Parker McCollum showed up and showed out for his Illinois fans over the weekend. On Saturday, Feb. 8, the Texas native brought his What Kinda Man Tour to Champaign, IL, summoning listeners near and far to pack out the State Farm Center.
This performance marked McCollum’s debut in the 15,544-seat dome-shaped arena located on the campus of University of Illinois, but it likely won’t be his last. As the night unfolded, he quickly discovered that his Midwestern audience is loud and proud to be a part of his global fanbase.
McCollum made a thundering entrance at 9:30 PM when he appeared on the top of his multi-level stage set-up. The screen behind him illuminated the venue with stormy scenes, setting the tone for his first delivery of the night – “Hurricane.” He continued belting out standouts from 2023’s Never Enough album including “Don’t Blame Me,” his gold-certified hit, “Handle On You” as well as “Why Indiana” off his Gold Chain Cowboy collection.
“Saturday night baby, damn good to see you,” he stated proudly.
After warming up the crowd, McCollum made his way to the end of the short catwalk and took a moment to check in with his fans.
“Y’all look and sound wonderful. This is my first time ever to Champagne, Illinois,” he declared proudly as he showed his gratitude for everyone who bought a ticket to come see his show that night. “I appreciate y’all coming to see us tonight. Like I said, this is our first time here. I didn’t know if anybody was going to show up. I didn’t know if anybody knew who the hell we were here in Champaign, Illinois.”
McCollum went on to rave over the sheer amount of talent joining him on tour with his openers William Beckmann and Kameron Marlowe. He continued to wander around the stage, stopping to introduce himself to those in the front row of the overflowing pit, snap a few selfies and sign merchandise. He even drank out of one fans’ cup which had her looking as if she could pass out from excitement.
“What’s in the cup? You got cold beer?” he asked before taking a sip and confirming, “That is Coors Light. When the mountains are blue, baby. I like that.” He proceeded to encourage the shocked fan to “Breathe girl,” adding, “It’s all good.”
While this dedicated fan moment was just a small part of the start of the 90-minute show, his ability to connect closely with his audience continued throughout the remainder of the evening.
“I feel good tonight. It’s been a good tour, but it ain’t been as good as it’s going to be here tonight,” McCollum promised and then seamlessly transitioned back into performing with the tracks “Stoned” and “Like A Cowboy.”
McCollum had fans ooing and awing at every note as he sang his way through the 19-song setlist that featured a mix of his signature sad country songs like “Young Man’s Blues,” “To Be Loved By You,” “Tails I Lose,” “Love You Like That” “Falling Apart,” “I Can’t Breathe,” and more. Whether pulling from his early catalog or celebrating his more recent releases, there was a constant stream of concert goers singing their hearts out and swaying along to the catchy melodies. The show didn’t feature a dramatic light show or pyrotechnics within the production, but fans didn’t seem to notice or care because McCollum’s stage presence was enough to keep the energy high all night long.
Another highlight came when he grabbed his harmonica, stepped into the spotlight and shared the story behind writing his hit, “Rest Of My Life.” In doing so, McCollum noted how much it means to him to see his songs like this one resonate so deeply with listeners all over the world.
“I love country music, man. It makes my heart so warm to come this far away from home and see this many people show up to sing these songs with us, man. Thank you all so much,” he began. “There was a young man last night in Minneapolis in the meet and greet, and was talking about how my songs had gotten him through some really tough times, losing his dad and all kinds of stuff. And this song right here, I wrote this song in my living room when I was living in Austin, Texas. I was literally in the shower, I got out of the shower, I wrote this song and I got back in the shower,” he added earning a round of cheers from the audience.
“It’s one of my favorite songs I’ve ever written, and this was the song he wanted to hear the most. This song got me through a tough time…I hope there’s somebody out there who this song’s helped through a tough time as well. Maybe you’re going through that tough time right now and you get to hear it live tonight. I can tell you what, I sing it with the same conviction as I did the day I wrote it, and I hope you enjoy it. It’s called ‘Rest Of My Life.’”
The heaviness in the room from this powerful performance was lifted shortly after when a fan yelled at McCollum, requesting that he take his shirt off. He hilariously responded, saying he would “definitely not” be doing that, especially since he’s gearing up to hit the road with a couple of country music icons.
“I’ve got to play with George Strait and Chris Stapleton in a few weeks. I can’t be having pictures on the internet of me with no shirt on. Both of them would be like, ‘get that goofy son of b***h off this stage.”
After a brief pause, he thought about how comical it would be if he actually did decide to strip his top layer while performing a song as serious and emotive as, “Hell Of A Year.”
“Now all I’m doing is thinking about standing here with no shirt on, singing this fricking song. I dunno if I can do it. Maybe. No, absolutely not…It would be really funny to sing this song that I’m about to sing with no shirt. Maybe if we come back in the summer. It’s a little cold out. I’m nipping a little bit,” he joked.
As the show began to wind down, the Texas native asked “What kinda man do you need Champaign?” before diving into a heart pounding delivery of the song that inspired the name of the trek, “What kinda man,” while his new music video played in the background. He then closed things out with a heated performance of his award-winning hit, “Burn It Down” and left the audience with one last surprise – the chance to snag a free piece of merch that he launched into the crowd using a t-shirt cannon.
“We’re gonna come back and see you real soon. Thanks for coming to the What Kinda Man Tour,” he said in conclusion.
The What Kinda Man Tour is next slated to bring Parker McCollum to three back-to-back shows in Tupelo, MS (Fab 13), St. Louis, MO (Feb 14) and Louisville, KY (Fab. 15.)
The post Parker McCollum Delivers Unforgettable Night Of Heartfelt Hits & Special Moments On What Kinda Man Tour appeared first on Country Now.
