Little Big Town Concert in Boston with Hampton by Hilton

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I mentioned in my last post that I have attended 8 concerts in Boston this summer. The 9th and final concert this summer wrapped up just before Labor Day with the Little Big Town show.

I love Little Big Town so when I was approached by the good folks at Hampton by Hilton to be an Ultimate Seekender and attend the concert as part of their We Go Together Ultimate Summer Tour sweepstakes I was happy to participate. Collaborating with Live Nation, Hampton by Hilton hosted the sweepstakes to give 4 lucky winners tickets and a VIP experience to chart-topping acts like Kelly Clarkson and Brad Paisley.

little big town tour boston

I received 5 tickets to attend the Little Big Town concert at Boston’s Blue Hills Bank Pavilion. I brought 3 of my closest blogger friends (Kate, Jodi, and Alli) and my boyfriend, all of whom were already fans of Little Big Town. The evening of the concert was a beautiful end-of-summer night in Boston—clear skies with just enough of a breeze off the Seaport to require a light jacket.

little big town bank of american pavilion boston

We arrived at the concert as Ashley Monroe took the stage, performing songs from her new album The Blade. Country bad boy, David Nail, followed, taking us down his long road of mistakes and redemption.  While the songs are heavy, the vulnerability with which he sings has stuck with me since I first heard “Let it Rain.”

Our seats were in the uncovered portion of the Pavilion around a table, a nice change from the jungle gym of rows of seats in the main concourse. One of my favorite things about concerts is sitting outside enjoying music with friends. These seats enabled us to relax, munch on snacks, and enjoy each other’s company on the beautiful night.

little big town boston

Photo Credit: Country 102.5 WKLB

Little Big Town took the stage just as the temperatures started to drop so we were happy to be able to stand up and dance. Another benefit of these seats was being able to dance without having to worry about blocking another concert goer’s view. The band was awesome and the energy in the venue was great. They performed songs from their Painkiller album as well oldies like “Boondocks” and “Tornado” that hooked me years ago.  Little Big Town ended their 2 hour set with their latest mega-hit “Girl Crush” and their summer-fun song “Pontoon.”

little big town concert

As part of my experience as an Ultimate Seekender, I was encouraged to seize the weekend. To me that meant living it up and purchasing some concert merchandise, something that I rarely do at concerts. Long lines turn me away but I made an exception for this one because I was with my friends on a beautiful night and we ALL wanted some of Little Big Town’s fun merchandise. The hands-free koozies that we bought were super convenient to use while dancing at the concert and will be perfect for summer days on the water next year.

My Ultimate Seekender experience was the perfect ending to a fun summer of great concerts with friends and loved ones. Thank you Hampton by Hilton for the opportunity to be an Ultimate Seekender and attend the Little Big Town show as part of the We Go Together Ultimate Summer Tour.

Disclosure: I was hosted by Hampton by Hilton to attend the Little Big Town concert in Boston as an Ultimate Seekender to share my weekend experiences on my social media as well as on this blog. The opinions expressed belong to me and are not indicative of the Hampton by Hilton or their partners.

Boston Summer Concert Series

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One of my favorite things about summer, other than having an excuse to eat ice cream, is summer concerts. There’s nothing better than relaxing outside in nice weather listening to live music. I’m lucky that I’m dating someone who also loves live music and was able to take full advantage of summer concerts with him. This summer we attended 8 concerts and still have one more to go. Here’s the wrap up.

Country 102.5 Street Party

The summer concert series started out cold and wet in May at Country 102.5’s Street Party outside of the House of Blues by Fenway Park. The weather was iffy from the get go but we decided to chance it and meet up with my friend Kate to enjoy some country music. Caitlin joined us on the crowded Landsdowne Street and we all managed to enjoy a few songs just before the skies opened up and Kate and Caitlin took their party to Eastern Standard.

country street party boston landsdowne

My boyfriend and I decided to make the most of the day and, with the help of some gut-warming beverages, enjoyed singing and dancing in the rain. I was happy that I had brought along my trusty rain jacket and camo hat to complete my country concert hillbilly look.

AWOLNATION

A stark contrast to country, we attended the AWOLNATION show inside the House of Blues in June. My Electronica for Studying Pandora station first introduced me to the band over the winter, so I was super happy to  learn that my boyfriend was also a fan and even happier to get the chance to see them live in Boston.

awolnation run concert tour house of blues boston

Not fans of being grown ups, we dressed in our Millennial concert finest—cutoffs, jeans, graphic tees, and Converse sneakers. The show was great, with opening acts from Parade of Lights and Family of the Year. I was previously unfamiliar with both bands but have since downloaded some of the tunes.

rock concert outfit awolnation

Imagine Dragons

Another indoor concert, we headed to the TD Garden in Boston to see the Imagine Dragons Smoke and Mirrors Tour. Imagine Dragons is one of those bands whose music you hear but never know who sings it. I found myself singing along to songs that I didn’t even know I knew.

imagine dragons concert boston garden

We had floor tickets at the Garden which were amazing! It’s a great experience to be so close to the stage at a show, especially in such a large venue.

Outside the Box – Kasey Musgraves & Guster

Outside the Box Boston is a free 6 day summer arts festival on the Boston Common. Ted Cutler, the philanthropic visionary behind the event teamed up with local sponsors to put on the shows. If you don’t live in a city where some rich guy wants you to enjoy the arts outside in the summer, you should move to Boston because this event is awesome!

I had heard of Outside the Box last year but was unable to attend any events. I had almost forgotten about it when I saw Instagram posts about Kacey Musgraves on a Friday night. Within 10 minutes, I was out the door, boyfriend and picnic blanket in tow. We met up with friends to watch the show sponsored by Country 201.5, the only country station in Boston. Kacey Musgraves played a great set, including my beloved “Mama’s Broken Heart”.

outside the box boston kacey musgraves

Guster, a Boston-born jam band of the 90s and early 2000s, also played as part of Outside the Box. A fan since high school, I jumped at the chance to see them live. I planned a double date picnic with my friend and her then-fiancé-now-husband and we enjoyed a night of Upper Crust Pizza and music. It was a surreal experience for me to be time-traveled back to high school in Pennsylvania while sitting in a park in Boston.  As usual, we had an awesome time being weird while people pretended not to know us.

outside the box concert boston

If you weren’t able to check out Outside the Box the past two years, put a calendar reminder in for July 2016 so that you don’t miss it next summer.

Darius Rucker

Keeping with the momentum of outdoor events, my boyfriend snagged last minute tickets to see Darius Rucker’s Southern Style Tour at the Xfinity Center in Mansfield, MA. Darius Rucker was the perfect first country concert experience for him…Kacey Musgraves in a park and a rained-out street party didn’t really count.

country concert outfit

New England country lovers came out of the woodwork for the concert.  There were cowboy hats and girls in boots and songs about homegrown love. Darius played some of his famous Hootie and the Blowfish songs from the 90s that we sang and danced along to before realizing that having attended high school in the 90s, we were part of the oldest cohort of concert attendees and left early to beat the traffic to go home and sip tea.

Australian Pink Floyd Show

Flipping the switch, we found ourselves to be some of the youngest hippies at the Australian Pink Floyd Show at the Blue Hills Bank Pavilion in Boston in August. I had never been to a Pink Floyd anything and this cover band was certainly an experience. We had floor seats at the outdoor venue which put us inside of the light show action.

australian pink floyd show

I took the opportunity to indulge on stadium nachos covered in cheese and chili which, if I have to make a ruling, is the best way to enjoy a concert.

Counting Crows

Rounding up the second to last of our summer concerts was Country Crows and Citizen Cope also at the Blue Hills Bank Pavilion. For concert outfit consistency, we attended the 90s throwback concert in our grungiest baggy pants. Feeling the need to outdo our previous concert outfits, we pulled out all the stops—I rocked a belly shirt and choker, my ringer tee-clad boyfriend pushed a hoop earring through his cartilage piercing, and we took pictures to send to our pearl-clutching moms.

90s grunge style

We probably looked like fools to the normally dressed people at the show, but we were loving every moment of reliving the 90s and dancing to songs that we hadn’t heard in years.

We’ve got one more concert to wrap up the season. Look for a post on Little Big Town after tonight’s show!

How to Like Country Music

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It’s officially summer which can only mean one thing–it’s country music time!

I realize that country music isn’t for everyone, but before you hit the little red x at the top of your screen, hear me out.  Summer is for fun and friends and enjoying the outdoors while listening to music and drinking some beers, right?  If you’ve never been to a country concert, then you’re missing out. This weekend Zac Brown Band is coming to Fenway Park in Boston and country lovers everywhere are rejoicing.

Fenway Park is a such great atmosphere that even non-country music lovers are flocking to the historic ballpark for the event.  Crazy, right?  A hipster coworker of mine is going and, knowing my penchant for twangy men in cowboy boots, asked me for some help getting into country music. Naturally I was happy to oblige with this post.

  1. FIND A HOT COUNTRY SINGER TO OGLE.  
    Anything is more enjoyable with eye candy.


    Ok, that will do.

  2. START COUNTRY-LITE.  
    Pick a genre based on what you like. 
    Top 40’s lovers will appreciate the pop style of Luke Bryan or Taylor Swift.  Jam banders might appreciate the aforementioned Zac Brown or Eli Young Band. Blues lovers can start with the likes of Josh Turner and Chris Young.  Jimmy Buffet types can get on board with Kenny Chesney.

  3. DRESS THE PART.  
    Grab a cowboy hat and some boots or go Walmart-chic in ‘Merican flags and Nascar.  
    For more inspiration, I wrote a post on this exact topic last year.

  4. DRINK.
    Grab a beer, whisky, or lemonade. Put it in a mason jar or wrap it in a koozie because it’s hot and you’re thirsty and booze (or lemonade, I guess) are delicious.

  5. ENJOY.
    You already dressed up and drinking, might as well shake your stuff to the music and have fun.  If country still isn’t your thing, at least you can say you tried!

weekend wrapup: Columbus Day

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This felt like a super long weekend, which is great because weekends are awesome.
On Thursday I joined Kate and her friend at the Lee Brice concert at the House of Blues.  Kate blogs over at Another Clean Slate and has quickly become my Boston blogger BFF solely based on the fact that she loves country music and shares potato skins with me.
She also shares my love of koozies and could appreciate my enthusiasm when I got an autographed Lee Brice koozie at the concert.  Yes, that’s PBR.  I might love craft beer but I’m by no means a beer snob, especially when it comes to overpriced concert beer.
After a crazy Thursday night, I took it easy on Friday and joined a girlfriend for Hip Hop Yoga with Lucy Forest.  This movement provides free classes to women and celebrates a healthy lifestyle by lighting up cities with hundreds of LED lights that make up a motion activated forest.  I joined a couple hundred people for outdoor yoga at dusk along the Charles River.  
Thankfully the lights were beautiful and this picture almost made up for the horrible soreness that plagued me the next day.  Yoga is no joke!
Saturday was a blur, as I helped a friend during a personal emergency and then helped her cope with pumpkin beers and the Red Sox game.    
Sunday was an even bigger blur, as long weekends with nothing to do tend to turn into.  
I had off from work today and took advantage of some holiday sales at Old Navy (I love that store so hard) before meeting up from manicures and Pinkberry with a girlfriend.  
I had fully anticipated doing laundry but the machine was taken when I got home and so there’s still a pile of dirty clothes in the hamper.  It’s the thought that counts though…and the fact that I bought enough clothes to not have to worry about it for a few more days!
How was your (hopefully long) weekend?

stories from this weekend

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This weekend I moved to Boston–yay, horray, woohoo!  The move was seamless, mostly due to my neurotic awesome planning and obsessive compulsive need to control things attention to detail.  
The moving companies I used to load and unload the U-Haul that my dad drove up to Boston for me were awesome.  So awesome that when a pair of dirty panties fell out of my laundry basket an into the street, one of them picked it up and discreetly gave it back to me instead of selling it on Craigslist for creepers to sniff.
The same mover also managed to take a picture of my ass and post it on Instagram…and then asked me to follow him.  Nope, not at all awkward.  At least he didn’t tag me in it. That’s a quality moving man right there, folks. 
Despite almost dying of embarrassment when my dirty underoos were handed to me by a strange man, the rest of the weekend was awesome.  I spent the 4th with my family at a big party, where this delicious chocolate and vanilla marble cake with raspberry chocolate ganache layers got in mah bella.

My birthday was a booze filled blast, starting with a Bloody Mary Bar at Stephanie’s on Newbury Street.  Gotta love a waitress who notices its your birthday and puts a candle in your booze.  Yes, a candle in my booze.  I had to say it twice because it was so freaking amazing.
I might have spent most of the day unpacking in my clean underwear listening and dancing to country music and sippin on suds before hitting up the town with my besties from law school.  You know you have good friends when they bring you booze and tell you how good your boobs look before taking you out for a fun birthday celebration!

Yay, friends!
(It was the end of the night, don’t mind my sweatiness) 
I know I’m a day late but how was your weekend?