUCH FUN! Much smoother and more comfortable than I expected. Obviously, the music is what we are all passionate about, but to share all of these extra fun experiences makes each moment that much more special. 

Again, this Thursday kicks off the tour with Tim McGraw and Kip Moore! There will definitely be more to come...

 

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What Happens In Vegas... →

 ...gets blogged about later on, of course! 

On April 4th, we flew out to Las Vegas for the ACM (Academy of Country Music) Awards Party For A Cause Festival. Justin Moore, Thomas Rhett, Florida Georgia Line and our good friends in Rascal Flatts are just some of the names that took the stage that Friday night. The view from the stage consisted of a sea of country fans singing and dancing, with the sky line of fancy Vegas hotels, and the largest ferris wheel in the US out in the distance (it was massive!). I also got to hang with Craig from Seymour Duncan, talk shop and enjoy the rest of the show. (Thanks for the great SD swag, Craig!) The concert will be televised on April 18th. Click here for broadcast details. 

The following Tuesday, we performed before the women's NCAA game. Danielle Bradberry opened up the show and the audience was pumped up for the final four game. After our set, Cassadee stayed to belt out our National Anthem right before the game - she nails it every time! 

This past Friday, we went out to the Country Thunder Festival in Florence, AZ. It was a hot one, in every sense of the phrase! We got to reunite and have some hang time with our pals from The Band Perry, who were headlining that night. Most of our short time there was spent trying to stay cool until things heated up at show time. A very roudy, country-loving, good time-having crowd made for an awesome show. We played an hour set and loved seeing everyone singing along to all the songs. Cassadee was totally in the zone, signing autographs while singing during the set! Read a review of the show here. 

Now we've got a short break in the action before heading back to the southwest. More soon... 

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Where The Heart Is

After our show at CRS in Nashville, I headed home to the tri-state area to spend some quality time with family and friends. I got to see my mom on her birthday, visit my grandma, play some guitar with my dad and hang with some good friends that I haven't seen in a while. I am so incredibly lucky and thankful to have such an amazing support system made up of true friends and a loving family.

After some time at home, we flew out to Milwaukee, WI to play a show after a Milwaukee Admirals hockey game. Live hockey games are always fun and it was Cassadee's first hockey game ever. We watched the game right up against the glass and Cassadee even got to ride the zamboni! The show itself was a blast too - so many people singing along and still pumped up from the Admirals win. 

A couple days later, I celebrated St. Patrick's Day by going to support Cassadee in Nashville while she did an acoustic set, and the very next day at The Grand Ole Opry. We were all celebrating an awesome Opry performance as well as "Wasting All These Tears" hitting the platinum mark - congrats Cassadee!! Don't forget to check out her new single "I Wish I Could Break Your Heart". This is one of my favorites and I know it's going to be a hit as well :)

Next week we get back on the bus for shows in Columbus, OH, Clarion, PA and Shippensburg, PA. More soon...  

 

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Music Video & The Home Stretch

Busy busy busy! We just finished a run of 6 shows in a row hitting Thunder Bay, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Moose Jaw, Calgary and Lethbridge (even the names of these places sound cold, right!?). The cold hasn't been affecting the crowds though - audiences have been bringing some great energy! Our show in Calgary was unforgettable. Everyone was waving, singing along, dancing, lighting the place up and the band had a blast on stage! We topped off the night with a post-show team dinner at a local Italian restaurant - Good times! 

The music video for "I Wish I Could Break Your Heart" is finally out on CMT and Vevo (click here to check it out!). We had a blast shooting it and are excited for everyone to see! Some photos from the set posted below. 

Tonight is our last show of the Canadian 'Crop Circles & Tractor Beams' tour with Dean Brody. The whole month was filled with memories and experiences that are unforgettable. Dean, his band and crew are all great guys and made us feel very welcome out here on the road. A HUGE 'thank you' goes out to all of them! Safe travels!

Also, much love goes out to Cassadee, Jim, Steve, Dan, Don and Simon - we ventured into the cold together and not only made it through, but kicked ass all along the way. Thank you for all your hard work and collective awesomeness!

We are all looking forward to getting back to the U.S. for more shows.. Nashville and New Orleans here we come! More soon... 

 

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Goosebumps!

Knowing that we were going to be touring Canada in February, I expected it to be cold. For the first half of the tour though, we lucked out with the weather - we got some snow but the temps still remained somewhere in the teens. The past few days we've seen Thunder Bay, Winnipeg, and today, Saskatoon. During the day it's a cozy -5 and at night it has been getting down towards a brisk -25. The bus has been our best friend as anything outside can be downright painful. 

Despite the bone-chilling temps, we've been staying busy. Kingston, Ontario was a nice little town with plenty to do. We hit a local music shop, picked up some much needed cold weather gear and treated ourselves to some post-show gourmet cupcakes (so good). The next day in Hamilton, Cassadee's music director extraordinaire, Mr. James McGorman III, had found out that Weezer was performing early before sound check only minutes away from our venue. Having worked with Weezer before, he was able to hookup the entire team with tickets - Thanks, Jim!

The shows themselves have been very fun and inspiring! We've dialed in our monitor mixes, tweaked the set list and the crowds have been dancing/singing along. In Hamilton, Cassadee asked the audience to hold up lighters (or virtual lighters ;) during her song "One Song Away" - the result was beautiful! We were in a theater with two balcony levels and it felt like we were in outer space. It was an unforgettable moment for sure. It's nice to get goosebumps from something besides the cold once and a while! 

If you are on Instagram, follow me at: patmccarthybass. Twitter: @apatmccarthy

More pics and stories from the cold coming soon...

 

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Toronto (tron-o) Adventures

For the past few days we've been staying in Toronto (pronounced "Trono" up here in Canada). Before we got here though, we had a show in Fredericton, New Brunswick that was great! Cassadee looked into the crowd, saw a little girl singing every word and decided to call her up on stage! (Watch on YouTube: http://youtu.be/rscqqzb6Ypg) I still remember all of the concert experiences that I've had, and it was always a dream to be up on stage with my idols singing/playing with them. Our Fredericton show is a memory that little girl (Rebecca) will never forget - and to be a part of that experience is priceless. 

After that we got hit with a TON of snow and headed up to Barrie, Ontario. Mr. Steve Fekete was the MVP on this one! Because of the storm, canceled flights etc.. Steve ended up driving from 2am to 8pm from Boston to Barrie in the storm just to make the show by the second song in! (We did have a back up lead guitar pro standing by - see below ;) We were all very relieved to see him walk up on stage with us safe and sound. A tip of the hat to you Steve - well done sir! 

On our day off yesterday, the band took a road trip to Georgetown, Ontario to visit the team at Eastwood Guitars. We got to test out a bunch of cool guitars and basses through some sweet amps. Click here to check out all the great stuff on the Eastwood Guitars website: http://www.eastwoodguitars.com/

Today we are headed to Oshawa, Ontario to perform. More soon...

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The Year Ahead

Happy New Year! 2014 is going to be filled with new and exciting things. We just finished shooting Cassadee's new music video in Nashville (I can't give anything away but trust me.. It'll be worth the wait!). Cassadee is also nominated for Taste of Country's Artist of the Year! (Click here to vote!). Right now we are down in Florida for a couple shows (One in Cassadee's hometown of West Palm Beach and another in Miami with our pals in Rascal Flatts among others) We'll be soaking up as much sun as we can before heading up to Canada for our February tour with Dean Brody. That's right, February in Canada - brrrrrrrr! It's going to be a blast though and we are all getting pumped to get back out on the road. Later this year we will be opening for Tim McGraw on his "Sundown Heaven Town" tour which will hit 30 cities over the course of the summer. More updates to come - looking forward to seeing everyone at the shows!

 

First full-band shot of 2014!

First full-band shot of 2014!