Little Big Town Concert in Boston with Hampton by Hilton

By Emily on September 17, 2015

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.

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.

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.

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.”

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.

austin city limits

By Emily on October 9, 2013

Last weekend I was in Austin, Texas for Austin City Limits Festival. My delayed blogging is the best indication of the good time that I had, as it’s now Wednesday and I’ve just recovered from the sun, beer, sore feet, and lack of sleep.

I rolled into Austin to meet up with my friend Dave around midnight on Friday night thanks to a significant lack of direct flights directly into fun land. WTF airlines? There were at least 8 people from Boston on both legs of my flight and we could have easily chartered a small United Express jet for the benefit of all passengers. Apparently the airports don’t revolve around me, so I’ll have to wait for world domination or the lottery.

Saturday was an early start with Bloody Marys before breakfast at the famous Threadgills. It’s famous for being the Armadillo World Headquarters. I have no idea what that means except that it was almost demolished, was saved by the city, and is now an awesome good and music venue with clay armadillos decorating the joint like Southwestern gargoyles.

Threadgills served up some killer Bloody Marys and delicious looking breakfast tacos that they ran out of just as we got to the bar. Thankfully, the awesome live music by the Mowgli’s kept me busy until I could be properly fed. If you’re looking for good music with some tambourine, check them out. I might have been inspired to buy a tambourine after the female vocalist made it look so damn easy.

After Threadgills I headed into the Festival and hightailed it to the beer and taco line, respectively. Of course I bought a koozie to further my addiction.

Dave’s friend set up “base camp” with about 5,000 other people. Thankfully, Texans ascribe to the “bigger is better” mantra and it was easy to find our people by their gigantic smiley face flag and upside-down blow up girl hanging from a flag pole. Not kidding.

Soon enough it was time for more food so I tried some Stubb’s BBQ and Salt Lick. OMFG yummy goodness! I thought I had died and gone to heaven so naturally I pushed the limits of my stomach capacity and ordered a rabbit and rattlesnake sausage a couple of hours later. Not as good at the BBQ but still a solid strange food combo that provided a provocatively questionable picture. Mmm, sausage!

The day was hot, like super hot, and I battled finding a balance between beer; food; and water. I started off with my hair down, which quickly went up into what I called a Swedish Princess hairstyle to keep my 15 pounds of hair off my sweaty neck. To get the look, wear a handband, take your sweaty hair, twist it and tuck it into the back of the headband. Call yourself a princess and take a selfie.

Saturday ended by dropping to 50 degrees while we were watching The Cure play. The band was amazing and it was great to sing along to songs that I hadn’t heard in years (because really, who listens to The Cure on a daily basis??).

Sunday was a bit of a later start. We got more Bloody Marys and breakfast tacos at Taco X-Press where my iPhone decided it was still drunk and took a fuzzy picture that I’m not posting.

We got to ACL and took pictures with someone else’s sober iPhone in front of the iconic ACL guitar sign (sort of). As promised, I wore my cowboy boots all weekend which made me very happy!

Again we saw the Mowgli’s, who were great. I promise there were more than just two bands and I just suck at taking pictures of live music.

I had to leave early to catch a 5pm flight through 6 airports and back to Boston so I made sure to get mauled by a bear just as I was leaving because no trip is complete without me getting injured!

How was your weekend?

keeping austin weird

By Emily on October 4, 2013

Today I’m leaving for Austin, Texas. It’s apparently home of weird things and/or people considering their motto is “Keep Austin Weird” which is perfect for me because I’m not the most normal individual in the world.

When my friend Dave invited me to go to Austin with him for Austin City Limits, I jumped at the chance. A trip with a friend in furtherance of my 30 before 30 list of awesome stuff to do?! Seeing more of the US…hitting up a huge music fest…AND wearing cowboy boots?

Even though Austin is more hippie/eclectic than cowgirl chic, this girl will be rocking her boots all weekend. I haven’t worn them in a while and I’m itching to throw on a dress or some cutoffs and rock out. I’ll throw on some hippy headband and Wayfarers so I look just weird enough to fit in with the thousands of other people finding a balance between looking cute and looking original.

Regardless, I’ve been super excited about this trip for a while but it’s coming at the best time right now. The past two weeks at work have been crazy busy and I could use a break like it’s no one’s business. So in about 12 hours I’ll be in leggings on a plane munching on an $8 picnic in a box.

What are you up to this weekend?

what to wear to a country concert

By Emily on May 11, 2013

It’s officially summer which means that it’s country concert time and time for the perfect county concert outfit. When you’re out there shaking it for Luke Bryan you’re going to want to look good, right? So here’s a guide to what to wear to a country concert so you can be the tanned-legged Juliet to some Redneck Romeo.

First, cutoffs. For those of you who are anti-cutoffs, I apologize in advance, however I love them and practically live in cutoffs during the summer. They’re the quintessential country concert wear.

Here are some good pairs to get you started. Personally, I love American Eagle’s shorts because they’re soft and stretchy and go on sale pretty often!

Target // American Eagle
American Eagle // Target

Tops for a country music concert run the gambit from edgy to patriotic to redneck. As long as it looks good with cowboy boots, go for it!

1 // 2 // 3
4 // 5 // 6
7 // 8 // 9

It’s no surprise that I’m a huge fan of chambray and a country concert is a great excuse to get your chambray on!

Another option is a lace dresses that can be paired with boots and a denim jacket for a more feminine style.

Are you going to any country concerts this summer? What are you wearing?

weekend wrapup

By Emily on April 22, 2013

This weekend turned out to be one of those weekends where I had nothing planned and was kind of bummed but ended up super busy and had a great time. Here’s a peek into my weekend:

Camo Jacket

Saturday was supposed to be a bust because I had a 7 hour Continuing Legal Education class to sit through and no plans for the evening. When a friend called me in the afternoon and invited me to attend a housewarming party for her former neighbor, I jumped at the chance to socialize in the last remaining hours of sunshine with a cold beer. I spent way too much time marveling at the fact that my nails perfectly matched the red color of the Solo cup and sang more karaoke than someone with my singing skills should have.

Sunday I went shopping and finally got the jacket I had been eyeing at the Gap. I saw it on Friday and spent all of Saturday (7 hours in a classroom listening to people drone on about Business and Trust Accounting leaves plenty of time for the mind to wander) regretting that I hadn’t gotten it. A lightweight camo jacket with epaulette buttons and a great shape? I couldn’t resist and it was happily snatched up with a 30% off coupon!

I spent a bit of time driving around with the windows down listening to country music. Kacey Musgraves’ new single “Blowing Smoke” was on and I took a pic for a friend who likes her. I’m breaking him into country music through her. Baby steps.

I engaged in some healthy eating with this spinach, strawberry, mango, and walnut salad. It was amazing, aside from the fact that it was in an asymmetric bowl that toppled over as soon as I tried to cut it up. Whoever invented asymmetrical bowls needs a lesson in dinnerware practicality.

Linking up today with Sami from Sami’s Shenanigans.