Written by Bridget Benevides
What better way to spend a Saturday night than with a best friend and some live music? Kelsea Ballerini, dubbed “Country’s Next Queen” by Billboard, is coming to The Showbox SoDo on Saturday, April 21st, and it’s bound to be an incredible show!
Growing up means never apologizing for who you are and what you’ve been through. And for Kelsea Ballerini, one of country music’s new voices, growing up also meant having the courage to put it all—the loss, the love and the highs and lows of life—into song. The result? An unapologetic collection of songs meant to share her experiences over the past two years like a sonic journal, inviting listeners to open the book of her story and listen along.
Unapologetically is a snapshot of Ballerini’s life since the release of The First Time, all told through songs that push country’s boundaries and reveal just how personal the GRAMMY nominee’s writing can be. Though it could have been easy for Ballerini to just collect a loose selection of hits, she decided to make an “intentional album” instead, carefully curating tracks that unfolded within the record as her own musical documentary in three parts. It’s not the norm to write albums this way, nor is it easy, but Ballerini goes with what is in her heart.
“I had to let myself be OK with being vulnerable,” says Ballerini. “My first album, I wanted it to be an introduction, just reaching out my hand. I had a song about my parent’s divorce, about being insecure – it was one song per emotion. In doing that, I wasn’t really able to articulate the depth of those emotions. Now, having gotten older, having gone through a big breakup and having fallen in love in a massive way, I had to say, ‘hey, let yourself feel that, let yourself write that.’ The end product was this record, which is a chronological story of my life these past few years.”
Throughout all of her songs, Ballerini and her creative partners use a dynamic sonic palate: electronic textures, acoustic instrumentation, clever beats, layered melodies and a full range of Ballerini’s vocals, perfectly imperfect – unlike an auto-tune- obsessed generation, she embraces the gorgeous frays within her notes. And she doesn’t worry about genre barriers, either. “We let ourselves be a little more free,” she says.
Fans of Kelsea Ballerini also like Jesse James Decker, Danielle Bradbery, and Kane Brown.
(Quotes courtesy of Ballerini’s website.)
Country-pop singer Kelsea Ballerini is coming to The Showbox SoDo on Saturday, April 21st! Doors open at 6:30 PM and the show begins at 7:30 PM with an opening act by Walker Hayes.
This show is open to audiences of all ages. Find tickets and information HERE!
BRIDGET BENEVIDES | “There is strength in being vulnerable” | KXSU Music Reporter