Gretchen Wilson Shines at Osage

First off, let me start by apologizing for the delay in getting this posted.  As they say life happens, while you are making other plans.

The Redneck woman who shot to the top of the country charts just a few shorts years ago and became the owner of the highest debuting single for a female in country music history for "All Jacked Up"  brought her energetic and chameleon style show to the Osage Event Center last week and was the delight of a half packed house.

Gretchen Wilson, who is not really known for making your parents brand of country music, has managed to continue to re-invent herself and her brand of good time music and has turned it into her latest offering I Got Your Country Right Here.  She proclaims herself, "I think we made the first ever female southern rock album!"  And she put on a show to reflect just that.  Mixing country, rock, and blues, she shifted gears through her set that was fast and heavy laden with "drinkin' songs."

She doesn't call her shows concerts, but instead parties.  She comes out and lets her crowd know exactly what they are dealing with and unapologetically gives it her all for an hour and a half.  Taking time in between songs to drink beer and offer up a toast to America's fighting man with a bottle of Jack Daniels, that she takes a long guzzle of.  Just by the looks of it most men couldn't keep up with her when it comes to putting a few down.

Wilson has a very powerful voice and lets it ring out on the hits you would expect, "Here For The Party," "Homewrecker," and show closer "All Jacked Up."  As well as, taking time to slow things down and connect with her audience.  She is humble and approachable and does a very good job of just being one of the gang when onstage.  She did showcase some new songs off her latest album, which by the way is released on her very own recording label, Redneck Records.  The best of which was "I Got Your Country Right Here," an ode to southern rock that mentions her heroes by name.  She also played the hit, "Work Hard, Play Harder" which has become a bit of anthem among the blue collar folks that frequent her shows.

Gretchen also took the time to walk concert-goers down her past, from band to band and genre to genre.  She says, "I am country, but I do like to rock."  Then went on to play an amazing cover of the Foreigner classic, "Hot Blooded."  Then left the stage and allowed her band to work through several rocking hits, from "Barracuda" to "Smells Like Teen Spirit" to "Kashmir"  and beyond in a mash-up of classic rock songs the sounded spot on and took the atmosphere to another level complete with T-shirt launching guns and more whiskey drinking.

GW did two encores, the identifier to her career, "Redneck Woman" and the Zeppelin smash, "Rock and Roll."  She is a talented lady, and puts on a very good show.  The shame of it all is the her manly ways and political views, which I have purposely chosen not to go into, have probably caused her to be an outsider to her own industry, but with her own label and youth on her side she can "Make the music that she wants to make and her fans want to here!" as she boldly stated.