Heidi Newfield Shines at Tuesday’s Chevy CMA Kickoff Show

On the eve of “Country’s biggest night,” an interesting, if not unusual, mix of artists took to the stage at the Chevy CMA Kickoff Show outside the Sommet Center in Nashville. It was a chilly, grey-skied setting as a modest crowd gathered for performances from Heidi Newfield, Rodney Atkins, Eli Young Band and Kevin Costner and Modern West.

Heidi Newfield

From the moment she stepped on stage, Newfield (former lead singer of Trick Pony) made it clear that she isn’t your typical blonde “girl singer.” With harmonica in hand, she tackled a bluesy, soulful cover of Lucinda Williams’ “Can’t Let Go.” Her seasoned voice was strong, with just enough edge, and she shined on songs like “Cry, Cry (’Till the Sun Shines),” her latest single, and her debut “Johnny and June.”

Newfield’s material was nothing more than average contemporary country fare, but she still managed to let her personality shine through. The self-proclaimed “story of my life” song, “What Am I Waiting For” was full of energy and attitude.

To close her set, Newfield rattled off an impressive extended harmonica solo before blasting into her old Trick Pony hit, “Pour Me.” Some might say that the harmonica is a gimmick, but it’s a nice addition that sets Newfield apart from her younger peers.

Regardless, with the right material, Newfield could (or at least should) consistently put out top ten singles. She certainly has the live performance to back it up.

Rodney Atkins

Atkins, with his omnipresent baseball cap and tight jeans, was the only performer on the bill that is actually nominated for a CMA award (Best New Male Vocalist). In 2006-07, Atkins built a streak of four consecutive #1 hits, highlighted by family-friendly, semi-inspirational tunes like “Cleaning This Gun” and “Watching You.”

In spite of his recent success, however, Atkins appeared very complacent on stage, failing to exert much effort on such crowd pleasers as “These Are My People.” The crowd exerted a lot of effort and enthusiasm for Atkins, but he didn’t return the favor.

Also, Atkins committed a cardinal sin of country music–towards the end of “Cleaning This Gun,” he snuck in the first verse of Hank Jr’s “Country Boy Can Survive,” only to then abruptly strike an ending chord, cutting the song short. What a tease.

Atkins needs to do a lot of tweaking to his live show; artists like George Strait and Alan Jackson can get away with stoicism on stage because their songs stand tall on their own. But as an up-and-coming artist, Atkins needs to exert himself a little more on stage to help take mediocre songs to the next level.

Eli Young Band

With the Eli Young Band, you always know what you’re going to get. The Texas-based four-man band is consistent in all aspects of its career, including live performances. A light rain thinned out the crowd by the time they took the stage, making “When It Rains” an even more appropriate opener.

Mike Eli offered up solid vocals on new tracks from Jet Black and Jealous like “Famous,” “Radiowaves,” and “Enough Is Enough.” Lead guitarist James Young, bassist Jon Jones and drummer Chris Thompson added a powerful punch to every song.

Surprisingly, the show was ahead of schedule allowing EYB to play longer, and also dip deeper into their back catalog. “So Close Now” and “Highways and Broken Hearts” were welcome additions to the show.

Eli Young Band has done a great job at carving out their little niche in today’s country music landscape, and people have taken notice–later in the evening they made their Grand Ole Opry debut.

Kevin Costner and Modern West

Costner came onstage donned in a white, buttoned-down shirt, faded jeans and boots–at least he got the memo on what to wear. The actor turned musician has been in Nashville all week, promoting his Universal South debut album Untold Truths. While the likable Costner attracted a lot of digital cameras, his performance fell short.

Modern West is a very good band, including a fantastic fiddle player, but Costner’s vocals are simply unimpressive. Throughout the show, it appeared as though he was straining too hard for a raspy, gravely sound (think Chris Knight or even Springsteen). The resulting sound was grainy and emotionless.

Songs like “Long Hot Night”, “90 Miles An Hour” and “5 Minutes From America” were all Boss-esque lyrically, but lacked that emotional pull in the vocal.

Nevertheless, Costner’s love for the music is noticeable and admirable. For a man that has won several Oscars, he sure does seem to be having the time of his life on the musical stage.

Unfortunately, there probably won’t be any Grammys in his future.