Embarking on the first headlining tour of his 10-year career, Shaboozey brought his sold out fall tour through Chicago on Tuesday, September 10th. Luke Borchelt provided direct support.
Starting the night off was country artist Luke Borchelt, who brought his long time collaborator to accompany him on electric guitar while he sang and played his acoustic guitar. While his set was a bit short, it was sweet. He displayed his gratitude to the crowd the entire time for helping get his career off the ground after many years of hard work, finally embarking on his first ever tour.
After moving the show date up a day from its previously scheduled September 11th booking to accommodate his appearance at this year’s MTV VMA awards where he was nominated, Shaboozey made sure to let the crowd know how thankful he was that they were accommodating. “[I] can’t miss my first VMAs,” reiterating that it was the fans who got him to a place where he is being recognized for his accomplishments.
With this fall tour, Shaboozey is out to prove why he’s quickly gaining popularity. Walking out on his Western-themed stage to a recording of his collaboration with Beyonce titled “Spaghetti,” he jumps straight into a riveting performance of “Last of My Kind,” in which he captivated the entire crowd and got as close to the audience as he could, teetering on the edge of the stage.
He played a mixture of tracks from his most recent album, older releases, and a handful of covers. Hearing his country twist on Waka Flocka Flame’s “No Hands” was incredibly entertaining, and watching him two-step to it was even better. Even though he quipped to the crowd to not laugh at his dance moves, he surely has nothing to be shy about!
As he moved in to the latter half of his set, he played his more country heavy tracks, like “Let It Burn,” a slower, ballad-like song that shows Shaboozey’s more vulnerable side. At one point he needed to adjust his in-ear monitors because the crowd was singing every word back to him so loudly it overpowered his own vocals.
Before ending the night with his smash hit “Tipsy (A Bar Song),” he took a quick moment to recount the time it took him to get to this moment, saying that “It’s hard chasing your dreams, need to make sacrifices,” before rejoicing that it’s “finally over” and getting the crowd to go nuts as they sang their favorite song with him.
Shaboozey’s fall tour continues through the end of the September and concludes on October 14th in Los Angeles, California.
LUKE BORCHELT
