 Aprille Hanson-Spivey Photo by Julian Spivey
Reba McEntire brought her ‘Live in Concert’ Tour to Little Rock, Ark.’s Simmons Bank Arena on Saturday, Feb. 5 for a fantastic night of her greatest hits that thrilled the sold-out crowd. I was a bit shocked that Reba, at 66, and not having had a top-20 country hit in more than a decade, could still sell out an arena and do so with fans of all ages in attendance – but then again, I’ve never considered myself a hardcore Reba fan, more of a fan of a few of her classics. Watching her live in concert it’s easy to see why she’s a legend – the show was a ton of fun and she’s as personable and, as a friend who also attended the show said, “precious” as she’s always seemed on TV. Reba opened up her show with her very first No. 1 country hit “Can’t Even Get the Blues,” from 1982, and her most recent No. 1 “Turn On the Radio” back-to-back, which I thought was a terrific idea for an artist to showcase their longevity and success. She then took the packed crowd on a tour around the country with 1997’s “I’d Rather Ride Around with You,” which I wasn’t familiar with but enjoyed quite a bit, a pair of No. 1 hits from 1986 “Little Rock,” a huge hit among the Little Rock fans, and “Whoever’s in New England,” which has always been my favorite Reba song (I know, it’s weird it’s not “Fancy”). She then finished the tour around the country with “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia,” which I’ve always found to be an incredibly stupid song – but you probably don’t want me to get into that now. Reba told the crowd they had been preparing for this tour since 2019, but the pandemic came and ruined those plans. She said she found a new love during the pandemic, even though she wasn’t looking for one in actor Rex Lynn and then dedicated her 2004 No. 1 hit “Somebody” to him. A couple of performances during the show were accompanied by Country Music Hall of Famers via a video screen – first Brooks & Dunn on “Oklahoma Swing” and then Vince Gill on “The Heart Won’t Lie.” I get the feeling the crowd was thrilled by these performances, but something about an artist singing with virtual artists just doesn’t interest me. I would’ve preferred other songs in their place. After Reba’s first costume change (it’s the first concert I’ve been to in my more than 100 that included costumes changes!) she returned to the stage for one of my favorite moments of the show: her heartbreak medley. I hate medleys! But for some reason this one worked for me. Probably because all of the choices were killer with “You Lie,” “Tammy Wynette Kind of Pain,” “Somebody Should Leave,” “What Am I Gonna Do About You” and “The Last One to Know.” I can officially say that I think heartbroken Reba songs are my favorite Reba songs and while I certainly would’ve loved for full performances of “You Lie,” wow that vocal hits, and “Tammy Wynette Kind of Pain,” a terrific track off her most recent album of originals 2019’s Stronger Than the Truth (and was co-written by her opener on Saturday night Brandy Clark), I think throwing too many heartbreak ballads into a setlist is probably too much of a buzzkill for many concertgoers. There were moments on Saturday night where the fact that I’ve never been a hardcore Reba fan probably had me yawning a bit, while most in attendance were thrilled and that includes performances like “I’m a Survivor” and “The Greatest Man I Never Knew,” which happened to be back-to-back. I enjoyed Reba’s gospel performance of “Sweet Low, Sweet Chariot” and “Oh Happy Day,” which gave the show a bit of a swing to it, but didn’t care much for “Back to God,” which simplifies some of life’s problems too much. I really dig the combination of her 1992 top-five hit “Take It Back” with her 1994 top-five hit “Why Haven’t I Heard from You,” which she put together for her recent compilation Revived Remixed Revisited, which led into her last of what I believe were four costume changes on the night before returning for an encore of “Fancy,” which was an obvious choice but when you’ve recorded one of the perfect encore songs of all-time you gotta flaunt it. “Fancy” absolutely brought down the house and made for one of those concert moments I’m certainly never going to forget. I’m a living testament that even if Reba isn’t one of your all-time favorite artists you should see her if you have the ability because she puts on a fantastic show. Singer-songwriter Brandy Clark opened up the show on Saturday night and was as great as ever, as it was my third time getting to see her perform live. Her beautiful voice absolutely soared throughout Simmons Bank Sarena. The sound the entire night was terrific. My only complaint is a frequent one I have for openers and it’s that the audience doesn’t give them a chance because they aren’t the main act they’ve paid to see, and it can sometimes annoy those who are trying to enjoy the performance and it’s just rude. Clark went through many of her best songs during her 30-to-45 minute set including “Who You Thought I Was,” “Long Walk” and “Pawn Shop.” She performed “The Day She Got Divorced,” which she credited Reba’s recording of to saving her career as a songwriter as she hadn’t had much luck prior and was considering giving it up. She also performed “Mama’s Broken Heart,” which she co-wrote, and Miranda Lambert made a banger out of. My two favorite performances of Clark’s set were “Stripes” and “Hold My Hand,” two gems from her 2013 debut 12 Stories.
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