Country Summer is a country music festival that started a decade ago at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds in Santa Rosa. It spans three days in June and features 20+ artists on two stages. The attendance this year was around 26,000 people.
For those that know me, you know I am not a country music lover, at all. However, I actually liked one of the artists that played on Saturday. I may not like country music but I am a huge sappy fan of romance in all it's beautiful forms, especially in music. This year one of the artists, Brett Young spoke to me. Not literally but through his connectiveness with the audience, his lyrics and his likeability and superbly non twangy music. Hey, if you you like the twang, great. Music is a very personal thing and I respect all genres of music whether I personally like it or not. As we all should. Music is like fashion, food, mates, haircolour, whatever floats your boat. Very personal to whomever is the holder of the personal taste. Some people don't like spicy food - I do. Some don't like punk rock - I do. Everyone has a favourite instrument - mine have always been the drums. You get the picture. I have been attending and capturing through my lens the Country Summer festivals for many years throughout the past decade, knowing the music isn't really my thing, but I do love shooting (with my camera of course) so annually I usually attend and cover the event. This year was no different in that, apart from the fact that I liked one of the artists, Brett Young.
Brett Young is a 43 year old, husband and father of two from Orange County California. As well as a singer songwriter, guitarist and he was even a college baseball pitcher until he had to give it up due to an elbow injury. When his debut album came out in 2017 his music was dubbed as "Caliville style" and he even has a line of clothing at Kohls under that name. Caliville is a mix of West Coast and Southern sound. Young has had seven number one hits and is defined by his romantic style and he's been called a master of matters of the heart. At one point he said, "Ya'll know all my songs are either love songs or breakup songs" as he introduced his party song of the set!
For me it usually doesn't matter if I like the particular music, if the band authentically connects with the audience they get better in my eyes. Brett Young did just that on Saturday. And the fact that his music wasn't at all twangy was simply a plus (for me). He sang about love, friendship and his family. Young humbly talked about having it all, the wonderful wife, marriage and two lovely little daughters. He even sang a song with his family videos behind him on the big screen. He signed boots and hats whilst singing on stage and he really looked like he was thouroughly enjoying himself during his entire set. I came away from this Country Summer weekend with a little Brett Young in my heart, still remembering some of his lyrics, which is always a good sign.
There was a plethora of other performers during the weekend which included, Maddie & Tae, Old Dominion, Little Big Town, Muscadine Bloodline, Jo Dee Messina and many more.
Affiliate links to some Brett Young music: Weekends Look A Little Different These Days - https://amzn.to/45xC9OK Brett Young - https://amzn.to/3VumN8V Across the Sheets - https://amzn.to/3Rw3rza Here's a few photos from Country Summer 2024...
© Cheryl Alterman Photography 2024
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