Travis Tritt (October 20, 2011)

Headliner: Travis Tritt

Date: October 20, 2011

Venue: Arkansas State Fair (Little Rock, Ark.)

Country music singer Travis Tritt thrilled the patrons of the Arkansas State Fair in Little Rock on Thursday night (Oct. 20) with a set that lasted over two hours filled with his style of rip-roaring country rockers.

Tritt opened the show with “Put Some Drive in Your Country” from 1992, which fittingly explains his brand of music – rock infused country.

Following the opener came classic Tritt hit after classic Tritt hit including: “I’m Gonna Be Somebody,” a top five hit from 1990, “The Whiskey Ain’t Workin’” and “Country Club,” his debut single from 1989.

In between two segments of hard charging honky tonkers Tritt stuck in a short acoustic segment, which might have been the highlight of the entire show. During this acoustic showcase Tritt performed what I believe is his finest song, “Anymore,” a soulful love song that was a chart topper in 1991. Following “Anymore” Tritt surprised the crowd with a cover of Charlie Daniels Band’s “Long Haired Country Boy,” which is a tune that seems to be covered often by country artists in concert – I’ve seen both Blake Shelton and Rodney Atkins cover it, as well.

Another thing that the acoustic segment showcased was Tritt’s fantastic guitar picking skills, which I didn’t know he had previously. I’m sure others would be surprised by Tritt’s guitar prowess, as well.

Another one of Tritt’s finest performances from the show was his top five hit “Here’s a Quarter (Call Someone Who Cares” from 1991. Also during the show Tritt performed his cover of the Eagles classic “Take It Easy,” “T-R-O-U-B-L-E,” “Foolish Pride,” one of his five career number one singles, and fan favorite “It’s a Great Day to Be Alive.”

After momentarily leaving the stage, Tritt returned for what could only be referred to as an epic encore, maybe the longest encore I’ve ever seen from any performer. The encore itself must have lasted half an hour.

Tritt began the encore with his 2002 hit “Modern Day Bonnie and Clyde,” followed by great covers of the Willie and Waylon classic “Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys,” Waylon Jennings’ “I’ve Always Been Crazy,” Johnny Cash’s classic “Folsom Prison Blues,” which is also a concert cover staple, and Stevie Ray Vaughan’s rockin’ blues tune “Texas Flood.”

Tritt’s energy during his set was definitely among the most exciting and energetic I’ve ever seen which is even more incredible based on the pretty cool temperatures on Thursday night that dipped below 50 degrees for the outdoors fair concert.