Mat Kearney at People's Des Moines October 1st

I got the chance to see Mat Kearney last weekend when he stopped in Des Moines as part of his "Young Love" concert tour.  I was thrilled because the concert was on my birthday and it was a great way to finish the day plus I'm a big live music fan.  I love concerts and if I didn't have two little ones at home I would love to see more shows. 

This was my first time seeing Mat Kearney live, but I could tell many people in the audience had seen him on his previous visit to Des Moines.  I loved that he opened the show with "Count On Me" - it's one of my favorites off his new album.  The crowd of course loved when he played his radio hits "Closer to Love" and "Nothing Left to Lose".  I love when artists have spent some time in Des Moines and share what they like about the city, so it was great to hear Mat say that he had visited our Downtown Farmers Market that morning. 

I had many favorite parts of the show including the addition of "Meet Me In Des Moines" on his song "Chicago" and the audience participation he encouraged.  He got everyone to sing along and that's my new favorite Mat Kearney song.  He also came out into the crowd while he was singing "Runaway Car" which was awesome.  He was interacting with the whole crowd, taking pictures and didn't miss a beat.  I don't think I've ever seen a performer do anything quite like that.  He also picked a couple of great songs to cover during the show.  He broke into Adele's "Chasing Pavements" during one part and then played "Pumped Up Kicks" during the encore.  I thought it sounded great, but I'm a little biased since I love that song.  It must be the song to cover right now because Weezer's been doing it out on tour now too.  He ended the encore set with his latest hit "Hey Mama" and left the stage with a satisfied crowd.

It was a really great show.  He interacted well with the audience without ever sounding corny or boring.  He was all about the music and I was impressed with the sound.  He's definitely an artist that sounds just as great live as on the CD.  If you get a chance you should check out a date on the rest of his scheduled tour.

Disclosure:  I received tickets to Mat Kearney's show in Des Moines for purpose of review from One2One Network.  No further compensation was received.  All opinions are 100% mine.