Courtesy Photo
On Thursday, a huge stage stood in the parking lot of Rick’s Cafe, which had been gated off to prepare for the arrival of country music star Zach Top and his opener Lauren Watkins.
By 5 p.m., a line of fans wrapped around the building, ending near the motel sitting adjacent to Rick’s Cafe. Once the gated area of the concert venue opened, these fans either walked over to the table with Zach Top merchandise or one of the pop-up tents with beverages and food.
Hannah Ward from Hattiesburg, Miss., and Sophie Eisel from Columbia, Miss., were two of these fans. They heard about the concert last minute and found tickets to the show on Thursday morning. They were both looking forward to hearing Top’s song “Use Me.”
“I love how he sings it,” Ward said.
Around 5:30 p.m., a crowd had already begun to gather around the stage, but people still filtered through the security gates. As the sun began to set, the crowd grew larger and more restless. People cheered when the band members who accompanied Watkins walked on stage to set up their instruments and check the equipment.
The concert started at 7:00 p.m. when Watkins and her band took the stage amidst applause. She played a few original songs, such as “Stuck In My Ways,” “Anybody But You” and her newest release, “Lose My Cool,” which was released later that night.
Catering to the crowd, she also sang two covers — Jason Aldean’s “Amarillo Sky” and Sheryl Crow’s “Soak Up the Sun.” Her authentic country sound was enhanced by the instrumentation of her band, reminiscent of country music from decades ago, and lyrics that the crowd related to.
Ending a half-hour later, she thanked the crowd and Zach Top, exiting the stage to cheering and clapping.
Soon, the floodlights in the crowd were turned off, shifting the focus of the crowd to the bright lights on the stage, which spelled out Zach Top, and the jukebox in the left corner. The excitement in the crowd rose to a crescendo, eliciting more cheering and shouting.
The crowd roared as Zach Top and his band took the stage, opening with “Sounds Like the Radio.”
Zach Top worked the crowd, asking people if they had beer for breakfast before singing his song “Beer For Breakfast” and taking people back to when he first started singing by performing a few bluegrass songs.
After singing “In a World Gone Wrong,” he announced that his band would take a short break while he sang a song by himself. He took inspiration from Keith Whitley and sang a beautiful cover of “Kentucky Bluebird.”
When his band took the stage again he switched back to his newer crowd favorites like “Use Me,” just as Ward and Eisel anticipated. He also performed a cover of another crowd favorite from the king of country music, George Strait’s “Amarillo by Morning.”
Zach Top finished the night out with the song peppered over most of his merchandise–”Cold Beer & Country Music.” The crowd sang along, celebrating a night of country music, cold beer and good company in Starkville, Mississippi. Top went on to repeat his performance the following night.
Emma O’Bryant, an English and public relations double major at Mississippi State, was in attendance at Zach Top’s second concert on Friday and spoke about her experience with her friends.
“We all love Zach Top, so there was just a great atmosphere,” O’Bryant said. “We even talked and sang with people we did not know because I think everyone was having a good time and felt comfortable.”
Fans had two opportunities to bond over country music at Rick’s Cafe while listening to the voice that “Sounds Like The Radio” in real life.