I had the opportunity to see Nashville-based artist Allie Colleen play a sold-out show at The Barrel in Springboro, Ohio last night. It was the first time I had watched her perform.
She has an amazing voice with a great tone and a wide vocal range. When she sang covers, she picked songs that fit her voice. I liked that she didn’t just play huge radio hits. She played songs that meant something to her. She played songs from Cody Johnson, Ashley McBryde and Maren Morris. She played McBryde’s “Bible and a .44,” which is a song that I love because it reminds me of my dad who passed away in 2016.
I was impressed that she played “A Song For Everything,” which is a song from the album Morris just released on Friday. In addition to playing cover songs of newer cover songs, Allie Colleen did a fantastic job on two Keith Whitley songs. She also played some of her own originals. She is a talented songwriter of her own and I would like to hear more of her originals.
Allie Colleen knows to connect with her audience in a way that seems effortless. Another thing I noticed about her that she had a big smile on her face while she was performing. It is clear that she genuinely loves playing music.
I continued to be impressed with Allie Colleen after her show. Some artists will leave immediately after their show. She didn’t. She stayed and hung out for a while after her show. She drank and interacted with people that were there. I like it when artists are approachable and are willing to interact with the fans.
Rick Amburgey is an experienced journalist and country music fan. He can be contacted on Twitter at @ViewsCountry.