An open air amphitheatre in San Diego seems unfair. Sitting under the stars in always-68-degree-weather with a handful of friends to hear amazing bands makes me wonder why I do anything else. Mattress Firm Amphitheatre, formerly Sleep Train/Coors/Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre is down in Chula Vista, and holds 20,500. The venue opened in 1998, and I was pleased to find out that its first concert was none other than the Spice Girls. Initially owned by Universal Concerts, then House of Blues, Live Nation now owns the space.
Like all good country concert goers, we got to Mattress Firm with plenty of time to enjoy our surroundings. In other words, bring on the Corn Hole. We were surrounded by pickup trucks, American flags, short shorts, flannel shirts, and cowboy boots. Most importantly, I am proud to say I did not see a single confederate flag our entire trip. Maybe times are changing as San Diego rolls into this year’s country concert season. After a few hours throwing bean bags around and making friends, we headed in to find our seats.
Brett Young is a baseball pitcher turned country music singer, originally hailing from the OC but now based in Nashville. His hit “In Case You Didn’t Know” is currently in the #1 spot on the Billboard Country Airplay chart and the audience made sure to let him know they love it. His voice was impressive last year at Stagecoach, and it still is. He has swagger, sound and tells stories to reel the audience into his music. I can’t wait to see where he goes from here.
Kelsea Ballerini came out next. She’s so frickin’ cute and bubbly, how can you not love her? She has a list of top hits, and is currently working on new stuff. My favorite last night was “I Hate Love Songs” “We were drunk when we met so we don’t know our anniversary.” I love you.
Then Lady Antebellum. Some trivia—the band’s name describes a style of architecture in the Deep South, dating to the pre-Civil war era. Ante-Bellum = Pre-War. Think Gone with the Wind. The group formed in 2006, and has collected awards for their music like candy. Hillary Scott’s voice is incredible live, Charles Kelley has an awesome stage presence, and Dave Haywood on mandolin is that goofy guy who you’d love to just have around. But the real stars of the show were their new brass section! Their trumpet and trombone player opened the show, and quite honestly their 8 bar jam session mid-set was just a tease. These two have amazing chemistry, and really rip it up. I wish we heard more of them.
The night was great. Definitely a different vibe than the living-room-like-venues lately but a good change. Thanks to Katie for planning the tailgating session like a pro, and to Jenna for drinking piña coladas out of a bottle like a champ.