FIRE’T UP TOUR KICKS OFF IN LONDON ONTARIO, CANADA!

Brantley Gilbert’s FIRE’T UP TOUR broke loose in London to kick off the tour along with Brandon Lay & Dylan Scott and it was incredible!
Brantley comes out, down the stairs being lit up by a single spotlight then BOOM! flames shoot straight up across the back of the stage lighting up the entire stage in a nice warm orange glow, we could feel the heat down in the pit. With his raspy yet soulful voice, Brantley belted out, running back and fourth across the stage putting on one hell of a good show. So much pyro in the first 3 songs, not sure how the rest of the set went as we only shoot the first 3 songs then we’re out, but to have pyro and good lighting in the first 3 songs is pretty rare, at least in my experience. This was my first time taking in a Brantley Gilbert show and wow… he definitely did not disappoint one bit. If you love Brantley’s voice like I do, then you need to make sure you’re at a show on this tour because he sounds dead on live, I was blown away.

Brandon Lay, I’ll be honest here I didn’t know who Brandon Lay was, but that’s what I love about shooting shows. Sometimes you don’t know the openers, and sometimes those openers become music you add to your play list because you loved what you heard, and this was one of those times. Brandon was great and a good mix for the show. Now I said I didn’t know him, which the name I didn’t.. but once he started his set I realized I know some of his songs, mainly Speakers, Bleachers and Preachers … love that song.. just didn’t realize he did it. Brandon was awesome live, would definitely go see him again.

Dylan Scott, man oh man this guy looked so comfortable on stage, big smiles and you could just tell he was very appreciative of where he is in life and what he gets to do for a living. Of course in the first 3 songs he shot out his hit song HOOKED, which is such a fun, energetic song and the crowd was definitely feeling it, the screams when he finished the song were ear piercing, the crowd just loving him. Dylan Definitely got the crowd fired up for Brantley.

All in All this Tour is incredible and keeps your attention, makes your ears smile ( If they had mouths) and if you’re THINKING about going to a stop on this tour… stop… don’t think.. just go buy your ticket and get ready for a great night out.. no one on this tour disappoints.

BIG THANK YOU goes out to Budweiser Gardens & Live Nation for the opportunity to photograph the first stop on this tour, without them I would never have these opportunities and it means a lot, I am very grateful for the approvals and allowing me to do what I love.

BRANTLEY GILBERT

BRANDON LAY

DYLAN SCOTT

Baconfest!! have you heard of it? In a small town named Lucan Ontario there is a fest with such a name.. not only is it a name but there is bacon! bacon everything. Now.. I don’t want misguide you anymore than I already have with the title of this blog post .. buuuuut by the time I rolled into Lucan for Baconfest, vendors had mostly packed up and the town was starting to open the street back up, so while I’d love to give you details on all the bacon goodies.. I sadly cannot other than I had a hotdog with back bacon on it and it was delicious.
A) I wanted to make you aware of the small town Lucan Ontario and B) I wanted you to know that they have an event called Baconfest that is all about bacon because bacon is delicious! Oh and I also need to mention this event is also about bikes.. Motorbikes.. yes.. this is a biker event but it’s also for families and teenagers and kids and anyone who enjoys bacon. Main street of Lucan gets shut down, vendors line the streets and so do the bikers with their bikes and let me tell you, there are a TON of people.. I read on their website they now get like 25,000 people or something like that and every year it’s growing, baconfest has only been around for 4 years so far.

So.. what is this post actually about? well if you read my posts, especially lately, you would have noticed a trend, and that trend has been MUSIC, BANDS, LIVE MUSIC, CONCERT PHOTOGRAPHY.. so as you may have guessed… along with Baconfest there are bands! From what I’m told, baconfest in the past few years has had bands but they have all been cover bands or tribute bands and while that is fun and all.. sometimes they don’t bring in huge crowds.. this year however, baconfest stepped it up and brought in some class acts from the country genre! who played? well here we go:

THE RIVER JUNCTION BAND ( due to the lengthy drive to Lucan, I missed this band)
BUCK TWENTY
EAST ADELAIDE
ERIC ETHRIDGE

That right there is a pretty good line up for a small town.. it’s a pretty good line up period!

BUCK TWENTY

Buck Twenty was the second band on and these guys are phenomenal, catchy tunes, great stage presence, always smiling and interacting with one another, so full of energy and they are the nicest dudes too. With the sun setting and casting a nice golden light onto the stage, Buck Twenty comes out and takes a hold of the crowd. I have to say, a lot of people in this crowd knew B20 because I saw a bunch of people rocking their shirts. Buck Twenty does an amazing job at using the entire stage during their performance.. especially the sides where there are usually some sort of box they can stand up on and get up nice and high over the crowd and single themselves out which is awesome for photographs, which you will see in the set . These guys are doing very well and will continue to do so. I urge you to check out their music on social media, and check out their website.. if you see they are playing a show near you, go check them out.

EAST ADELAIDE

East Adelaide are an up and coming group based out of Toronto Ontario and they are fantastic, you definitely need to give them a listen if you haven’t heard them before.. their song “ You Don’t Get To Love Me “ is a fantastic one, very catchy and very powerful. Love seeing these guys perform, this was only my second time seeing them and photographing them, but i’m hooked. First time was in London Ontario at London Concert Theater on the “Winter’s a beach Tour “ with The Reklaws and I found them even better outdoors during the summer!

ERIC ETHRIDGE

This guy right here!! Eric Ethridge, wow.. has this guy ever come so far.. From Sarnia Ontario, got his start playing JACKS in London Ontario, to a record deal with Ole’s Red Dot Label then making the move to Nashville! If you’ve ever met Eric, he’s one of the nicest people, humble and always tries to take the time to meet his fans. Even though Eric has blown up and moved to Nashville, he still finds the time to get back to Ontario often and still plays “ the little shows” because that’s where his long time fans are. Been almost a year since I’ve seen Eric perform and I was pretty excited to see what has changed and all I can tell you is that it’s better and better every damn time. Eric’s confidence on stage makes for a great show, he seems so relaxed up there and you can tell he’s doing what he loves. As soon as he hit the stage the crowd went nuts, people were running for the stage, packing in so tight, smiles all around, especially on Eric’s face when he saw the response. From “ California “ to “ If You Met Me First” Eric covered all his hits with the crowd backing him Lyrically, it was a night to remember. Eric even took the time to hunt down a bridal party he saw earlier and brought the bride to be up on stage to sing to her. Not only did Eric bring someone up on stage, but Eric took it upon himself to get off the stage and submerge himself down into the crowd while singing which made everyones night. Now, with being the short guy I am.. I quickly lost Eric in the mass and couldn’t get any shots of this but I knew he was down there making fans happy!

Kevin Vyse Photography Blog:

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BRANTLEY GILBERT - FIRE'T UP TOUR

BRANTLEY GILBERT

BRANDON LAY

DYLAN SCOTT

BACONFEST: Concert Series

EAST ADELAIDE

ERIC ETHRIDGE