Live Music Spotlight: Tyler Reese Tritt

I had been looking forward to seeing Tyler Reese Tritt perform at The Barrel in Springboro, Ohio. She was at CMA Fest and did a short show at the Nashville Acoustic Corner inside the visitor’s center at Bridgestone Arena. I was excited to get to see her perform a full show.

Tritt is the 21-year-old daughter of country music superstar Travis Tritt. Yes, she has a famous last name. As soon as she opened her mouth and started to sing, her name didn’t matter. She definitely has a ton of talent and I’d even say that she is every bit as talented as her famous father.

In addition to her tremendous talent, she has a better stage presence than many young artists. She interacted with her band quite a bit, which is always nice to see. She had a lot of personality and interjected some light humor during her show. One thing that also impressed me was Tritt’s ability to make eye contact with the audience. It’s those little things that make the songs more personal. She was clearly very comfortable on stage and I could tell she was having fun.

Most of the songs she performed were covers, but she did perform a couple original songs from a forthcoming EP. The originals she performed were really good, so I am looking forward to hearing more original music from her. I loved her song selection throughout the show. It was pretty evident that the crowd loved the songs as well because a number of people were singing and dancing along as she performed. Some of her best covers included Reba McEntire’s “Fancy,” Lady Antebellum’s “Need You Now,” Little Big Town’s “Girl Crush,” Maren Morris’ “My Church” and many others.

I had the opportunity to talk to Tritt briefly after her show. She is so nice and humble. Afterwards, she walked around the bar talking the fans, taking pictures, signing autographs and even dancing while 9Eight Central played following her performance. I was impressed with her and I am looking forward to see what she does next in her career. I think she will have a place in country music as long as she wants one.

Tritt played about an hour and half beginning at 8 p.m. last night. The show kicked off an hour earlier with opening act Miranda Hurley, who is a local singer with a powerful voice. Hurley first performed at the Barrel about a month or so ago at The Barrel’s weekly open mic night, which takes place every Monday. I saw a video of part of that performance, but I hadn’t had a chance to watch her perform live until last night. I was amazed at the level of vocal control she had as she performed a set full of cover songs. I would love to see her release some original music in the future.

Following Tritt’s performance, local favorites 9Eight Central played for about three more hours, giving the audience a full night of great music. I am a big fan of these guys and I am honored to call them personal friends. Mike Pettigrew and Nicholas Winters have amazing harmonies and perform some of the songs from the 90s era including Rhett Akins and Brooks and Dunn. They also perform songs from more current artists including Luke Combs and Brantley Gilbert.

The emcee for the show was Scott Hall who is the host of Hall Around Town Radio, which airs weekdays at 5 p.m. Eastern on Facebook Live. He did an interview with Tritt and it will be available to watch soon on the Hall Around Town page on Facebook. Hall is a fan of music and attends many local shows every week. He is a champion for local artists.

I am thankful that places like The Barrel still exist. They give these rising artists a place to play and build their fan bases, while giving music lovers the opportunity to see great artists in an intimate venue. The ownership and the staff of The Barrel are first-rate and ensure that everyone is having a great time. A show at a bar like The Barrel is a much different experience than seeing a show at an arena and usually features an opportunity to meet and interact with the artist.